Recipe more or less - 3 lb chuck, cut into 2 inch pieces, salted, browned in batches - 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, diced, sweated in the same pot - 3 tbsp tomato paste, cooked until it darkens - 1 cup red wine, reduced by about half - 3 cups beef stock - Thyme, 2 bay leaves - 325F, covered, about 3 hours It comes out tender, but there's this weird bitterness that sits at the back of my throat. Not burnt exactly, and it's there from the first bite. Then i've tried browning the meat less, deglazing more carefully, using one bay leaf instead of two, and switching wines. Still getting it. I'm starting to suspect the tomato paste. I cook it until it's brick-colored and nutty smelling, but I'm doing it in the same pot with the vegetables and fond, so I wonder if I'm taking it too far. How can you tell when tomato paste has gone from nicely cooked to bitter? And if it's not the paste, what else could cause that kind of bitterness? submitted by /u/SaffronWar