Beef Stew is a great meal for a Sunday night, along with some freshly bread and a simple salad. So far I’ve been cooking it on the stove for about 2 hours. There are a lot of recipes for a slow cooker, but I’m sticking to the stove for now so I don’t overcook anything. Also, I’ve been using “stew meat”, but I think I’m going to try chuck steak next time. My stew meat has been pretty lean, and I believe a more marbled meat would be better.
When we were in Norway, our relatives served us beef stew. It was easily the best I’d ever tasted. I’ve been trying different recipes and getting closer, but I still think the Norwegian version was better. I asked for the recipe of course, but they looked confused and told me it was stew. With beef. With really tasty tender beef that I’m still trying to match.
Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat or chuck steak
- 1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 cup carrots
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cans beef broth 30 oz. total
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- a couple of glugs of red wine optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the meat into 1 inch cubes, and brown them in the bottom of a large pot. You can dredge them in flour first, but I’m not convinced that adds any flavor, although it may help thicken the gravy.
- Coarsely chop the onion, and cut the potatoes into bite sized cubes. You can use baby carrots as is, or cut them in half diagonally. Slice the celery.
- When the meat is seared on all sides, add the vegetables to the pot, along with the beef broth and remaining ingredients. Bring the stew to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low or medium low, just enough to keep it very gently boiling. Let it cook for around 2 hours, plus or minus 30 minutes.
- If you want the sauce to be thicker, you can add a paste of cornstarch and water just before serving. Stir well and serve.
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