Sandy's Instant Pot Beef Stew is rich, delicious, and easy! No browning of the meat required!
Make sure the stainless inner liner is in the base and add the broth, wine, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well.
Add all other ingredients, except for the thickener and tomato paste, to the pot. Stir. See note about browning the meat*.
Add the tomato paste but do not stir it in. Just let it sit on top of the other ingredients.
Put the lid on the pot and seal the vent.
Press the Pressure Cook (Manual) button, then the +/- button to select 35 minutes.
This is a full pot, and will take several minutes to come to pressure.
After cooking cycle ends, let the pressure Naturally Release for 15 minutes.
Manually release the remaining pressure. Do this in short bursts as a full release at this point will have the hot stew spewing out of the steam release knob and all over your kitchen (don’t ask me how I know this!).
Once all steam/pressure is out of the pot and the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid carefully, facing it away from you.
Mix the flour and butter together for thickening. You might need to microwave the butter for 5 seconds to soften it.
When the liquid starts to simmer, whisk in the thickener and cook a couple of minutes, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. If not thick enough, just make another batch of flour/butter, 1 Tbsp at a time, and stir in to the simmering liquid.
Add the meat and veggies back into the pot and serve immediately.
*If you want to brown the meat first, just toss the beef cubes in flour, set the pot to Sauté, add some vegetable oil, and brown all sides of the meat before continuing.