BEEF STEW recipes required please

[TheMaskedPoster]

having NEVER made a beef stew (I know, I know) I have the urge to attempt one this week (must be the weather).

All recipes and/or links appreciated

Ta muchly

i do the same as fio, never really had a proper recipe, just make sure you put in lots of root veg. mmmmmm stew

yes! wonderful thank you ladies

now .... dumplings?

Pretty much the same here, except I also pop some suet dumplings in 30 minutes before the end (try and immersre them in the juices)

now we're talking

ok what kind of beef we talking? you need something like stewing steak or casserole beef and the aim is to cook it long and low (3 hours would not be amiss)

.. beef and guiness .. good and malty

.. beef and beans .. excellent and eeks it out

.. beef and veg and tomatoes .. fab

just brown beef, (I do it in casserole dish) add onion, carrots, optional beans (canellini, chikpeas and that ilk) or other veg (root veg best) .. garlic and mixed herbs always good

then add the liquid .. a can of stout or stock or tin tomatoes and stock or red wine and stock

cover and in oven for 2 - 3 hours on about 140 - 160

DUmplings take about 20 mins to cook (depending on size).

Make them up with suet and flour - 50% each and little bits of water till is just wet enough to stick together (herbs if you like). Form mix into small balls (they will expand when cooking) and put on top of stew. Put it back in oven for 20 mins or so.

Very easy to do.

I make quite a rich one with simply,carrots, beef, onions and bottle of red wine. The key is to leave it to slow cook for about 6 hours. I serve it with dauphanise?sp potatoes and it is fantastic.

Get about 1kg braising steak. Not stewing steak unless you love chewing IMO. trim off fat/gristle and cut into chunks. Brown in a little hot oil in 3-4 batches. Remove from pan, add some butter to the pan, fry large diced onion (or a couple of small ones.) Get the onions golden brown and caremelised, not burned. Add some crushed or minced garlic partway through if you want. Also, if you want other veg - carrots go well. Bung the meat back in, stir in a tablespoon or so of plain flour, then stir in stock or water till its kind of covered.

With that amount of stuff, wok not frying pan!

Bay leaf and or thyme if you want. Black pepper.

Put in casserole, with lid - I'd say 175 or less for 2-3 hours. Longer slower makes tenderer meat. Or slow cooker for the whole day.

fantastic - what a wonderful lot you are

Twiglett - the browning of the beef in the casserole dish question.. is it a super heavy based one?, as when I have attempted browning meat in one before (lamb shanks) the bugger cracked over the heat (or am I just doing it TOTALLY wrong? )

Am going to do one Wednesday as dss are staying - will let you know how it goes!

Dur...why did I say water or stock when I meant a bottle of beer eg Theakstons Old Peculier (I think it really is spelled that way) and then top up with other liquid.

TMP - when you open the bottle of wine to put in don't forget to leave some of it for the casserole!...

If your casserole dish isn't suitable for hob, do it in saucepan/fryingpan/wok and then rinse it out with a little boiling water and pour into casserole dish to get all juices etc.

HEIFER! how on earth are you??

yes, yes ... hardy har har about the wine, but don't forget I'm off the ol' vino for the time being - so it will ALL go in (if I can keep it away from dh that is )

Thanks Armadillo one - I think I will do the fry-pan thing as the cracked casserole dish gave me conniptions

Ok TMP (well being polite really) cheesed off tbh - our house chain has broken (bloody people at the bottom have pulled out)... and our sellers can't wait longer than 2 weeks....

but apart from that cheesed off

oh - goodness ... poor you!

are you on MSN at the mo? will go on there and you can moan away to me some more if you like.

can someone answer me a question?

why brown the meat? Surely it is better going in raw so the juices come out and flavour the stock?

And it saves washing up

I think browning seals the juices into the meat - therefore making it more palatable and appertising to eat ... happy to be proved wrong though ...

I have heard it's a big debate amongst chefs as to whether it is necessary.

TMP, thats kind of (the opposite f) my point....why not have the juices spill out into teh stock?

Oh and another stupid Q.....which idiot wonderful person starts a thread about stews on a Monday when my buthcers is shut

Have heard the same as Armadiilo re meat bowning divisions. Jamie browns in some recipes and doesn't in others.

I brown as my mother taught me to brown, and her mother before her.....from mother to daughter back into the mists of time.

(hijack SMS are you doing a LDC then?)

ARF!! sorry, am planning ahead me dear [trying something new emoticon].

I think (re the juices conundrum) that if all the juices ran out into the stock it would render the meat tenderless and chewy (??!!?!?) although the stock would probably be nicer ... oh hell, I don't know ...

If it good meat it is fine as that is the way I always do it. I have never browned in my life. Maybe I should try it as a comparison, but then Stew & dunmps is my signature dish so maybe I hadn't aught to mess with it...

Slubs....my wooden spoon has no power as I am recovering from an hoorrific virus. Besides you all went off to play without me[sob] . I was supposed to be making something for World coffee morning (prob carrot cake) but not sure I can even rustle up the energy for that.

tMP, maybe you need to divide meat in 2, brown one half and not the other Nice stock, nice meat