EVEN BETTER BEEF STEW
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Temps had dropped to way below freezing, the biggest storm of the year was looming and so I thought it was time to make a big batch of beef stew to helps us feel warm, cozy and nourished. My first batch of the winter season. On weekends like this is best to embrace things like comfort foods, staying in pajamas all day and hours in front of the TV or with a good book.
I tweaked my recipe a bit and am delighted to report that it was my best batch ever! So good, in fact, that it warranted updating the recipe. I started with the same recipe I have used for years which is based on a few recipes and years of experimenting, but it is primarily inspired by one out of a little Irish cookbook i picked up on my last trip to Ireland in 2007. I am so overdue for another trip!!! Hopefully soon. In the meantime, I have this delicious stew to enjoy while I think of the lush green scenes sprinkled with sheep.
Before diving into the recipe, let me first discuss sides for a moment. Many people like potatoes in their stew or a pile of buttery mashed potatoes beneath it. I have to admit potatoes used to be my first pick. But then I started to find them a bit bland (maybe I need to work on better mashed potatoes). I find crusty bread is a nice alternative, which has the added benefit of lots of texture in addition to being able to sop up juices. Then for a while I was on a Yorkshire pudding kick, because, why not? Yorkshire pudding is one of the best things ever. So I made some to go with beef stew a few years ago and it was amazing! I did so again this past weekend and I am now officially calling Yorkshire pudding the best accompaniment to beef stew. Just writing this is making me long for the duo. You must try it. I’ve included a link to the Yorkshire pudding recipe I use at the end of the stew recipe. You’re welcome.
Quality ingredients really matter here. If you can get your meat from a butcher, do so. If it is local and grass-fed, perfect! It will taste amazing and also be better for your body (and the planet!). My 2 favorite butchers in Manhattan are Hudson & Charles and Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Chelsea Market. If you don’t see a pile of stew meat, ask them, they would be happy to package up the right cut and will even cut it up for you if you wish to save you some time later. I usually use chuck, this time the butcher at Dickson’s recommended a combination of chuck and shoulder. The chuck would be more “melty” and fall apart a bit; the shoulder would keep its texture more. The combination was nice. I think going forward if I think we’ll eat the entire batch in one go I will use all chuck. If I am making a lot with the intent of freezing some for future meals (which I always recommend!) I would probably go for the chuck/shoulder combo as with the thawing and reheating process, the chuck fell apart even more so it was nice to have the texture from the shoulder.
One last note, before the recipe, on carrots. Do not use processed baby carrots. I mean, if they are all you have, go ahead. But you should really be buying bunch carrots from the store or farmer’s market. They will taste better and have more nutrition. Did you know the most nutrition in a carrot is close to the skin? The processed baby carrots are cut and shaved into baby carrot shape, so you have lost a lot of nutrition already, and honestly, they are usually tasteless. It will take a tiny bit longer as you’ll have to wash the carrots and peel them before slicing. Though if the carrots look good after washing, you really do not need to peel them.
Even Better Beef Stew
Serves 6 (or 4 - 5 depending on how hungry you are and what else you serve with it.)
Ingredients
3 lbs stew beef (chuck or chuck and should combo)
1 medium onion
2-3 medium carrots
2-3 celery stalks
10 cremini mushrooms
1 bay leaf
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a handful of parsley
1 can/bottle stout beer (such a Guinness or Murphy's. If you can find it Guinness Extra Stout is extra amazing!)
~1 1/3 cup beef broth (bone broth would be even better)
2 good splashes of apple cider vinegar
salt to taste
olive oil
kitchen twine
If making roux (which you should):
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 slightly heaping Tbsp flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Discarding the very tops and ends, slice carrots and celery on a slight angle into roughly 1/3" slices. Quarter the mushrooms. Dice the onion. No need to be super precise with any of this.
In a dutch oven (I use this one or a larger version) or other stove and oven proof pot with a lid, brown the beef with your oil of choice, I . used olive oil. Brown each side carefully so each piece gets a nice caramelized crust. You will likely need to do this in at least 2 or 3 batches. Set browned meat aside.
If there is not much fat left in the pot from the beef, add a little more oil. Add the onions, sprinkle a little salt over them and sauté for a couple mins, scraping up any beef bits left in the bottom of the pot. Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms, a touch more salt and continue to sauté until it all cooks down and caramelizes a little, about 5 more minutes. While that cooks grab some kitchen twine and tie a few thyme sprigs together with a nice handful of parsley and set aside for later.
Pour in most of the can of beer (I say most because a sip or two always ends up in my mouth before making it to the pan, but feel free to add the entire bottle) and deglaze the pot, all the little bits stuck on the bottom of the pot should release into the liquid. Add the beef back into the pot. Be careful as it may splash a little. Bring to a boil for a minute and then add in beef stock. Add enough so there is enough liquid to mostly cover the beef and vegetables. Add the bay leaf, thyme and parsley bundle plus a good splash of apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, stir, cover and pop into the oven for about 3 hours. Around 2 hours in, check on the stew, give it a stir and taste it. Add salt if needed. Continue cooking until it reaches the tenderness you like. Not the broth may still seem too thin, that’s ok, we’ll fix that with a roux.
After cooking for about 3 hours, remove from the oven. Discard the bay leaf and thyme/parsley bundle. Add another good splash of apple cider vinegar to freshen it up, stir, taste and add salt if desired.
While not required, I recommend adding some roux to thicken the sauce and add a gorgeous sheen. Many other stew recipes have you coat the meat in flour before browning it, this in the end helps thicken the stew. I find that step messy and smoky sometimes when I inevitably burn the flour a little while browning in multiple batches. The roux approach is easier and, in my opinion, leads to a superior result. To make it, melt 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter with 3 slightly heaping tablespoons of flour in a small saucepan. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring most of the time, until the mixture smells a little nutty and has started to turn a touch brown. Add to your stew and watch it transform.
Note: You can make a larger batch of roux and store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks to use to thicken anything else up like gravy or as a start to a cheese sauce. Similarly, you could make it ahead of time and use ~3 tablespoons in the stew.
Browned beef. The batch in the photo is actually not as brown as it should be. I get impatient sometimes.
Veggies in the pot
Ever essential Irish Stout. One for the stew, one for the cook.
See how the roux makes it glisten?
The best side to serve with this - Yorkshire Pudding. REcipe below.
Ah...
What to serve with this delicious stew?
The key is to have something to soak up all those amazing juices and to add a little starch. Traditional sides would be mashed potatoes or some crusty bread. Less traditional, yet my absolute favorite accompaniment is Yorkshire pudding, as show in the photos above. The combination is amazing. Here's an easy recipe from Serious Eats.
If you make Yorkshire pudding, here are some notes:
Make the batter ahead of time, up to 24 hours. I tend to forget to do so and only end up making it when I start to prep the dish I am making. This last time I managed to make it about 5 hours early. Keep it covered in the fridge until about 20 minutes before you are going to cook the puddings.
Get muffins tins ready by putting a bit of ghee in each tin. You won’t have beef drippings to use and the ghee works beautifully anyway. Set aside.
Crank the oven up to 450°F as soon as you take the stew out to start coming up to temp.
Once the oven is hot enough, put the muffin tin with ghee in for about 10 minutes. It will feel a bit nutty to do so but you want the ghee and tins super hot, just to the point of smoking. Then pull out the tins and pour your batter in about 2/3rds of the way up. You’ll want to work quickly to keep everything hot. Get them back in the oven at soon as you can.
It will feel like an eternity waiting for your puddings but it will be worth it and the stew is just fine waiting. Take joy in seeing the puddings start to rise! You did it! I tend to leave them in for a minute or two longer than the recipe calls for, perhaps it is my oven or I just prefer them a little more done. You’ll have to experiment. Pull them out of the oven and using a fork, plop them onto a serving plate and let everyone dive in!
As for vegetables, I know there are some in the stew, but it is always good to have more! Roasted (practically charred) broccoli is a favorite in our household. Roasted Brussels sprouts are nice as well.