Beef Stew

[Anonymous No.13520761]

It's cold as a witch's titty up here in Minnesota, so I'm gonna get comfy and make some beef stew.

I have the basics of course -- meat, taters, peas, carrots, onion, beef stock, etc. Any suggestions for additional stuff? And no, I probably won't use my wife's bull's semen as an stir-in, but thanks for suggesting it.

[Anonymous No.13520774]

>>13520761
Diced celery

[Anonymous No.13520791]

>>13520761
I switched to a new recipe and a two-step process a few years ago and haven't looked back.

The two-step process focuses on the meat. Most recipes will lightly flour it and then sear, and then simmer the meat for hours to get it tender. Rather than doing this, I get a good sear on the meat and pop it into a foil packet with some braising liquid, then it goes in the over for 4 hours @ 250F. It's fall apart tender, then gets a rest in the fridge to firm up a bit before the main stew gets put together.

The crux of the new recipe is the braising liquid. It has some non-traditional ingredients but it's so damn good. Start with some good fatty/marbled stew meat and after you sear it, add it to a bowl. I add tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, paprika, and dried herbs and stir it all together, along with any reserved fat from frying. When I pull the meat out of the oven, I snip a corner of the packet and let all the liquid drain into a cup, then that goes in the fridge with the meat. It leaves a puck of fat on top that I use to fry the onions, carrots, and potatoes before I add stock and the rest of the braising liquid to simmer, then re-add the meat and a bag of frozen peas at the end.

[Anonymous No.13520797]

>>13520761
You could make Boeuf Bourguignon if you have some decent red wine (Alan Bourdain shows how to make some bitchin Bourg on youtube).

Or you could make Goulash Viennese style:

Wiener Saftgulasch - Viennese Goulash

1 kg beef (or pork, venison, lamb)
1 kg onions (or more)
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp. marjoram
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. tomato paste
4 tsp. hot paprika powder
1 tsp. caraway
stock
cooking oil/clarified butter
salt
pepper

Cut the meat into cubes, then brown the cubes from all sides in a very hot skillet. Put them in a stockpot. Heat more cooking oil or clarified butter in the skillet you used for the meat. Dice or slice the onions as finely as possible, put them in the skillet and let them caramelize, then put them in the stock pot too. Add stock until meat and onions are barely covered.

Add caraway, marjoram, paprika, tomato paste, vinegar and crushed or diced garlic.
Let everything simmer for at least 1 hour, 2-3 hours are better for really tender meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with some boiled mealy potatoes, rice, white bread or some bread dumplings.

[Anonymous No.13520834]

>>13520761
Mirepoix is the base of nearly all your soups, stews, and stocks, so carrots, onions, and celery. Beyond that, I just made some beef vegetable soup last night. I like green beans and corn in mine. Also, I do my potatoes a little different than most. I don't like peeling potatoes, I like the skins on yukon golds and redskins, but they turn to mush if you put them in at the start of the soup, like you would with a regular russet potato. Instead, I roast my yukon golds in a pan with a little water at 350-degrees for 45 minutes. Then I add the potatoes in the last ten minutes. Potatoes stay firm, the skin stays on them, and I don't re-heat the whole pot when I just want a bowl or two. Just heat up the bowl or two in the microwave.

Other than all that, a couple small cans of tomato puree thicken things up nicely, in addition to the diced tomatoes. Seasoning salt on my stew beef, a couple grinds of black pepper, and a couple nice shots of hot sauce while its cooking give the soup good flavor. I grab a bag of small loaves of Italian bread, toss one in the oven at 350 for 4 minutes, and have nice toasty, crusty, soft bread with my soup.

[Anonymous No.13520835]

>>13520791
That sounds really good, thanks. The two-step cooking is a great idea.
>>13520797
>Bourg
Not a bad idea, and I've plenty of red wine in the house (I'm a classy drunk.)
>Goulash
An intriguing recipe, especially the caraway mixed with hot paprika. Sounds really good. Will save this one, thanks.

[Anonymous No.13520840]

>>13520791
Fuck, that sounds great.

[Anonymous No.13520868]

>>13520761
Deglazing with balsamic is best for business

[Anonymous No.13520871]

>>13520835
>>13520840
If you want a little more guidance on getting it right, check out Good Eats, S11E07. The episode is called Stew Romance.

There are two places I'd push back on Alton. The first is that while short-rib is nice, it can be a little pricier. If you're on a budget then just grab a couple of packs of stew meat. It's not as fatty, but you can add some butter/oil to the packet to increase the amount you get when you drain. Secondly, I LOVE russets/yukons in stew rather than red potatoes as he advises. You're cooking the meat separately so you don't have to worry about a super long cook time making them fall apart, and secondly because they do have more starch, it also thickens up your gravy better than reds.

And you'd better be serving this with piping hot biscuits.

[Anonymous No.13520874]

>>13520871
Oh, and here's what the finished product looks like.

[Anonymous No.13520875]

>>13520761
I like to season it with thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Also, don't dredge your meat in flour. Instead, brown it, add your mirepoix and after it softens push to side add equal parts butter and flour in the open area and cook for a couple minutes before adding your stock. It should thicken the stew nicely.

[Anonymous No.13520944]

>>13520871
Thanks again, gonna give this a go. Appreciate the tips.

[Anonymous No.13521848]

>>13520791
Alton Brown?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psxwyyrZN3A

[Anonymous No.13521856]

>>13520761
Onion and celery

[Anonymous No.13523000]

>>13520761
to make my stews and soup a little more exotic i add in a couple cinnamon sticks and star of anise.
with the salty soup, its pretty good

[Anonymous No.13523010]

>>13523000
i forgot to add, this is especially good with home made chicken soup

[Anonymous No.13523012]

>>13520761

Celery Salt

[Anonymous No.13523016]

>>13520761

Bottle of Jack

[Anonymous No.13523246]

When I first saw the thumbnail, I thought "what the fuck did Anon do to his toilet?"

[Anonymous No.13523267]

>>13520874
pretty gud, could be more juicy
>>13520761
i add tomato paste along with rooster sauce to the beef broth. after cooking, i add the peas and a table spoon of corns tarch to give it some THICC - ness

[Anonymous No.13523279]

In b4 autistic Irish stew guy

[Anonymous No.13523852]

>>13520761
you forgot mushrooms

[Anonymous No.13523967]

You probably already cooked heres my bouef bouginon I use Julia Child's recipe.

[Anonymous No.13524083]

I thought that was a toilet.

[Anonymous No.13524089]

>>13520761
>peas
>in stew

I'll never understand why people do this it's so fucking stupid.

[Anonymous No.13524103]

>>13524089
?

[Anonymous No.13524115]

>>13524103
>big chunks of beef, onion, carrots, and potatoes
>oh wait! let's toss in some tiny ass fucking peas because reasons!

[Anonymous No.13524147]

>>13524115
If it's too thin for peas to stick to everything else then you're already making a shitty stew. Fuck yourself.

[Anonymous No.13524157]

>>13524147
Peas have no right to be put in to any stew unless it's some shitty canned Dinty Moore crap.

[Anonymous No.13524176]

>>13524157
Objectively wrong, but I'm sure you're used to that.

[Anonymous No.13524406]

>>13520797
1:1 ratio of beef to onions.
Not so sure.

[Anonymous No.13524419]

[Anonymous No.13524421]

[Anonymous No.13524425]

[Anonymous No.13524432]

>>13524421
>>13524419
>Peas
oh no you fucking pleb... wait is that..
>CORN
WOW! You are king of people who suck at making stew. I hope you choke on that swill.

[Anonymous No.13524447]

>>13524432
You must be German.

[Anonymous No.13524568]

>whole onion
>some garlic
>chopped beef
>chickpeas (soaked)
>30 mins in pressure cooker
>20 mins of resting time
>knorr chicken stock as my favorite degenerate chef suggests
why bother with all the useless veggies?

[Anonymous No.13525397]

is broccoli stalks in stew cringe...

[Anonymous No.13526435]

Looks like a toilet.

[Anonymous No.13526447]

>>13524568
Mostly so we don't make that pathetic dry garbage in your picture.

[Anonymous No.13526454]

>>13524419
>>13524421
>>13524425
That would be so much better as a vegetable beef soup, too much wonky shit for stew. Take out the potatoes and use rice/barley instead, add some tomato, and don't thicken it.

[Anonymous No.13526459]

>>13520761
Wifes bull semen.

[Anonymous No.13526460]

>>13526447
it's not dry lol, the meat is very moist, and chickpeas are 99% water anyway
add some fresh lemon juice (I forgot to buy lemons)

[Anonymous No.13526465]

>>13520874
Looks like pure shit son

[Anonymous No.13526489]

>>13526465
lmao you must be the dry beef/chickpea guy

[Anonymous No.13526492]

If you're going to make your stew in a crock pot, is there value in searing the meat before putting it in the pot? Will the crispy bits stay crispy and flavorful after a long stew in a crock pot?

[Anonymous No.13526493]

>>13526492
Yes there is value, no they won't stay crispy, yes they will stay flavorful and add depth to your stew.

[Anonymous No.13526503]

>>13526493
Deglaze the pan and add it to stew, I imagine. Would you deglaze with a stock, wine, or what would you recommend?

[Anonymous No.13526506]

>>13520761
miso

[Anonymous No.13526526]

>>13520761
add a couple tablespoons of marinara sauce if you have a jar on hand but i wouldn't go far as to make homemade just for it. it adds a nice rich level of flavor to the broth. good luck on your stew journey my friend.

[Anonymous No.13526534]

>>13526526
Marinara from a can or jar is way too fucking sweet for a good stew.

[Anonymous No.13526540]

>>13526503
Take your pick. You're probably already using some stock, so if you have a decent red on hand then go for it. If you like any kind of tomato flavor in your stew, you can also add some tomato paste to the pan that needs to be deglazed, fry it off for 30-45 seconds, and then deglaze with wine or stock.

[Anonymous No.13526560]

>>13526534
even if you buy poor people sauce like ragu, not really but thanks for the input

[Anonymous No.13526562]

>>13526526
You'd be better off keeping a tube of tomato paste in the fridge for stuff like this.

[Anonymous No.13526564]

>>13526562
nah, i use that to make my marinara

[Anonymous No.13526764]

>>13520761
I don't have a dutch oven, can I just use a regular pot or will it just stew the bottom and burn it?

[Anonymous No.13528502]

>>13526454
>That would be so much better as a vegetable beef soup
No, it's great as beef stew.