Beef Stew

Why do I love making stews?  Because they can be made in one pot and they fill the house with aroma that no candle scent can duplicate!! Another big plus is that you can use your favorite vegetables in them to cater to your personal taste.  I love to modify recipes I find to make them my own.

One item you may want to invest in is a dutch oven.  Whether you are making stews, sauces, braising meats, etc., you will find that you will never regret purchasing it.  They range in price between $40.00 to over $300!!!  Cook's Illustrated found that the Tramontina 6 qt., which is available at Sam's Club for $39.99, scored just as favorably as the Le Cuistot which retails for $139.47 on Amazon. Guess which one this gal has??? 

Ingredients you'll need:

2 1/2lbs Stew Beef (a $saver is to buy a chuck steak and cut it yourself)

4 Red Potatoes 

3 Carrots

1 Sweet Onion

1 Turnip

2 tbsp. Butter

1 tsp. Paprika

2 tsp. Sugar

3 Garlic Cloves

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Black Pepper

2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

3 tbsp. Tomato Paste

1/4 c. Flour

1 12 oz. Bottle of Dark Beer

4 c. Beef Broth

Using a large freeze bag, mix the flour, salt, pepper together before adding the chopped beef.  Make sure all the pieces are coated.  Then, add 1/2 the butter to the dutch oven and brown the beef. 

When the beef is browned on all sides, take it out of the pot.  Add the remaining butter along with the onions and garlic. Cook for approx. 3-4 minutes on medium heat.  Also, add the remaining flour to melted butter and onions to create your roux.This is the tricky part of making a stew.  Keep stirring until it is brown and pasty.

Pour the beer, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika, salt and pepper into the pot. Add the beef, potatoes, carrots, and turnip and stir.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.  Resist the urge to check on the stew.  Once every 30 minutes should be enough.  If you find that the stew isn't as 'thick' as you'd like, you can mix 2 tbsp. of corn starch along with 1/4 c. of hot water to add to it. 

I find that cutting the vegetables into hardy portions also keeps them from turning to mush during the cooking process.  

I had great success with the Hazel Brown beer the Shipyard Brewing Co. makes.

This stew will feed ALOT. It also reheats even tastier!!

If you are a pumpkin lover, you can use a pumpkin beer and add sweet potatoes as well!!  It's fun to mix things up. 

The only thing that is missing with this stew is bread!!  My next blog will feature a super simple homemade bread that I make almost weekly during the fall/winter months!