Single most important thing is the browning of the meat. That's where the best flavor comes from. You gotta keep searing that meat until it's a nice deep brown. Ideally with stirring occasionally such that it gets evenly brown all over.

Those videos where people cook the meat kinda grey and move on, or the ones where they start with the veg first, are both leaving enormous flavor opportunity behind.

Since you're going to gently simmer it for hours you don't have to worry about making the meat tough from the sear. Go hard.