Stew recipe for beginners

[WoodlesLove]

Can you give me your traditional beef stew recipe? P.s I'm not a good cook

I make mine up as I go along, but It’s generally somewhere along the lines of:

1 kilo of cheap cut of beef (skirt or chuck) diced, dusted with flour (into which I’ve put some salt and black pepper) and browned in a large heavy bottomed pan. Be careful not to put the meat pieces too close together or they steam rather than browning.

Put the browned meat to one side.

Put 6-12 shallots into the pan and slowly cook them until they are softened, then add some diced garlic (a couple of cloves) and cook for 5 minutes or so.

Then I put some red wine (a large glass if I am making ‘normal’ stew, a whole bottle if I am making a very rich stew) into the pan and boil it, while scraping the stuff off the bottom of the pan.

Then I add some beef stock, usually probably 800ml I think, although I might not add any if there was already a whole bottle of wine in there, some quartered mushrooms, a couple of bay leaves, maybe some thyme.

The meat goes back in, the lid goes on and I let it simmer - stirring it every so often so it doesn’t stick. I probably cook it like that for an hour or so. If it looks to be getting a bit too dry I add some water and cook it some more until it looks the right consistency.

You could also add a large piece of orange peel when you put in the herbs, chopped bacon or pancetta when you cook the shallots, or carrots when you’ve got about 30 mins to go.

Good luck! It’s a very forgiving dish, just try not to burn the onions and garlic at the beginning (keep the heat nice and low) and it will be lovely.

keep it simple...

you want (as a minimum!)

celery (yes,even if you don't like it, USE IT!)
onions
meat
stock
Salt & Pepper

you need to put the work in at the beginning by properly frying the veg, ideally it needs to be soft and golden and the bottom of the pan should be getting sticky.
Shake some flour over the meat and then once the onions are done drop the cubes of meat into the pan a few at a time until golden/seared
Get all the sticky off the pan with the stock and set the whole lot into your dish and then into the oven or slow cooker with it.

NOW that is a very basic set of ingredients and you can boost it up with garlic/carrots/shallots (cook with veg) Some sliced smoked bacon also gives a great backbone of flavour, again in at the start.
Rake through the cupboard and see what spices you have...add them to the flour before you put it on the meat , or sprinkle them over the veg a minute or two before it's done just to take the powdery rawness out of them by mixing them in the oil/veg
Use wine/beer instead of plain stock, add in passata/tinned toms maybe
Add in other herbs, fresh or dried
Think about some mushrooms or diced potatoes or some drained beans.

It tastes a bit flavourless and watery currently! Help 🙈

Do you have any original busy powder? That's an easy way to thicken and add a bit if flavour. Or a beef stock pot or cube?

*bisto

Take the lid off to concentrate the flavour.

My favourite beef casserole is ... 2lb shin or skirt, 2 chopped onions, 6 whole shallots, 2 turnips peeled and chopped, 2lb carrots peeled and chopped, bottle of bitter, beef stock cube, thyme, rosemary, good handful of dried mushrooms covered in a pint of boiling water. Strain mushroom water and add that. Cook in the oven for a few hours on 160.

I add smoked bacon if I have got any.

The onions, shallots and turnips completely disappear into the stock which is really rich. I serve with cheddar dumplings and Savoy cabbage.

Mine is idiot proof. Not that you are an idiot but it's really simple.

I use 700g of stewing beef from aldi.
1 stick of celery
3 or 4 carrots
2 or 3 parsnips
1/2 a swede
2 large or 3 small onions
2 oxo cubes
1 table spoon of flour
Maybe a tablespoon of bisto gravy granules at the end.

Chop veg up chunky. Lob everything apart from the granules in a big casserole dish or slow cooker. Shove it in the oven on about 170 for 3 or 4 hours (with a lid on). You want it gently simmering not boiling. Or the slow cooker on high for 6 hours plus.

About half an hour before you want to serve check it for consistency. If it needs to be thicker add your gravy granules 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and black pepper, maybe a few splashes of hendersons if you have it.

My beef stews are awesome. It's a really simple recipe, but you get lots of flavour from the veg and from slowly cooking the beef. You don't need to faff around browning stuff off.

If you have a butchers, you can buy a couple of pieces of oxtail to chuck in, or substitute the diced beef for shin beef or beef skirt. Or beef rib adds an extra layer of flavour.

I serve mine with dumplings or mashed potato. Or occasionally yorkshire puddings. It freezes well too.

Don't be put off by the simplicity of the ingredients. The flavour comes from slow cooking the beef and veg.

I have faffed around with red wine, shallots, browning off, different veg combinations etc but have come to the conclusion it's the cooking slowly that makes the difference. And doing it in the oven with the lid on is massively different to on the stove. The first time you do it about 2 hours in if using the oven, check it's gently blubbing away and keep an eye for it drying out. And if using the slow cooker only half cover with water.

This Jamie Oliver recipe is idiot proof and quick as you don’t need to faff with browning the meat and it still tastes amazing.

I’d forgot all about it - will make it this week!

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/jools-s-favourite-beef-stew/