AIBU to ask you how you make stew?

[eternallytired]

And what do you put in your stew?

And does it taste better the second day?

Shamelessly admitting I'm 31 and have never made stew

Ooh I'd love to know the answer to this! I'm a veggie and would love to be able to make a stew for the rest of the meat eaters in the house! I have no idea where to start, what meat to use etc

I often make chicken stew with herb dumplings and a veggie version for DD
The secret is choosing g the correct cut of meat and cooking it slowly for a long time. Anything with a bone in is good

I know, my mum puts mince in hers, mil puts porks sausages and stewing steak. And are you meant to brown the mince first?

I toss the meat in seasoned flour before browning, then add the veg and a stock cube and top up with water. Slow cook or simmer for a good few hours. If it is not thick enough, add some cornflour or gravy granules.

Beef stew for me!

Diced beef in a pan of boiling water with white onions and a stock cube on a medium heat for 30 mins
Add all my veg (potatoes, carrots, parsnip) and cook a bit longer. Taste and maybe add a second stock cube

Never used to add dumplings but started last winter and so good! Definitely tastes better on the second day

Wish I had stew now!

Stewing steak or braising steak

Dice it and toss in plain flour that has been seasoned with salt and black pepper. Brown it in batches, setting each batch aside.

De- glaze the pan with a glass of red wine.

Fry some onions until soft.

Add to meat along with a stick of celery and carrots.

Add a bay leaf, beef stock to cover and a good dash of Worcester sauce or similar.

Cover and cook for 3-4 hours at c130c

With 30-45 mins remaining taste and season, thicken gravy if necessary.

I prefer it on the day or the gravy goes thin

Cheap stewing steak coated in flour and browned in the pan, then into the slow cooker with chopped onion, carrots, butternut squash and baby potatoes. Good glug of either red wine or ale, beef stock (I just use the knorr rich beef stock pots to make my stock, bit of tomato purée, couple of bay leaves and season to taste. Leave it cooking for a good 6+ hours. Thicken with gravy granules if still a bit watery. Serve with crusty bread. Delicious.

I prefer chicken and use thighs. Brown off the meat, put to one side, cook off onions an garlic till translucent, add in some root veg and sweat down for a bit, add the flavors (herbs, spices bay leaves etc), table spoon of flour and cook for a min or two. Put the chicken back in and add stock plus wine/cider and leave in the oven for 3- 5 hours.

@Livedandlearned

I toss the meat in seasoned flour before browning, then add the veg and a stock cube and top up with water. Slow cook or simmer for a good few hours. If it is not thick enough, add some cornflour or gravy granules.

This is what I'm thinking, just a simple tasty stew.

I make mine with shin of beef and ox kidney (use lamb if you can't buy ox) chopped up into bite size pieces, tossed in flour and lightly browned in a frying pan. Then I add chopped onions and sliced carrots, plus beef stock to cover, red wine, salt and pepper and a dash of worcestershire sauce. All goes into a cast iron casserole dish - I cook my on top of the oven because disabled and it's too heavy for me to put in oven. I put it on no 5 until the stock starts bubbling, then turn it down to 2, lid goes on and it cooks for 3 or 4 hours, I check it regularly, give it a stir etc.

cheese always makes a big difference

Chop up onions, carrots (plus optional celery, swede, turnip) into 1cm ish pieces (slice carrots obviously) sauté veg until onion softens. I add garlic too. Add stock (I use cubes) plus dried herbs, season, can use half stock half wine, beer or cider. Cook 1 hour chicken and pork, 2+ hours beef on low (hob or oven) I add pearl barley 45 mins before end of cooking. Can also use chopped tomatoes, especially with vegetarian stew (substitute meat for lentils)

My kids don't like onions (or they don't think they do). I fry shallots and garlic in oil until soft, add a splash of wine (white for chicken and red for beef) and some herbs according to what goes with what eg thyme with beef and tarragon with chicken, then add some stock and let it simmer for about 15 mins, whizz it all up with the stick blender to hide the onion evidence, then slow cook the meat in this mixture with veg like carrots and parsnips etc, sometimes add white beans to chicken later, add mushrooms later too. Sometimes I'll do beef in a tomato based sauce as well. Quite often add dumplings or cheesy dumplings on the top later.

Beef skirt toss in seasoned flour and brown it. Add onions fry for 5 mins leeks carrots parsnips fry for 10 mins more add 2 beef stock pots salt pepper and cook for an hour on low. Then cool put it in the fridge till the next day. Put it back on with 4 oxo cubes and taste for seasonings. Cook for as long as it takes for the veg to be soft then add a cornflour slurry to thicken gravy cook for half hour more and serve with the good cobs or bread rolls x or mash if u wanna be a piggy

www.talesfromthekitchenshed.com/2016/11/slow-cooker-beef-stew-herb-dumplings/

Oh and dumplings are a favourite 6oz sr flour, 3oz suet, pinch of sage, water to bind

Steak pieces, coat with seasoned flour & fry in batches in a large lidded frying pan or cast iron casserole. Then fry an onion in the same pan, add water & return the steak. Add a couple of chopped carrots, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Leave a good three hours, check thickness & seasoning then eat with a load of mash. Never, ever add mince it's a fucking travesty that only city people do.

Oven at 180% use a big saucepan with a lid
Fry off your veg, onion carrots swede whatever you want
Add the meat of your choice then a DD 1 heaped tablespoon of plain flour and stir
Add alcohol now if you are using any cider, white /red wine or ale then add two tins of chopped tomatoes, then season
Put in the oven for about 1. 1/2 hours
Add dupplings after a hour, turn them after 15 minutes

I make stew with chunks of beef (stewing steak or cuts which need several hours).
Browning first greatly improves the flavour. I dust in flour and fry in butter in small batches so the outside is browned but raw inside (smells amazing!) Then chuck in slow cooker or casserole dish with stock cube and hot water. Deglaze the frying pan in wine, port, beer, or some kind of booze if you can. Add bay leaves, tomato puree, onion, grains if you are using them. Leave to cook low and slow for as long as you can (at least 2 or 3 hours). Add more liquid if it needs it. I add carrots and other veg later in the cooking so they don't turn to mush. Roasting carrots and shallots first adds depth of flavour but not essential. Adding bacon also helps with flavour.
Then after it has cooked for ages taste and add more seasoning if required.

Agree with making your own dumplings too . I add horseradish to go with beef and tarragon to go with chicken

@sirfredfredgeorge

cheese always makes a big difference

Cheese?! Ooh controversial

@TeamLannister

Steak pieces, coat with seasoned flour & fry in batches in a large lidded frying pan or cast iron casserole. Then fry an onion in the same pan, add water & return the steak. Add a couple of chopped carrots, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Leave a good three hours, check thickness & seasoning then eat with a load of mash. Never, ever add mince it's a fucking travesty that only city people do.

Lol my mum doesn't even brown the mince she just throws it in, I've only ate it once and it wasn't too bad!

Couple of whole ox cheeks well browned in a heavy bottomed pan.
Add 1 large carrot, 1 large parsnip, 1 large onion and 1 small swede chopped into large chunks.
Beef stock to cover
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Dash of Lea and Perrin's
Teaspoon of ground black pepper
Half teaspoon salt

Cover and cook in the oven on low for 4 hours.

If you like the gravy thicker add a tablespoon of cornflower mixed in cold water gradually until as desired at the end of cooking.

Shin of beef on the bone, dusted in seasoned flour and seared on all sides, remove.
Fry chopped onions in butter in the same pan till soft.
Add smoked bacon lardons and gently fry till the fat renders out and they crisp slightly.
Stick a big quiet of Tom purée in, cook till rust coloured.
Deglaze pan with a big glass of red wine, bubble until it’s reduced by half.
Beef back in
Beef stock to cover
Lightly cover with foil
Oven 160 2 hours
Out in baby potatoes, chanteney carrots and cubed celariac
Oven 1 hour
Taste and season

Serve with creamy mash.

*big squirt