The Conservative Cave
Interests => All Things Edible (and how to prepare them) => Topic started by: franksolich on October 04, 2010, 08:18:43 PM
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This morning, Monday morning, I dragged out the crockpot so as to observe a certain autumn ritual, something I've done ever since the first year I left home when still a teenager (meaning I've done it for too many years to count, every autumn)--that of making a pot of beef stew.
I'm not sure why I do this, but I do this only one time, every autumn, after which I pack away the crockpot until the next autumn. It had not been a family tradition or anything; it was just something I did, or do, simply because it felt like "the thing to do."
I make beef stew the old-fashioned way, from whatever's in the cupboards.
There are only two variations from what other people do. I don't buy beef especially marked as appropriate for stews; I buy the most-expensive cut of beef, about a pound or so (in other words, even though expensive, I don't buy much of it), sirloin or something--whatever has only little fat, or if possible, no fat, and chop that up.
I am not a fan of grease, or what the primitives call "juices."
The other thing is that I buy a large white potato, rather than a handful of small red potatoes.
The single white potato I purchased this morning, for example, weighed nearly a pound and cost a whopping fifty cents.
And now, after all these years, I'm beginning to wonder about something.
I started the stew this morning, and it's probably not going to be until Wednesday that it's edible, because of the potatoes. For some reason, on "low" heat, in the crockpot it takes at least a couple of days before the potatoes are cooked thoroughly, no matter how small I chop them.
I do not make the whole stew right away; at the moment all that's in the crockpot is tomato juice, a large chopped-up white potato, salt-and-pepper, paprika, and onion salt. No point in adding anything else, until the potatoes are edible.
After which I dump in the beef, frozen corn and peas, a can of tomato sauce, a can of vegetable soup, a can of tomato soup, a can of ready-made beef stew, a dash of mustard, a drip of syrup, more salt-and-pepper, paprika, and onion salt, a can of pure beef gravy, brown rice, and whatever other oddments happen to be in the cupboard or refrigerator.
And then it's ready inside of two hours.
I'm wondering if red potatoes might cook faster than white ones, even though I've always been partial to white potatoes (red potatoes were cheaper than dirt when I was a kid, and seemed to spoil much more quickly, which is why this partiality).
Has anyone noticed if red potatoes cook faster than white ones?
I've always chopped the potatoes up leaving the skin intact (when I was young and poor, I couldn't afford a potato-peeler, and thus this life-long habit).
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Can't say that I have.
If you're concerned about fat, I put my soups and stews in the refrigerator overnight after making it. The fat solidifies on the top and you can scoop it off with a spoon.
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Oh, Frank that sounds good with cooler weather is coming on. There's nothing like a nice hot stew in cold weather. :drool:
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If one uses a chuck roast and removes most of the fat, most all that's left are meat juices. Very little fat. I prefer to use hand cut chuck for my stews and even chili.
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Crockpots are a bit of a strange critter, Frank. They don't exactly behave like a dutch oven in the oven, or even a dutch oven on the range or cooktop.
Vegetables, oddly enough, take longer to cook than meat does. I can't remember exactly where I read that, but I did get that information from some written source some years ago.
For that reason, when I make a stew, I put the vegetables on the bottom of the crockpot. For me, it's a traditional stew which contains lots of carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes. I like to cut them bite-sized and more or less consistent in size. All the same, carrots are denser than potatoes, so they'll take longer to cook, but that's the general idea. After that, it's beef broth (not too much), cubed-up chuck or other inexpensive cut of beef that I've floured and seared, a bay leaf, fresh thyme, chopped garlic, maybe a little bit of canned tomato, and lots of pepper. I try to hold off on the salt until later since sometimes the beef broth is salty.
Give it about 4-5 hours and voila.
Of course, there's about a bazillion different ways to make stew. To each his own.
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Eupher...... what do you think about beef base & chicken base?? It seems like a decent replacement for bullion or broth.
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Eupher...... what do you think about beef base & chicken base?? It seems like a decent replacement for bullion or broth.
Sure, I'll use it. Gotta be careful because of the salt, however.
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Frank, here's a link to info on potatoes. I prefer reds in stews as I like to leave the skins on.
Your stew sounds good, but odd.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Potatoes.html
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Sure, I'll use it. Gotta be careful because of the salt, however.
Ditto. I will use bacon salt when I need flavor in stuff. It isn't really that bacon-y, but it is low in sodium.
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They all sound yummy I may have to make some this weekend
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Ditto. I will use bacon salt when I need flavor in stuff. It isn't really that bacon-y, but it is low in sodium.
We're talking beef or chicken base, which has a lot of salt, but also adds a LOT of flavor.
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We're talking beef or chicken base, which has a lot of salt, but also adds a LOT of flavor.
Ugh. I KNOW that. Der. :banghead: I use beef, chicken and ham base. Sparingly. But, I was trying to tell Eupher about something that had a LOT of flavor in it, without the added salt.
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I do mine in layers - all going in at once.
Stew meat
Minced garlic
Couple of quartered sweet onions or the little small whole frozen ones
Couple of cans of button mushrooms (drained)
Sprinkle some granulated beef boullion over this
Small Yukon gold potatoes halved or quartered (if I add them at all - half the time, I will make mashed ones instead to pour the stew over)
Baby carrots
A small bag of frozen peas
Sprinkle lots of black pepper
A mid sized can of cream of mushroom soup
I start the crockpot on high for about an hour, then reduce the heat, and let it cook all day. About 20 minutes before serving, I will mix flour and water, whisk to smooth and add a bit beef base or Kitchen Bouquet (it's what my mother always used - stuff is hard to find these days. :( ) and stir it really well and pour through a strainer to make sure there aren't any lumps...to thicken up the "gravy " of the stew.
Super easy and even better the next day. I don't add the potatoes if I'm going to freeze the leftovers.
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I always cook my onions & garlic first in a little olive oil. then the meat gets added in. When I think that the meat is tender enough , I add in the roots, tubers, etc., let them cook and the rest of the veggies go in last. (I don't like overcooked veggies)