Beef Stew

Made a pot of beef stew from a recipe found in a school kids cook book. (The kind of recipe book that is used to add funds to the school budget)
It was pretty good; but it lacked that richness that I tasted only one time. Best stew I ever had.
I have been trying for a wee while to develop a deep rich stew, nothing at all like a soup. What secret ingredient do you add to make your stew special?

I don't buy plastic wrapped packages of cubed meat called "lean stew meat." I buy a nicely marbled chuck roast, preferably with a couple of bones. If boneless, I buy a couple of beef shanks to throw in. My favorite addition to beef stew is veal stock, and red wine, too.

My favorite additions to beef stew are good beef chuck roast in nice chunks , beef oxtails , or beef short ribs ... Excellent flavor !

I usually make mine in a pressure cooker. Not sure that's a "secret ingredient", but there are two things that I think really matter:

1) Browning the beef well, in small batches, and then getting the browned bits in the pan up and stirred

2) Tomato paste. I add about 2-3X what most recipes recommend. It seems to make things richer and thicker

quote:

Originally posted by FriedClamFanatic


I usually make mine in a pressure cooker. Not sure that's a "secret ingredient", but there are two things that I think really matter:

1) Browning the beef well, in small batches, and then getting the browned bits in the pan up and stirred

2) Tomato paste. I add about 2-3X what most recipes recommend. It seems to make things richer and thicker

I do like to add tomato paste, too.

Use a good Chuck Roast or other flavorful meat. Cube it in farely large chunks and shake it up in a ziploc with seasoned flour then brown the meat. Toss it in a Crockpot with your other ingredients and add beef broth slightly deluted with beer or wine. Don't forget to scrape the "Yum-Yum's" from the frying pan used to brown the meat into the pot. Cook low, long and slow in the crockpot.

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

Use a good Chuck Roast or other flavorful meat. Cube it in farely large chunks and shake it up in a ziploc with seasoned flour then brown the meat. Toss it in a Crockpot with your other ingredients and add beef broth slightly deluted with beer or wine. Don't forget to scrape the "Yum-Yum's" from the frying pan used to brown the meat into the pot. Cook low, long and slow in the crockpot.

This is very similar to what I do...the stock is really important, plus I use a small can of V-8 for a little veggie boost.

My Dutch oven beef stew was reported on in this trip report along with my recipe.

http://www.roadfood.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=30902

Sun dried tomatoes and red wine are my little secret ingredients. And, as stated above, got to brown the flour-dusted meat beforehand and scrape up the yummies.

have bones in there somewhere-it seems they are hard to get know , but they add so muh flavor- also the gelatin they give to the stew makes it more full( hope PETA is not spying here)

Without getting into a recipe (I can give you one if you want) I cube the meat, season with Lawrys, then flour, then brown them in hot Crisco till browned and take out. Add your carrots and onions, brown them up, THEN add 2 more tbs flour and brown that up, add beef broth, and add back in stewmeat and cook till soft, an hour or so.....That should make it rich.

A lot of people consider "beef stew" to be a savory dish with tomatoes and red wine.

My idea of beef stew is basically chunks of beef, potatoes, and carrots, cooked to end up with a gravy holding everything together. My "secret ingredient" would be white wine.

I learned to cook beef stew (like I like it) from the mother of a good friend of mine back in the 70's. I still think my stew is the best.

Some good suggestions. First place I think I went wrong; was using Sirloin Steak cut-up instead of a roast. Then a great suggestion, dust it in seasoned flour before browning.(I just browned the meat) Definitely, a little extra tomato sauce should improve richness.I also like the suggestion of sun-dried tomatoes and shank bones.
I am nervous of adding wine because I have screwed up recipes in the past.

Here's my recipe:
DIAMOND JIM’S CROCKPOT BEEF STEW

INGREDIENTS

3#’s Trimmed and Cubed Beef Chuck Roast
½ C All-purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 can Beef broth
1 can Vegetable broth
1 ½ c red wine (Merlot, Burgundy, your choice)
1 coarsely chopped sweet onion
1Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp Celery seeds
2 bay leaves
1 Tsp white sugar
1-2 tsp ground cloves
Juice of one fresh lemon
2-4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, to your taste

½ # miniature carrots
2 C sliced celery
4 medium sized russet potatoes, halved, quartered and cut into large bite sized pieces

DIRECTIONS
Blend flour, salt, pepper, paprika, in a Ziploc Bag. Add beef, shake to coat thoroughly. Add oil to a deep skillet, heat and add beef. Brown beef thoroughly. While meat is browning, add broths, wine, onion, garlic, bay leaves, celery seeds, sugar, cloves, lemon juice, and worchestershire sauce, to a crockpot set on high. When meat is browned, add to crockpot, cover, and let cook for 4-5 hours until meat is tender. Chop celery, potatoes and add carrots to the pot. Cook for an additional hour or until the veggies are tender to your liking but not mushy. If the gravy needs to be thickened, use Pillsbury Wondra or a similar product to thicken to your taste. Cooking time may vary depending on your crockpot. Cook to your liking for tenderness.

I have made this recipe several times and people love it!! Ina Garten (Food Network) makes this one and you will not be dissapointed... It is called 'Parker House" Beef Stew and can be found on the website or google parker house beef stew for the same recipe. The best I have ever had.

I like Ina Garden, when she is not croaking out that silly little laugh.
The Parker House Stew sounds interesting, accept for Rosemary. I don't care for Rosemary, so I will leave it out. Maybe substitute some Maggi in its place.