Whisk beef stock, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, thyme, parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper together and set aside.
Cut beef chuck into about 1-inch chunks. (Discard large pieces of fat if desired.)
Cooking Beef Stew:
Set your Instant Pot to a “sear” setting and let it heat up. Add some oil and throw in meat chunks. Let the meat sear for a few minutes before you start to mix it.
Once you have some browning on the meat, add chopped vegetables and mix it together.
Pour in the beef stock mixture and add bay leaves.
Close the lid and make sure it is latched all the way. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the pressure cooker to cook on “stew” setting for 40 minutes. (If you don’t have a “stew” setting, set it to pressure cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Consult your pressure cooker manual for exact proper operations.)
NOTE: Pressure cooker will take about 15 minutes to build the pressure inside first, before it starts cooking.
Once time is up, let is do a natural release for about 10 minutes and the carefully do a quick release.
Discard bay leaves.
Thickening Beef Stew:
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold beef stock and mix it together.
As soon as you open the lid on pressure cooker, pour in the cornstarch mixture and slowly stir.
Turn on the sear setting and slowly stir until the stew thickens. This will only take a couple of minutes and once thickened, turn off the pressure cooker.
Video
Notes
Storing: Make sure to let the stew cool to room temperature before storing it. Store it in a food storage container with an airtight lid, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should last for 4-5 days. Make sure the lid is closed nice and tight and use a clean and dry ladle each time you get some stew out of the container.
Other Veggies: Peas are a very popular addition so if you like peas, add a small bag of frozen peas to your stew. Try adding fresh green beans, leek instead of onions, and even frozen sweet corn. In the fall, I like to add hearty squash and pumpkin to my stew.