primitives discuss beef stew

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x89471

Oh my.

I wonder if this could outdo the "hamburger" and "chili" threads here.

Blues Heron  (379 posts)      Mon Oct-03-11 12:07 PM
Original message
 
beef stew

got some very nice beef from the farmers market - now it's chilly enough to cook up a big pot of stew!

Here's what I did:

pretty basic, went with a slightly anise note on this one, came out great.

sauteed 2 med onions 4 stalks of celery 2 cloves garlic in some oil. added a heaping tbsp tomato paste.

started adding spices:

2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves

dredged 2.5 lbs beef in flour (after salting the meat liberally with kosher salt)

browned meat in batches, added to pot

covered with water

turned timer on to 2.5 hours

with 45 minutes to go added four chopped carrots

with 20 minutes to go added five medium peeled red potatoes, chopped

at end added some thawed frozen peas, let sit for 10 minutes

serve it up! very tasty!

this made about a gallon of stew.

What are your fave spices/techniques/ingredients?

The empressof all   (1000+ posts)        Mon Oct-03-11 04:00 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. Well you inspired me to make a pot

My family likes it basic. Chunks of beef, carrots, celery and potato. I lightly brown onions and beef then make an amber colored roux. I add red wine, water or stock if I have it, celery and carrots then let it cook on low with just seasonings of salt, pepper and bay leaf. About an hour or so before I want to serve it I add chunks of potato and check for seasoning. Sometimes I'll add some fresh thyme.

It always tastes better the next day!

elleng  (1000+ posts)        Mon Oct-03-11 05:17 PM
Response to Original message
 
2. Been thinking of my 'old' recipe last few cool days! Thanks, Blues, for making me record it!

'Invented' this 25 or so years ago; would make it with baby daughter in my arms. She's 26 now, and just married!

A lot of this is 'to taste,' especially proportions of ingredients, so I've not indicated amounts. (And I'll be damned if I can remember!!!)

Use pot large enough so most of beef can be browned simultaneously.

Dredge beef chunks in flour mixed w salt, pepper, garlic powder, + thyme.

Brown beef chunks in small amount of olive oil; I'm sure any cooking oil would do. (This is the only/most labor-intensive part.)

After beef browned, keep heat even/medium.

Cut up potatoes in sizes somewhat comparable to beef chunks, amount of potatoes depending on how much beef; somewhat proportional. Cover beef w potatoes.

Add jar of 'pearl' onions, including liquid.

Add cans of stewed tomatoes to cover (always used DelMonte, but brand probably not critical.) Stir so beef not on bottom to burn throughout.

Add bay leaf/leaves (to taste.)

Cover pot 'til slight boil; reduce heat to simmer 45? minutes.

Add 1/2 +- cup wine; allow wine + juices to reduce, partially covered, 5? mins.

Add can(s) peas + carrots, with some but not all of their juice; and salt, pepper, thyme to taste. Simmer partially covered 'til potatoes done/soft.

Adjust seasonings + serve.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything!

franksolich has no comment at the moment.

[ChuckJ]

Blues Heron  (379 posts)      Mon Oct-03-11 12:07 PM
Original message
 
beef stew

got some very nice beef from the farmers market - now it's chilly enough to cook up a big pot of stew!

Here's what I did:

pretty basic, went with a slightly anise note on this one, came out great.

sauteed 2 med onions 4 stalks of celery 2 cloves garlic in some oil. added a heaping tbsp tomato paste.

started adding spices:

2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves

dredged 2.5 lbs beef in flour (after salting the meat liberally with kosher salt)

browned meat in batches, added to pot

covered with water

turned timer on to 2.5 hours

with 45 minutes to go added four chopped carrots

with 20 minutes to go added five medium peeled red potatoes, chopped

at end added some thawed frozen peas, let sit for 10 minutes

serve it up! very tasty!

this made about a gallon of stew.

What are your fave spices/techniques/ingredients?

Momma used to make some good beef stew. It had beef and taters in it. It had salt and pepper. Sometimes carrots.

If you told momma she needed to put the below ingredients in beef stew she'd hit you with a spoon and tell you she wasn't cooking spaghetti.
2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves

[franksolich]

Momma used to make some good beef stew. It had beef and taters in it. It had salt and pepper. Sometimes carrots.

If you told momma she needed to put the below ingredients in beef stew she'd hit you with a spoon and tell you she wasn't cooking spaghetti.

2 bay leaves
coriander
oregano
thyme
basil
marjoram
caraway seeds
3 blades star anise
3 cloves

That's what I was thinking too; too many fancy spices and herbs.

I suspect I'd like your mother's stew a great deal, as compared with these primitive stews.

[franksolich]

One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.

I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.

I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.

I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.

[thundley4]

Open can dump said can in pan, heat stir and eat.  Probably tastes better than the crap the DUmmies are making.

[franksolich]

Open can dump said can in pan, heat stir and eat.  Probably tastes better than the crap the DUmmies are making.

I do that when I'm in a hurry, and you're right, it suits.  Nothing wrong with it.

I started doing that some years ago (I'd never done it before), as the quality of Campbell's canned soups got worse and worse and worse, until their tomato soup was the only product of theirs I could stand.

With canned stew, I've never discerned a difference between brands; it's always been good.

[LC EFA]

Open can dump said can in pan, heat stir and eat.  Probably tastes better than the crap the DUmmies are making.

While you are right that canned food tastes better than what the DU-che-bags serve up; it's still about on par with dog food - and IMO the dog food probably tastes better and has more actual meat in it.

I looked through the collection of canned stuff I have in storage and not one of them ran to more than 15% meat.

When I find the motivation to do up a batch of stew - most of it ends up portioned out in the freezer, to be microwaved when desired.

[ChuckJ]

One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.

I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.

I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.

I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.

I don't think it matters much. In my part of the south white potatoes are usually used in stews while red potatoes are usually used with roasts, but I've seen both used.

[IassaFTots]

Well, the cloves and cinnamon remind me of a Sauerbraten.  My mom would do a German Beef Stew with a similar taste.  It was one of the things she cooked really good.  That anise though.  I don't get that.  

I have a brazillion different beef stew recipes, depending on my mood.

ETA:  NONE of them have peas in them. 

[franksolich]

I looked through the collection of canned stuff I have in storage and not one of them ran to more than 15% meat.

Yeah, the meat part; these things can sometimes be rather thin on meat.

Since I'm distrustful of grease, when I buy the fixings for beef stew, I buy packaged sirloin steaks at the grocery store; other cuts--most especially chunks of "stew" beef--have w-a-a-a-a-y too much white stuff on them (at least in my own personal judgement; others might differ).

Despite that the sirloin appears to be pretty much grease-free, there are stubborn specks of white stuff on the borders, and I don't want that.  So I trim each sirloin steak about 3/4", maybe an inch, around the rims of it, and use only the centers for the stew, cutting them up into little blocks.

I imagine I'm using only about a little over half of each steak, but anything to avoid the white stuff.

Now, I can hear the crowd hissing and muttering, "Idiot--what a wastrel."

To which I insist my real life proves otherwise; franksolich is no wastrel.

Embedded in this memory is that of the ancient elderly gentleman who owns this place, about three years ago, actually crying in frustration and vexation at me, insisting that I made his stepmother during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl look like an extravagant spendthrift.

The cut-off parts with the white stuff don't go to waste; not at all.

The cats here love that stuff.

Now, sirloin is expensive, sometimes highly so, and I like more than "15%" of the stew to be beef (something circa 25-33%), but on the other hand, beef stew is not something I make every day or every week; maybe once a month during the cold months.  So yeah, this particular ingredient's expensive, but it's not like I'm buying it all the time.

[IassaFTots]

Frank, I always trim all the fat off my beef when I am making stew.  Always. 

[franksolich]

Frank, I always trim all the fat off my beef when I am making stew.  Always. 

A lot of people don't, though.

[LC EFA]

I trim the fat off the meat and skim what renders out off the top during cooking.

[IassaFTots]

I trim the fat off the meat and skim what renders out off the top during cooking.

That is one of the two reasons I have papertowels.  The other is bacon.   I don't mind fat on bacon. 

[shadeaux]

I've never had a stew without roux.

As for fat, I cut it all off if I'm cooking.  My husband prefers some for taste.  I personally don't want fat on any meat.  The leaner the better. 

[Bodadh]

One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.

I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.

I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.

I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.

I was planning on making a crock pot of stew in a couple of weeks when I move. I was going to use white potatos but now that you mention it red might be pretty good.

[franksolich]

I've never had a stew without roux.

Now, that's not nice, madam; I had to nadin that.

Roux (/ˈruː/) is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally clarified butter. It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole. Butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. When used in Italian food, roux is traditionally equal parts of butter and flour. In Cajun cuisine, roux is almost always made with oil instead of butter and dark brown in color, which lends much richness of flavor albeit less thickening power. Hungarian cuisine uses lard (in its rendered form) or - more recently - vegetable oil instead of butter for the preparation of roux (which is called rántás in Hungarian).

[franksolich]

I was planning on making a crock pot of stew in a couple of weeks when I move. I was going to use white potatos but now that you mention it red might be pretty good.

Well, really, I wonder what the difference is, between white potatoes and red potatoes.

There must be some difference.

Over the years I recall being told not to white potatoes in stew, that red potatoes are better.

I use white potatoes because being a man, I like to keep food preparation simple.  White potatoes are easier to peel.

[Ballygrl]

OMG! I'm making Beef Stew tomorrow I planned on making it before even seeing this thread.

[Bodadh]

Well, really, I wonder what the difference is, between white potatoes and red potatoes.

There must be some difference.

Over the years I recall being told not to white potatoes in stew, that red potatoes are better.

I use white potatoes because being a man, I like to keep food preparation simple.  White potatoes are easier to peel.

I was planning on leaving the red skin on. If it comes out funny I am the only one eating it and as I said before I am not a fussy eater. Usually I just put in a couple of cans of white potatos. Opening a can is even easier then peeling.

[franksolich]

OMG! I'm making Beef Stew tomorrow I planned on making it before even seeing this thread.

How about putting up your recipe here, madam?

I'll post mine, but later, because I'm sure to get yelled at, and don't want that to happen just yet.

[shadeaux]

Now, that's not nice, madam; I had to nadin that.

I assumed everyone knew what that was.  Pardon my ignorance.  You can buy roux, it makes your house smell bad if mess up and burn it.

Golden potatoes are the best for stews and soups.  They don't fall apart when you cook them cubed.  Potato salad too.

Red potatoes make good mashed potatoes, brown potatoes make good baked potatoes and french fries.

My opinion only.

[Ballygrl]

How about putting up your recipe here, madam?

I'll post mine, but later, because I'm sure to get yelled at, and don't want that to happen just yet.

I don't really have a recipe for it frank, I just fry up the beef, add some broth, gravy and vegetables and let it cook throughout the day, sometimes I add just a can of tomato sauce into it, make some mashed potatoes and put the stew over the potatoes. I'm going to do it in the crockpot tomorrow though, I'll fry up the meat just to get a little color onto it, throw everything in and cook it all day.

[IassaFTots]

I assumed everyone knew what that was.  Pardon my ignorance.  You can buy roux, it makes your house smell bad if mess up and burn it.

Golden potatoes are the best for stews and soups.  They don't fall apart when you cook them cubed.  Potato salad too.

Red potatoes make good mashed potatoes, brown potatoes make good baked potatoes and french fries.

My opinion only.

That is how I roll too.   

[Ballygrl]

One thing I must ask, hesitantly, because I'm likely to get hammered on it.

I use white potatoes when making stew, not red potatoes.

I have the impression--I know not where I got the impression, but there it is--that using white potatoes rather than red potatoes in stew is not kosher.

I'm sure there's some botanical difference between white and red potatoes, but wouldn't know what it is.

We always use white potatoes, my Mother always said red potatoes are just for potato salad.