[AUDFILE74]

Hey gang, i was wondering how do you like your beef stew? Ilike to marinate my beef overnite in a good red wine with  some good seasonings. i like to sautee the veggies to get a little bit of color on them. then i like to remove the veggies, take part of the stew meat add a bit of flour and brown the seperated meat , kinda like a roux. then i add the veggies back in and add the rest of the stew meat with the wine it mariated in. i let all of the juices blend for a bit to build depth. finally i add no salt added beef stock (takes about 3 cartons of swansons} and commence with the low and slow. it takes about 5 hours but it works well.

i am curious about how some of you  do yours. care to share?

[Rclark]

I have a very crude recipe (hence: beef stew), but I would like to hear more refined recipes that take it up.


I slow and low cook cubed beef until it is soft, seasoned lightly, seperately I boil potatoes (use whatever you fancy, I use yukon gold's), then in a large pot I add olive oil, diced white onions, sliced carrots, sliced roma tomatos, the beef, the boiled potatos (mashed), LOTS of pepper, salt, water, and let simmer for an hour.

 very hearty.

[AUDFILE74]

I like the fingerling potatoes, they soak up floavor like no tomorrow.

[Tyson]

Bone Stock
I usually make beef stock from veggie scraps (onion, celery, carrot), beef bones (neck and marrow/thigh - roast them for an hour in the oven before putting them in the pot), cup of white wine, half cup white vinegar, fill with water to the top.  Maybe some peppercorns, basil, and bay leaves for additional seasoning. 

Bring all of it to a boil in a giant pot, reduce heat, cover, and let it simmer for 24 hours.  Let it cool.  Strain it to remove the veggie scraps and bones.  Put it in the fridge, then skim off the coagulated fat at the top after it solidifies.  This gives me between 9 and 12 cups of stock.  I divide it into batches of 3 cups each and put them in the freezer.

Beef Stew
For the stew, I just get some stew meat and brown it in the pot, then rough cut an onion, several carrots, celery, mushrooms, and maybe a white potato.  Add the 3 cups of beef stock, 1 cup red wine, some tomato paste, and fill most of the rest of the way with water.  Spices are usually pepper, salt, and paprika.   If I'm in a hurry, I'll use a pressure cooker and cook for 30 mins under pressure. 

The real star of the show is the broth, thanks to the home made beef stock.  I'd add that the key to awesome french onion soup and Pho (a vietnamese rice noodle soup) is bone stock.  It's worth the time to make the stock yourself.  Plus it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the store bought stuff.

[Rclark]

It is a stew day and I'm going to make your recipe, albeit with canned stock... See how it goes. Ill use tenderloin too.

[Æ]

How about Beef Bourguignon? I was watching some cooking on TV last night and that's what they were making!

[Rclark]

lock and load.

[AUDFILE74]

let the yummy begin! hope it turned out well!

[Rclark]

It was fantastic. I took my time, about two hours. I used all the ingredients Tyson mentioned (not pic'd) and it was incredible. Tenderloin blows the doors off stew meat all day long.

[Photon46]

While classic red wine/beef dishes like French burgundy beef are "last meal on earth" tasty, don't forget what wonderful affinity beef has for beer. I love a good Belgian boeuf Carbonnade just as much. This one is a classic preparation:

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/flemishbeefstew.htm

This one has many more veggies, but is very good as well:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/beef-carbonnade-with-vegetables-belgian-beef-stew-recipe/index.html

[AUDFILE74]

Good point Photon, i like making beer steaks in the summer. i like to take steaks  put them in a ziploc bag, drown the steaks in a good beer, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seeds and other spices. i let it go overnight  and put them on the grill the next day.  the beer breaks down the steaks very well.

[rollo]

   For us we sprinkle  the meat [ 2" cubes of topround] in flour brown well in canola oil remove from pan . Then add  choped veggies  [ carrots, onion, celery and cook until onions are translucent. Put meat back reheat and deglaze with red wine. Let alcohol cook out. Then add a small can of Delmonte tomato sauce. Then add homemade stock to cover meat. Bring to boil cover and simmer for 3 1/2 hours. The final 15 minutes we add a can of peas and boiled potato yummy.
    Noodles on the side. ENJOY !! If you listen to a CD while cooking it dosn't taste as good vinyl tates better. 



charles

[Tyson]

The biggest single improvement (in my experience) for stew is using home made bone broth instead of store bought.  It's super easy and ratchets up the flavor several notches.  My secret is to make a LOT of broth at one time, and then store the extra in the freezer. 

[Turnandcough]

I always try to have some good veal stock on hand. Young bones = more collagen = richer stock.
I'm fortunate enough to be able to get it from work but it's cheap and easy to make if you have the time.
The secret is to roast the bones, veggies and a bit of tomato paste until well browned then a cold start and long, slow reduction. Freeze it in portions and use it in stews, pan sauces, or even thinned out for soups.

Over the weekend I made a quick tagliatelle dish of butter, shallots, wine and veal stock. Dressed with duck skin cracklings, confit, parmigiano, romano, Italian parsley and cracked pepper. 

[persisting1]

Rclark, do you use Tapatio in your stew? 

[Rclark]

Ehh. Sometimes, if I did a bad job 


That last time, no. I do find a couple splashes of A-1 to be pretty nice though. but the last time was pretty much just Tyson's recipe.