If I'm doing a beef stew....

[lunavix]

for 2 adults (big appetites) and 3 children under 3 (medium appetites) how much beef should I buy, and what type, particularly if I'm fussy with beef (ie NO CRUNCHY BITS)

i like braised steak cooked slowly for a good few hours. Id buy about 3/4 of a pound.

will it be nice meat?

Stewing steak - stick it slow cooker ALL DAY and it melts in your mouth!

Big fan of beef stew at the moment!

have you got a good butcher near lunavix? They will sort out the right cut of meat for you - it needs to be "marbled" with some fat for a really good casserole.

Quantityise, I'd go for 2lbs and freeze anything not used.

A kilo of braising steak - with a casserole it's the length of time you cook it for that makes it tender. It's very, very hard to get wrong IME.

I do my shopping online so I'm a bit worried.. I might have to go to the butcher.

And I don't have a slow cooker so should it go in the oven or on the stove? And for how long? Around 190?

In the oven, lower than 190 I think, for 2½-3 hours.

I usually casserole pork rather than beef but anyway I brown some veg and put it in casserole dish, then brown the meat ditto, then heat whatever liquid I'm using in the same pan to scrape off the meat scraps and pour that over, then stick it in at about 180 for 30 mins, then 150 for 2-2½ hours. Should be lovely!

i cook my stew for as long as i can, at least 3 hours on a slow heat. i always used to buy the tesco lean stewing meat, but it lacked in flavour, dh told me to stop being so fussy and buy the cheaper normal packs (diced stewing steak) and it tastes much nicer, also add a dash of worcestershire sauce and a splash of hp sauce to the gravy to make it tast yummy!

(most meat these days doesn't have crunchy bits in it, i remeber the disgusting stuff my mum used to make stew with and it is nothing like that anymore, no bone or gristle)