Please help me save my stew....

[curiousgeorgie]

My nan used to make us lovely beef stew whenever we visited her, it was full of flavour, the meat falling apart and really thick.

Having to go to hospital tomorrow and feeling shaky about it so thought I would treat us all to this deliciousness and it would last 2 days for DH & DD's.

I got the recipe from my mum and followed it perfectly...

Casserole steak
Thyme
Red wine
A packet oxtail soup (apparently!!)
Swede
Turnip
Carrots
Onions
Leeks
Gravy
Salt and pepper

It tastes awful. It just tastes like hot water with bits of tasteless vegetable and chewy meat. I'm a bit gutted...

If you are going to start again, this is how I make my stew (or for future reference for the next time)

I would chop your onions and leeks and fry them off slightly, just enough so they go clear, not enough to brown them. I'd add celery here too.

Add these to casserole pan. This releases enzymes in them to make them taste sweet.

Then brown your meat in the same pan with a smidge of thyme to flavour it. Add everything including the juices from the meat. Any scum or extra oil can be skimmed at the end when it's all cooked. The juice is where you get your flavour.

Add your other vegetables.(not sure about the oxtail soup but fling it in anyway) Add some black pepper to season, some beef stock, a tablespoon of worcester sauce, a tablespoon of tomato puree and some red wine.
Cover and cook.

If you want a really thick gravy then about a half hour before the stew is ready, add a mixture of a small tablespoon of cornflour and a wee drop water. Make it to a single cream consistency and add this to your stew. It will thicken it up. Give it a right good stir and make sure it still has cooking time left as if you don't let it cook then you will get a chalky/powdery taste in my experience.
Cook uncovered to let it thicken up but keep an eye on it as it does thicken quickly.

Hope this helps. You can always just do this next time as a good stew needs a good few hours to cook.

I also like using shin of beef(you can get it morrisons for around £2.50 per pack) It has a good fat content but isn't too chewy. Yummy- you've put me in the notion now.

Good luck and don't beat yourself up.xx

I've just read you are going into hospital tomorrow. Sack this idea and get thee to a pizza shop and relax. No one is probably that fussed about a stew and you shouldn't be agonising over meat.

Take care :)

Hope things go well for you today, OP.

I know I'm too late to the thread but if you haven't already don't chuck it. Whizz it up in the food processor add some good beef stock like the one from Knorr and cook down again and use as a base for French onion soup.

link to recipe here

Some stock cubes are very salty so beware of adding extra salt at the cooking stage and keep tasting.

Hope today's hospital visit went well CG

Marmite - seriously adds some serious umami,
Worcester sauce
Bovril
any herbs laying around

trust me - I am a slow cooker stew wizard

I wouldn't chuck it. Stir in a shed load of Bisto gravy granules, soy sauce, worcester sauce - and eat it. You won't die from something a bit on the bland side and it's a shame to waste all your effort and the money spent on beef.

(I've done the Bisto trick a couple of times and it makes it quite palatable. Not as good as it should be, but ok. No one else knows how it was meant to taste anyway).