SIMPLE BEEF STEW
SIMPLE BEEF STEW
This is a basic stew recipe that you can use as the base for any combination of flavors!
For example, variations on this recipe that I make often include:
Simple early postpartum stew with garlic, root vegetables, spinach and fresh herbs
Spiced Moroccan Lamb stew with butternut, apricots and cilantro
Lemongrass and Ginger Beef Stew with shallots, carrots and scallions
Red Wine Beef stew with potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and fresh thyme
I’m providing a super detailed recipe as I think the details really matter on this one! But you can certainly use other stew recipes out there if you like.
IDEAL CUTS & SIZE:
Beef: Chuck (Shoulder) cut to at least 1” possibly 1.5” cubes
Look for cuts with some nice marbling
Fattier cuts are also nice, but they have a slightly different vibe and should be made for folks who enjoy more fat: my favorites are oxtail and short ribs
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEARING:
You want to sear each piece of meat to provide flavor, add texture and seal the outside to lock in juices in the center of the piece of meat. (think sear and seal)
#1 rule when searing individual pieces of meat for stew: don’t crowd the pan
True cast-iron provides the best sear
I like to sear in ghee as it provides great flavor and and has a high smoke point
The ghee or oil should be quite hot, but not smoking heavily.
You want a thin layer of ghee in the pan, too much and you will deep fry the meat. Too little and you won’t get a good sear. Add a little as you go and you can always spoon some out if you put too much.
Don’t move the meat around too much. Place it down and don’t move it until you are ready to flip to the next side. Let each side get a nice sear.
I like to use tongs to flip and turn the meat and a splatter screen to cover the pan while the meat is searing. The splatter screen is key to not making a huge mess! You still will need to clean the oil from the stovetop as you go. Be careful as excess oil on the stove can light on fire!
If your meat has been previously frozen or is very wet (not ideal) it will be more inclined to splatter or pop - be careful to avoid oil burns! (especially to the face!)
Take your time with this process.
Have exhaust fans running Be aware you might set off a smoke alarm. Talk with clients about this in advance. If the family is hanging out in a room adjacent to or part of the kitchen area, I generally tell folks that I am going to be searing meat for a little while and that they make wish to take their newborn baby to another room. While I don’t create tons of smoke, especially in NYC, apartments just don’t get a lot of cross ventilation and you just never know where the smoke/steam from the searing process is going to move/gather.
Practice, practice, practice!
INGREDIENTS:
2lbs of beef, chuck pre-cut into 1”-1.5 cubes by your butcher :) Fresh Direct also does a nice job with this…
roughly 48 ounces of beef bone broth, defrosted if frozen
1-2 yellow onions, chopped into small pieces
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Other aromatics, finely chopped: such as celery or fresh ginger (Choose one or the other as they are very different vibes!)
ghee (or coconut oil, olive oil or animal fat) for searing
wine (optional - avoid in early postpartum, but I have used all sorts of wine in stew - red, white, rose, sherry…)
A root vegetable or two of your choosing: I like acorn squash, kabocha squash, carrots, parsnips or potatoes
Fresh greens and herbs of your choosing: spinach (for early postpartum), bok choy, chard, lacinato kale, cilantro, fresh basil, chives, scallions
pink salt or high quality sea salt
black pepper and spices of your choosing
DIRECTIONS:
Preparing the meat:
Remove meat from whatever packaging it arrived in, place on a plate and pad dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. (This will help the sear)
I personally choose NOT to add salt to the meat at this point as I let it stew for awhile hours without salt which I think creates more tenderness. You can add a little black pepper before searing, and/or some ground spices of your choosing.
Searing the meat:
See notes above!
Warm ghee in your cast iron pan, ceramic pan/pot or other pan that you know will create a nice sear.
Every pan and range behaves a bit differently (you will discover this as you cook in different kitchens!) but in general keep the flame on medium to high heat, but more importantly watch how the meat is searing and adjust the heat accordingly.
Once the ghee or fat you are using is hot, but not heavily smoking, add the meat in batches, keeping each cube about 1” apart.
If the ghee starts to smoke, turn the heat down and let it cool a bit. Make sure exhaust fans are going or open windows and doors.
In a 10” cast iron, I probably only put about 5-6 cubes of meat in at a time.
Sear meat on all sides, but be careful not to overcook. (Lamb is more forgiving in this regard because of its higher fat content, beef you will want to be more careful with!)
I then generally place the seared meat directly into the Dutch Oven or pot I will be cooking the stew in. Dutch oven’s will provide a more consistent temperature so if your client has one, definitely use it.
Next steps:
While you are searing the meat in batches, warm your broth in a separate pot. Once it is warm you can turn the heat off. (It’s best to add warm/room temperature broth to the seared meat. You don’t want to add cold broth to the seared meat).
After you have seared all the pieces of meat and removed from the pan, turn the heat to low. Let the pan cool down for a couple minutes and then add more ghee/oil/fat. Add the chopped onions and cook until soft, scraping the bottom of the pan for any browned bits from the seared meat.
Once the onions are soft, if you are using celery, add to the chopped onions and cook until soft. Then add the fresh garlic (and ginger if you are using) and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
When using wine, add about 2 cups of wine to the pan and cook on medium to low heat for 5-10 minutes until the smell of the alcohol has dissipated.
Add the cooked onions, aromatics (and wine) to the Dutch oven or pot with the meat, then add the warm broth.
Bring to a soft boil for just a couple minutes, then adjust the heat to a low simmer.
Cook covered or partially covered, stirring and checking the heat often.
Do not boil the meat! It should be cooking at a medium to low simmer for several hours.
You can also add more dried spices and herbs while it is simmering:
With celery and potatoes, I like to add bay leaves, fresh or dried thyme, black and white pepper. If I use fresh thyme, I usually tie some stems together that can be removed later since they are a bit woody.
With squashes and ginger, I like cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne
For smokey or stronger flavors try smoked paprika, mace
You could also add a piece of kelp/kombu that you will remove later
After the meat has been cooking for about 1 hour begin to add salt to the broth, but make sure to taste as you go, especially if you are using kelp or broth that has salt in it already.
While the meat is stewing:
Prepare your root vegetables:
For squashes and carrots, I often roast these in the oven in some sort of fat and then add to the stew just before it’s done. I like the flavor that roasting imparts, the richness and the ability to control the texture of the vegetable.
For potatoes, parsnips and sometimes carrots, I often boil these separately either in water or broth and again add to the stew just before it’s done.
You can of course, add any of these root vegetable directly to the stew to cook to eliminate this step, but you risk the vegetables getting very soft.
Chop your greens and fresh herbs finely.
Heartier greens like kale, can be added in the last couple minutes.
Soft greens and fresh herbs, can be added once the heat has been turned off and the pot is still hot.
On fresh herbs..
For more traditional stews with celery, potatoes and wine, I like to add fresh basil or chives
For more eccletic stews with squashes and ginger, I like to add cilantro or ginger.
note that I don’t cook with too much parsley, mint or sage for postpartum people because they are drying to milk (small amounts in food would be totally fine, but I never want someone to worry about it…)
Finishing the stew
After the meat has been cooking at a slow heat for about two hours, begin to check the softness of the meat. (While it will vary a bit, beef I find tends to take about 3 hours to get fork tender, Lamb will take less time more like 1.5-2 hours)
The meat should become very tender, easy to break apart with a fork and certainly soft to chew.
Taste for tenderness and for salt and flavor. Add more salt and spices to taste.
Once it feels just about finished, add your root vegetables and let all cook together for another 5-10 minutes to let the flavors come together, then add your greens and fresh herbs.
Leave some fresh herbs aside for garnishing!