📝 Recipe: Beef Stew

[andrewduckett]

🔖 Recipe description

It's cold out, I'd like to make some stews!

🎤 Context

American beef stew doesn't have the same history or rules (thankfully) as some of the vaunted European stews like boeuf or goulash. So long as the beef is tender and the stew is stew-like, nobody is going to tell you that you made it wrong. But there are a few archetypes.

This seems much easier than traditional recipes (and just as good)

✌️ Possible Implementation

Ingredients

• 4 cups (950ml) low sodim chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste (2.5 ounces; 75g)
• 3 oil- or salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed (or 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce)
• 4 packets powdered unflavored gelatin (1 ounce; 30g)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
• 3 pounds (1.25kg) whole boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 3 steaks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 ounces (275g) white button mushroom, quartered
• 4 medium carrots (10 ounces; 275g), 2 left whole, 2 cut into bite-sized pieces
• 8 ounces (225g) frozen or fresh pearl onions (thawed if frozen, peeled if fresh)
• 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled, split in half (10 ounces; 275g)
• 2 small ribs celery (3 ounces; 85g)
• 3 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 cup sherry, dry vermouth, or red wine (8 ounces; 235mL)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (about 3/4 ounce; 20g)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 pound (450g) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 ounces (113g) frozen peas

Directions

1. Combine stock, tomato paste, anchovies, gelatin, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce in a blender and blend on high speed until homogenous. Set aside.
2. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Season beef all over with salt and pepper and add to Dutch oven. Cook, turning occasionally, until beef is well browned on 2 sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer beef to a rimmed baking sheet or large plate and set aside. Photo collage showing seasoning chuck steaks, searing them in a Dutch oven, and letting rest on a white plate.
3. Add mushrooms to Dutch oven and cook, stirring, until liquid is released and mushrooms begin to brown, about 6 minutes, lowering heat as necessary to prevent scorching. Add diced carrots and pearl onions and cook, stirring, until well-browned on all sides. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
4. Add halved yellow onion to Dutch oven, cut-side-down. Add whole carrots, celery stalks, and garlic. Cook, turning carrots, celery, and garlic occasionally until all the vegetables are well-browned, about 4 minutes. Photo collage showing sautéing mushrooms, sautéing carrots and onions, and searing aromatic vegetables in a Dutch oven for All-American beef stew.
5. Add wine or sherry, scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon, and cook until reduced by 3/4, about 3 minutes. Add broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
6. Cut seared steaks into 1 1/2- to 2-inch chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with flour. Add beef and any juices accumulated in the tray or plate to the Dutch oven along with bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Stir to combine and return to a simmer over medium heat. Transfer to oven, cover with lid partially open, and cook until beef is starting to become tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Liquid should hold a slow, steady simmer the entire time. Adjust oven temperature if necessary during cooking. Photo collage showing bringing stew mixture to a simmer, removing aromatic vegetables, and stirring in stew vegetables to Dutch oven for All-American beef stew.
7. Remove stew from oven. Using tongs, fish out and discard carrot, celery, thyme, bay leaves, onion, and garlic. Add potatoes and reserved sautéed mushrooms, pearl onions, and carrots to stew, return to oven, and continue to cook, partially covered, until beef, potatoes, and carrots are tender and broth has thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Photo collage showing adding second batch of vegetables to pot and final addition of peas before serving.
8. Remove stew from oven. If necessary, place over a burner and simmer for up to 15 minutes to reduce to desired consistency. Stir in peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight or for up to 5 days and reheat to serve.

Borrowed from seriouseats.com

👀 Have you tried this recipe before? Had something similar?

No, I've never had this before

Are you willing to submit PR?

Yes I am willing to submit a PR!

[andrewduckett]

Making this today, couple of differences

1. I had a small bit of lamb so I added that
2. Had a beef roast bone, so added that
3. 2.5oz of tomatoe paste is just weird... so I used the whole can (6oz)
4. Used anchovy paste because I could not find a resealable jar of anchovies