Perfecting Basic Beef Stew

[Forest]

Every Sunday I make a stew for the roomie and myself. Kev likes his stew basic (like wasn’t crazy about it when I added cinnamon and ginger to the chicken stew). I almost always make a very basic beef stew. So, after making beef stew about 50 times, it’s kind of losing its excitement. (cooking-wise, not eating-wise)

So, now I’m becoming obsessed with perfecting it. Here are some of the things I’m doing to achieve a better stew (it’s meat, potatoes, carrots, peas, onion):

To make it tender, I’m sautéing the meat cubes over high heat to sear the outside but not cook the inside. I don’t bring it to a boil, but let it simmer for a long time and throw a spoonful of vinegar in.

To thicken it I’m dredging the meat in flour before sautéing.

To flavor it, I’m adding thyme, sugar, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. I used to sauté the veggies in butter before adding them, but I stopped doing this because I couldn’t taste enough of a difference for the extra work. (anyone disagree? I could add the step back if anyone thinks it’s worth it)

I read somewhere about deglazing the pot after cooking the meat – but not sure why I would do that. I’m cooking the meat in the same pot I’m making the stew in, so the good stuff on the bottom of the pan ends up in the stew. Any reason I should deglaze?

I’m using boxed tomatoe puree. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that as I imagine the collective sigh of EGers around the world shaking their heads and wondering why I’m not making my own! Maybe that’s a step worth adding?

If anyone has any good tips for making better beef stew, please let me know – thanks!

[Della]

Hello Forest! Hope all is well ~ and how funny I saw this post. LMF just mentioned yesterday that you were on EG!!

As for the stew, I have never added sugar before - what is the reasoning behind adding that to the dish?

I do toss in a cup of red wine at times to add some extra depth of flavor.

As for deglazing the pan - once you brown the meat you can deglaze with the wine and get all the good bits up and simmer for a minute or two to reduce the liquid and deepen the flavors.

I wouldn't pre-sauted my veggies since they'll cook just fine in the stew.

Well - I guess I'm not offering much in the way of suggestion except for adding the wine but I'll think about it and maybe come up with some other ideas.

Della

[jackal10]

1. Check the Daube thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=95421&st=0 Adding red wine will make a wonderful difference.

2. Use soy instead of Worcester sauce - you are adding umani.

3. Caramelize the onions with the sugar. Remove. Saute the meat, then sprinkle in the flour. If you cook the flour first it will lose a lot of its thickening properties.

4. You need not bother to deglaze, but it does help get the solids dissolved

5. The quality of the beef stock is important. Water or wine is better than packet or chemicals.

6. Carrots? Celery or celeriac?

7. Cook on low for a long time - like 12 hours at 75C/175F - buy a digital thermometer. Its the single thing that will make your cooking better. You are cooking until the collagen in the meat starts to break down.

9. Cook the potatoes seperately and add at the end. A high end restaurant will cook all the components separately and assemble at service - see my example in the Daube thread.

[Maison Rustique]

Last week I made a beef stew and added the zest and juice from a clementine and a couple of cinnamon sticks. It was the best stew I've ever made!

[Forest]

Hi Della! All good here...nice to see you! Will definitely throw in some wine. On the sugar - I feel a bit stupid because I'm adding it because that what it said to do in some recipe I read a long time ago, but I really don't know. I always kind of had some thought in the back of my mind that it had something to do with either the meat or the tomatoes in there. Hopefully some nice EGer will educate me a bit more on that so I'm not putting something in my stew without knowing why!

Jackel10 - thanks for the thread and all the tips!! I forgot to mention that I do put carrots in, too!

Maison Rustique: sounds good...but since Sunday is the only time I cook a meal for both of us, I'm afraid the roomie would have the same reaction as he did to the cinnamon & ginger in the chicken stew, so I'll save that one when I'm making it for just me.

Today was the last Sunday stew for a few weeks because I'm off on vacation Thursday, but I'll try the suggestions and report back with the results in the new year!

[highchef]

I'm making beef stew today. I make a more Irish stew though, there's no tomato in it..but then again, I'm using beef chuck and not lamb so it's really not a traditional one at all, is it?

I suspect the sugar is in there to tweak the canned tomatoes (which is probably what your original recipe called for).

I use a bit of red wine to deglaze..not too much or I'm tempted to turn it into a bourgoine (sp)...which is an entirely different critter.

no peas here, but a add a bay leaf or two. ground sage (or fresh) and fresh thyme towards the end. carrots, potato, chunks of onion added early to cook to almost nothing but flavor.

my only change in the last few years to this is to add my own beef stock and a large hunk of demi from the freezer. It really takes it to another flavor level. I'm making another batch of veal demi tonight from the egullet tutorial so I can have plenty for the holidays.

edit: the onions are added early. The carrots and potatoes at the end, just to cook through. I want to bite into them!

Edited December 17, 2006 by highchef (log)

[Dana]

I quit flouring the meat before browning a long time ago. Seems to me that the flour gets brown and not the meat, so no flour.

Brown chuch roast cubes really well, not crowding the peices in olive oil. This will take some time, but is a key step in a rich, brown stock. At the end of browning, add your tomato product (I usually use tomato paste) and brown that to carmelize the sugars in it. That way, you won't need to add sugar and you won't get that acidic twang. Deglaze with a bottle of good beer, and add onions and garlic. Let that stew very slowly for 3 hours. Add whatever vegetables you like and let them cook till done. Add some beef stock along the way if if gets too dry.

[jayt90]

I have had poor results with Creuset on the stovetop, Results were stringy and dry.

Last week I had a locally grown Hereford blade roast, and I had to use it in the crock pot while away at work. I used the warm or hold setting on the roast, vegs, and stock that were all room temp. I had already learned that higher temps would not work in this large oval crock pot.

The resulting stewed beef was great, the best I've done in recent years. I checked the internal temp of the blade rost (I know, not a stew) and it was 165F after 9 hours. The gristle and collagen were nicely soft, and the worst part of the tied roast was only slightly stringy. And of course a great broth for the gravy.

I.m not a huge crock pot fan, but this time it worked better than the exalted Le Creuset dutch oven.

[dockhl]

I have had poor results with Creuset on the stovetop, Results were stringy and dry.

Last week I had a locally grown Hereford blade roast, and I had to use it in the crock pot while away at work. I used the warm or hold setting on the roast, vegs, and stock that were all room temp. I had already learned that higher temps would not work in this large oval crock pot.

The resulting stewed beef was great, the best I've done in recent years. I checked the internal temp of the blade rost (I know, not a stew) and it was 165F after 9 hours.  The gristle and collagen were nicely soft, and the worst part of the tied roast was only slightly stringy. And of course a great broth for the gravy.

I.m not a huge crock pot fan, but this time it worked better than the exalted Le Creuset dutch oven.

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jayt90~

do you really mean that you used the "hold" rather than the "low"? (this is an expression of amazement, not disbelief )

I never realized that you could count on it being cooked that way, but if you can ! WOW. I agree that even the low can sometimes be too high (I also have a large oval...)

Food for thought! Thanks.

[Shalmanese]

One thing which I've found helps immensely is that I usually buy whole chuck roasts and cut them into cubes myself. Inevitably, theres a whole lot of fatty trimmings left over. I dice those trimmings finely and then render them out into the pan first to get a good 1/4" of beef fat. Remove the cracklings and then sear the beef in the rendered beef fat. Because there's so much fat in the pan, the beef browns perfectly (no flour on the beef). Once the beef is browned, you can drain most of the fat off and saute some onions/garlic and then throw in some flour to make a roux.

Just before serving, you can scatter some of the cracklings over the top of the stew to get a nice crunch*. I also do a mix of vegtables in early and vegtables in late. That way, you get a nicely flavoured broth but also some non-mushy ones. If you want to go all Thomas Keller about it, you can discard the first batch of vegtables after they've given up their flavour. Just put the beef on the bottom and then put one of those flat steamer trays before adding the top layer of vegtables. You can then very easily scoop the old veggies out after they're used up.

*I admit, I've never actually gotten this far as cracklings have a mysterious way of disappearing from my kitchen when I'm standing around. I imagine it would be a lovely garnish though.

[Ann_T]

I prefer a rich brothy stew rather than one with a gravy or thick sauce. I brown the meat, add some chopped onions , a garlic clove, bay leaf and a sprig of fresh thyme, season with a little salt and pepper and cover with beef broth. Simmer until almost tender and then add celery and small whole onions and when those are almost tender, I add potatoes, green beans and carrots and either ruthabaga or cabbage, one or the other but not both. I usually add some frozen peas right at the end too. And I always make dumplings to serve with beef or chicken stew.

[Marlene]

I agree with buying a chuck roast and cubing it yourself. I also brown the meat in the beef fat. It does make a huge difference in the taste. And definately wine. You can also use a paste of butter and flour at the end to thicken

[jayt90]

Yes, it is on hold when I have to leave the house or sleep.

If the assembly is large or frozen, I start on high for about an hour, then go to hold.

Maybe I should do some temp. tests and contact Rival if there is a problem.

jayt90~

do you really mean that you used the "hold" rather than the "low"?   (this is an expression of amazement, not disbelief )

I never realized that you could count on it being cooked that way, but if you can ! WOW. I agree that even the low can sometimes be too high (I also have a large oval...)

Food for thought! Thanks.

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[Forest]

Again, thanks to all for the great tips!

Ann_T: that photo makes my mouth water!

highchef: thanks for the info on the tomatoes - I think you've hit the nail on the head. Irish stew is a great choice, too. A friend's mother was over from Ireland last month and made a nice big Irish stew for lunch - she used both beef and lamb (don't know if that's typical or not, but it was good!)

Shalmanese: I got a good laugh out of your asterisked admission!

Another question - anyone have a preference on the size of the meat chunks for the stew? I think I make my smaller than the norm: 3/4" or so - I have the idea that smaller chunks mean there's more seperate pieces of meat to get a little in every biteful. But, that's just me! Any thoughts?

[jackal10]

Irish stew is different: Lamb (best end of neck, potatoes, onions only, cooked with the lid off like a hot pot so the top layer of sliced potatoes brown,

For beef stew don't forget the dumlings, gotto have dumplings...

[Brasco66]

Hey Forest: I would echo the comments not to flour the beef before browning. If you must thicken I agree with someone's comment to use a buerre manie(equal amounts of butter and flour creamed together and added just prior to service)

I add a lot of herbs to my stews such as rosemary, thyme or sage and of course fresh bay leaves.

For a simple Asian twist...and some minced ginger with your garlic and braise with orange juice, beef stock and a few shakes of quality soy sauce.

For additional twists you could finish your stew with a heaping spoon full of horseradish or whole grain mustard.

Have fun!

[BRM]

Depending on the consistency of the sauce that you like I have sometimes taken the time to remove all of the meats/veg and strain the cooking liquid like a sauce. You can then add flavors to it like the demi mentioned above, more wine, cognac, etc. and reduce it to more of a glaze. Keeps the meats tightly covered during this step or they will dry out. Its a bit of work, but makes for some nice presentation.

Even though you said you were only interested in basic, I also like the orange peel idea. I have added ancho chilies and peels to beef stews and the results were great. Tamarind paste is also very good with these flavors. The chilies really mellow as it cooks.

[SheenaGreena]

I take some stew meat (hey its cheap), dredge it in flour, and then sear it on the highest heat possible. When they are nice and seared on the outside I deglaze with a pint of guiness. I like to add beef stock, rutabagas, turnips,carrots, parsnips, potatos, celery, and a can of crushed tomatos.

I have never tried this, but I bet it would be great with some barley thrown in or some other kind of yummy grain. My version of beef stew is extremely hearty so you might want to nix the beef stock and add all chicken stock or maybe both. Its great for cold weather days.

eta: whoops forgot the herbs - thyme, parsley, and a little bit of rosemary (rosemary can be overpowering so I only use a touch).

Edited December 18, 2006 by SheenaGreena (log)

[Soupcon]

I use shin beef off the bone adding the bones for flavour and the marrow as my stewing meat of choice. And after comparing the results of stewing vs. braising, braising wins hands down adding cooked veg as garnish at the end. Liquid can be wine, beer or stock depending what I have on hand and I sometimes add soy sauce, 5 star anise and ginger if I want to use noodles as the starch.

Yum

[slo_ted]

I love beef stew and usually use "stew meat", the anatomic source of which is rarely specified. I've used chuck and cubed top sirloin which is fast becoming my favorite all-purpose cut of beef. Which cuts work best for you?

[robyn]

Best way to improve any braised meat (or chili or similar things) IMO is make it a couple of days in advance. Put it in the refrigerator - and reheat on low heat a day or two later. Robyn

[fitzy]

I use shin beef off the bone adding the bones for flavour and the marrow as my stewing meat of choice. And after comparing the results of stewing vs. braising, braising wins hands down adding cooked veg as garnish at the end. Liquid can be wine, beer or stock depending what I have on hand and I sometimes add soy sauce, 5 star anise and ginger if I want to use noodles as the starch.

Yum

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sorry for asking a possibly stupid question soupcon but what is the difference between stewing and braising?

[jackal10]

sorry for asking a possibly stupid question soupcon but what is the difference between stewing and braising?

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The amount of liquid. Stewing is cooking in liquid. Braising is more like pot roast, starting with a small amount of liquid on a bed of vegetables - more will be released as the meat cooks.

[Brasco66]

sorry for asking a possibly stupid question soupcon but what is the difference between stewing and braising?

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The amount of liquid. Stewing is cooking in liquid. Braising is more like pot roast, starting with a small amount of liquid on a bed of vegetables - more will be released as the meat cooks.

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Another aspect of braising is that it can, and usually is, done in the oven in a covered dish at 275-300 degrees for anywhere from 2-1/2 -4 hours.

[Marlene]

Something I wrote elsewhere:

braises tend to be large or whole cuts of meat, (i.e. roasts, short ribs, whole shanks), stews use smaller cut up cubed or chunked meats.

Most braises, with the occasional exception, are cooked over a long period of time slowly in an oven. Stews, are almost always cooked slow and low on a burner.

Most braises use a minimal amount of liquid. Liquid in braises never completely cover the meat. With stews, it's the opposite, liquid is added until it completely covers the contents of the pot.

Braises, with rare exceptions (mostly pot roasts) do not incorporate potatoes and vegetables in the braise itself. Stews almost always incorporate at least potatoes and carrots.

Braising liquid is usually reduced to concentrate flavours and perhaps thicken the liquid somewhat. Stews are never reduced and are generally thickened at the end to produce a thick, glorious gravy that encourages crusty bread dipping.

Deglazing the pot with liquid to scrape up fond is common in braising. It is seldom done in stews, although many like to add this step.

Stews are not degreased at the end, braises, generally are.

Both braises and stews offer up wonderful aromas when cooking. Both are equally forgiving when cooking for extended periods of time. Both reheat beautifully the next day. And both are terrific comfort food on a cold winter's day.

Edited December 19, 2006 by Marlene (log)