Help me doctor this up

[LaurieB]

To make a long story short, this past weekend I had to make a bunch of dishes that were not my own recipes. One of which was a beef stew kind of thing.

It was OK. Not great, not WOW! But certainly not inedible. So now I have a bunch of it left over and I'd like to doctor it up to make it taste a little better.

Any ideas? Here's what was in it:

Beef round steak, floured and seared before braising

Garlic, shallots, bay leaf, tomato paste, beef stock, Zinfandel, baby carrots & mushrooms. S&P

The beef came out very tender, but the overall flavor is just, lacking, somehow.

I'm thinking of adding in some porcini powder and maybe a little more wine to the sauce.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

Laurie

[iriee]

grind it up and make ravioli?? tomato sauce?? pie? toss over some truffled egg noodles?? hmmmmm

[eunny jang]

Sizzle some very finely minced garlic with an anchovy fillet in some olive oil till broken up, or add a long squirt of anchovy paste.

Guaranteed to mysteriously deepen the flavor without any hint of fishiness.

[FistFullaRoux]

Stews always seem to be better the next day. Maybe just try that. Triple check the salt level. A very small amount can make the difference between "eh" and "wow"...

When all else fails, saute some more aromatics in a seperate pan with some olive oil, then add it to the stew, simmer 20 minutes, and reseason.

[jackal10]

Add "Umani", such as

Soy and some Madeira, or sweet sherry or other sweet wine...

Turn it into curry

[nr706]

To make a long story short, this past weekend I had to make a bunch of dishes that were not my own recipes.  One of which was a beef stew kind of thing. 

It was OK.  Not great, not WOW!  But certainly not inedible.  So now I have a bunch of it left over and I'd like to doctor it up to make it taste a little better.

I haven't done a beef stew in a while, but I love lamb stews, and they always benefit from a little crisply-fried bacon, or salt pork. Really deepens flavors, but don't overdo it.

Edited November 16, 2004 by nr706 (log)

[Behemoth]

vinegar

[LaurieB]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm going to add in some porcini powder and tomatoes and go from there. I tested this before with pan fried spaetzle, so this should be good.

Thanks for the help.

Laurie

[Suzanne F]

vinegar

←

Not that it's a bad suggestion, but don't you ALWAYS say "vinegar"?

[Marlene]

I'd add some robust red wine to it, and garlic. always garlic.

[ladyyoung98]

of course there is always the potato

[Behemoth]

vinegar

←

Not that it's a bad suggestion, but don't you ALWAYS say "vinegar"?

←

Only for stew! Chili, lamb stew and beef stew. It really works! Okay, also for braised onions, braised radiccio, braised cabbage....

Seriously, I never understood the wonder of vinegar with meat until the first time I tried it, and now I believe it is a magical substance.

edit: the trick is to add just enough so that it does its job, but so little that nobody can tell what it is. It just pulls everything together for me.

Edited November 16, 2004 by Behemoth (log)