Showing posts with label stews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stews. Show all posts
This recipe I am sharing today comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Casserole Cookbook, reprinted in 1970. This was a real favorite book of mine throughout my married life and one that I used often. This simple beef stew recipe was a family favorite.
The meat always comes out melt-in-the-mouth tender and delicious and the gravy is sensational. It uses simple ingredients. Things that I always had in my home and the children loved the slight sweet and tanginess of the simple gravy. There was nothing complicated about it.
I remember serving it to my father when I was living in my first small apartment. He had a job which often took him throughout this small valley we still live in. He would stop by for lunch sometimes and I can remember him loving this stew. He said it was better than my mother's stew. I do not know if that was true or not, but it made me happy to hear him say so and to know that he enjoyed it.
I hope that you will also enjoy it. I have cut the quantities back from the original to make only 3 to 4 servings. If you wish to serve more people, simply double the ingredients. Cook times will remain the same. Prepare to fall in love.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE 1970'S SWEET & SOUR STEW
Simple store-cupboard ingredients and time. A deep skillet and a lid. The rest is magic and love.
For the meat:
- 2 TBS plain all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 pound (453g) stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 TBS light olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup
- 2 TBS (27.5g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 TBS (30ml) white vinegar
- 1/2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
You will also need:
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Mashed potatoes, rice or noodles to serve
NOTE - Yes, you do see green beans in the stew. I had a half a can of them left from another recipe and threw them in and heated them through at the last minute. This worked very well, tasted delicious and meant I didn't waste them.
I wish we had a local butcher here like I had in the U.K. but alas I do not. I have to make do with store purchased meat. This was a small package of beef marked and cubed for stewing. I cut the large cubes into smaller cubes.
The original recipe called for shortening to brown the meat in. I used light olive oil. I rarely use shortening these days if at all.
Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. I did not have any large carrots, but I did have a bag of mini carrots. I used those, cut in half on the diagonal.
HOW TO MAKE 1970'S SWEET & SOUR STEW
Just a few simple, humble ingredients and a bit of time. This is simple and delicious. There is nothing complicated here. Long slow cooking is the key.
Put the flour, salt and pepper into a baggie. Add the meat cubes. Shake together until the meat is well coated.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the cubes of meat and brown them well on all sides.
While the meat is browning, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, making sure they are well mixed together.
Pour the sauce ingredients over the meat to cover. Stir in the onion. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice. (Add some water if you think it is getting too thick.)
At the end of 45 minutes, stir in the carrots. Cover and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes until both the meat and the carrots are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
Serve hot ladled into heated bowls or onto heated plates with mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR SUCCESS WHEN MAKING STEWS
1. Don't rush the browning process by having too high of a heat. Burnt ingredients will not add to the flavor. A medium high heat, lots of attention and a stir every now and again for even browning. Do make sure you get a deep brown (not burnt) color on your meat. This is where a lot of the flavor will come from.
2. Once the liquid ingredients are added, bring just to the boil and then reduce to a slow simmer. Boiling the meat will toughen it. A slow braise will ensure a tender melt-in-the-mouth finish. Don't be in a hurry.
3. Don't over season. The flavors will condense as the sauce/gravy simmers and thickens. You can always taste it at the end and add a bit more salt or pepper or both if need be.
It had been many years since I had made this stew. One taste and all of the memories came flooding back and I found myself wondering why I had waited so long to make it again. This was a favorite of my father's when he would stop in and visit me in my first little apartment. Rich and delicious.
I enjoyed this with a pile of fluffy mashed potatoes and shared some of it with my next-door neighbor who was very appreciative! I froze the remainder for another time. It has always been my experience that things like stew get even tastier upon standing.
Are you in love with comfort food? Love nothing more than a tasty soup or a stew? Then you will probably also love the following favorites!
ROAST CHICKEN SOUP WITH BARLEY AND PARSNIPS - This soup starts with a delicious homemade stock which is made from the carcass of a roasted chicken. Into this goes pearl barley, grated parsnips, and cabbage with perfectly delicious results. You can use readymade stock as well if you want. Leftover shredded chicken is added and heated through at the end for a delicious bowl of soup that everyone will enjoy.
OVEN BRAISED BEEF STEW - My vegetables that I use for this stew are pretty simple. Onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips, swede (rutabaga), potato. Humble vegetables, comfort vegetables . . . winter vegetables. I like to cut them into a pretty uniform size. These are added to a casserole of nicely browned beef, along with a mix of aromatics and a simple sauce. Braised in the oven, all of the flavors meld into a very delicious stew that your family is sure to love.
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Sweet & Sour Stew
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 25 MTotal time: 1 H & 40 M
Simple and delicious. A vintage recipe using simple ingredients and with bags of flavor. If you wish to feed more people, simply double everything up. The timings will stay the same
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 2 TBS plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 pound (453g) stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 TBS light olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/4 cup (61g) tomato ketchup
- 2 TBS (27.5g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 TBS (30ml) white vinegar
- 1/2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
You will also need:
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Mashed potatoes, rice or noodles to serve
Instructions
- Put the flour, salt and pepper into a baggie. Add the meat cubes. Shake together until the meat is well coated.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the cubes of meat and brown them well on all sides.
- While the meat is browning, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, making sure they are well mixed together.
- Pour the sauce ingredients over the meat to cover. Stir in the onion. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice. (Add some water if you think it is getting too thick.)
- At the end of 45 minutes, stir in the carrots. Cover and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes until both the meat and the carrots are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Serve hot ladled into heated bowls or onto heated plates with mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.
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I have been craving Beef Stew all week. It's a winter thing I guess, and having just come through having had a bad cold I was really craving some sort of comfort food.
In the UK they make things called Hot Pots in the winter months. This is usually with lamb, but I have also seen them made with other meats such as pork or chicken. This is the ultimate in comfort food.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
Meat and vegetables layered in an oven proof casserole dish with some stock, and then baked until everything is meltingly tender. Usually there is a thatch of sliced potatoes on top, but not always.
Today I decided to make myself a hot pot of sorts using some steak I found in my freezer, and why not! I was really pleased with how it turned out as well. This is sized for two to three people, but could certainly be made large enough to feed many more than that.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
Its not a recipe as much as it is a technique. Meat it browned and then layered up with a variety of vegetables. A flavor filled stock is poured over top and then the whole thing is baked long and slow until everything melts in your mouth.
You can thicken the juices to make a delicious gravy if you wish.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
Its all a matter of using what you have. I have even seen hot pots made with canned corned beef and baked beans. Using steak would be at the higher end of the scale!
Delicious, hearty and thrifty, that is the epitome of a classic hot pot, and in these days of having to pinch our pennies, thrifty counts more than ever!
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BEEF STEAK HOT POT
I simply used what meat and vegetables I had in my freezer and refrigerator. Using up what you already have is the name of the game! This is by no means a stringent list of ingredients!
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tsp oil
- 10 ounces (285g) top round or stewing steak cut into pieces
- 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, salt, black pepper and summer savory (or thyme)
- 1/2 small white cabbage cut into wedges
- 1 large parsnip, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1/3 of a small turnip (rutabaga/swede) peeled and cut into thick half moons
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 small onions quartered
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS sweet pickle juice or Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS HP or other steak sauce
- 1 heaped TBS to thicken the gravy
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
I am not sure what kind of steak I had as I had not marked the package but bear in mind you don't want to use your most expensive cut. I would suggest a rump or round steak. Any kind of steak which is well suited to braising.
Likewise, your vegetables. Root vegetables braise very well, and I think they taste even better if braised until they melt in your mouth. But I could be alone in that way of thinking. I like to mash them up on my plate and dot them with butter.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
Cabbage is especially lovely when braised long and slow for a lengthy period of time. It becomes almost buttery, and it does indeed melt in the mouth.
I love rutabaga, carrots and parsnips. They work very well in a dish like this.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
I chose to flavor the stock with a few aromatics, tomato ketchup, HP sauce and some sweet pickle juice. If you don't have sweet pickle juice then you can use Worcestershire sauce, or even leave it out altogether. I happen to like it in any dish like this one.
You will also note that there is not a lot of seasoning in this dish. With aromatics such as the above you don't really need a lot of seasoning. Just make sure you sprinkle some of it on each layer.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
HOW TO MAKE BEEF STEAK HOT POT
Nothing could really be easier. Brown your meat and then layer up your veg and bake. You can thicken the juices at the end for a delicious gravy if you wish.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4.
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy based oven proof casserole until the butter begins to foam. Add the pieces of steak and brown them well on both sides.
Mix together the herbs and seasonings in a small bowl.
Place the onion quarters around the browned steak in the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle with a bit of the seasoning.
Layer in the vegetables one at a time on top of the steak, sprinkling each layer with the seasoning mixture, and ending with the wedges of cabbage.
Whisk together the beef stock, ketchup, pickle juice, and HP sauce. Pour over the meat and vegetables. Cover the casserole tightly.
Place into the preheated oven. Roast for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender.
Remove from the oven. Using a slotted spoon remove the meat and vegetables from the juices to a platter. Set aside and keep warm. Whisk the flour into the remaining juices and cook, whisking constantly over medium high heat until the gravy thickens.
Serve portions of the meat along with the vegetables with some of that delicious gravy spooned over top.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
This really was delicious. I always love something like boiled potatoes or mash with this type of a meal. Today it was boiled potatoes.
I boiled them in their skins just like my mother always did. Just pick some small to medium sized potatoes and wash them very well. Cover with lightly salted water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until fork tender.
Spear with a fork and peel. As I was peeling mine, I was thinking of my mother and watching her peel boiled potatoes for our supper. What a sweet memory for me that was.
.JPG "Beef Steak Hot Pot")
If you are a fan of long and slow cooking, you might also enjoy the following:
POT ROASTED PORK WITH CABBAGE AND CARROTS - This Pot Roasted Pork with Cabbage and carrots is one of my favorite meals to cook when the temperatures start dropping and the nights begin to draw in. A long slow braise results in succulent moist pork, tender roasted carrots, butter tender cabbage and a rich gravy that is to die for.
LANCASHIRE HOT POT - If you are a fan of Coronation Street you will be familiar with the pleasure of the Lancashire Hot Pot. This is as traditional as they get, with layers of lamb, onions and carrots, and a lovely thatch of buttery sliced potato on top.
Yield: 2-3
Beef Steak Hot Pot
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 20 M
Tender pieces of beef with plenty of vegetables cooked long and slow. You can make a delicious gravy with the pan juices. I like to serve this with boiled or mashed potatoes!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tsp oil
- 10 ounces (285g) top round or stewing steak cut into pieces
- 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, salt, black pepper and summer savory (or thyme)
- 1/2 small white cabbage cut into wedges
- 1 large parsnip, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1/3 of a small turnip (rutabaga/swede) peeled and cut into thick half moons
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 small onions quartered
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 TBS tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS sweet pickle juice or Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS HP or other steak sauce
- 1 heaped TBS to thicken the gravy
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4.
- Heat the butter and oil in a heavy based oven proof casserole until the butter begins to foam. Add the pieces of steak and brown them well on both sides.
- Mix together the herbs and seasonings.
- Place the onion quarters around the steak in the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle with a bit of the seasoning.
- Layer in the vegetables one at a time on top of the steak, sprinkling each layer with the seasoning mixture, and ending with the wedges of cabbage.
- Whisk together the beef stock, ketchup, pickle juice, and HP sauce. Pour over the meat and vegetables. Cover the casserole tightly.
- Place into the preheated oven. Roast for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender.
- Remove from the oven. Using a slotted spoon remove the meat and vegetables from the juices to a platter. Set aside and keep warm.
- Whisk the flour into the remaining juices and cook, whisking constantly over medium high heat until the gravy thickens.
- Serve portions of the meat along with the vegetables with some of the gravy spooned over top.
Not too long after I moved into my new place, I purchased myself an Instant Pot. This is the model I bought here. It is a multi use pressure cooker. I can even make yogurt in it if I want to.
I am ashamed to say that today is the first time I used it, inspired by my sister having used hers to make a stew yesterday. It sounded so nice, I thought I would give it a go!
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
I picked up some stewing beef at the grocery store yesterday. I was shocked at how expensive meat it getting. I paid $7.69 for .388 kg, which is not even a pound.
Stewing beef sells for $19.82 a kilo here, which is 2 1/4 pounds. Outrageous when you think that stewing beef is not even the best quality beef around. I do not know how families can make ends meet and feed themselves these days!
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
That is where making something like a stew can be a delicious economy. You don't need a lot of meat and by adding a lot of vegetables to it, you can stretch that meat even further!
My recipe today makes four servings out of one pound of meat, and nobody will feel shortchanged because there are loads of delicious vegetables and there is lots of tasty gravy, ready to be mopped up with bread and butter.
This is a meal made in heaven.
One thing which I did differently than the usual here, was to use a package of fresh potato gnocchi. This is the brand I used. I am a huge fan of gnocchi. Little potato pasta dumplings that you can use almost like potatoes.
I have always used them just like potatoes myself. I boil them and fry them with onions, etc. They always come out most delicious!
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
The gnocchi add a lovely heartiness to the stew and doesn't break down like potatoes do. You add them at the very last. They only takes about 2 minutes to cook.
I really love the way they hold together in things like this.
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE INSTANT POT BEEF STEW
Aside from the Instant Pot, very simple ordinary kitchen ingredients. It looks like a lot but most of them are seasonings/flavorings.
- 1 pounds boneless stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 TBS oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
- 1/2 tsp dried summer savory
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- 1/4 cup tomato ketchup (61g)
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS Balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup beef stock (360ml)
- 4 1/2 cups peeled and prepped vegetables (see note)
- 1 package refrigerated fresh potato gnocchi (4 serving size)
- 2 TBS flour
- 2 TBS cold water
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
I used the Knorr beef stock concentrate for this. Ordinary tomato ketchup (adds a nice tang) as does the Worcestershire sauce. Normally I would add sweet pickle juice to my stews, but lacking that, today I added balsamic vinegar with excellent results.
I used a variety of vegetables for my stew. Parsnips, carrots, onion, rutabaga and celery. The onions and celery break down quite a bit and are not really all that discernable in the end.
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
I left my vegetables quite chunky because I didn't want them breaking down too much. Although the instant pot does cook the stew in a fraction of the time that you would normally need to cook a stew, it's still long enough to break down your vegetables.
I love soft vegetables in my stew, but not mush. So, do keep them in largish chunks.
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT BEEF STEW
It's really easy and quite quick, once you get over your initial fear of pressure cooking. If you follow the instructions that come with your instant pot, you needn't fear!
Add the cooking oil to the Instant Pot insert. Select sauté, adjust to normal. Add the beef cubes, cooking in two batches. Cook 2 to 4 minutes on one side until browned. Repeat on the second side.
Once all of the meat has browned return it to the pan along with all of the herbs and seasonings, along with the broken bay leaf. Give it all a good stir and cook for a few minutes. Select CANCEL.
Place all of your prepped vegetables on top of the beef in the pan.
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
Whisk together the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Balsamic vinegar and stock to combine. Pour this mixture over top.
Secure lid. Set pressure valve to SEALING. Select MANUAL. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Select CANCEL.
Set pressure valve to VENTING to quick-release pressure.
Add the potato gnocchi, cover and keep warm on the warm setting until the gnocchi have cooked through. (Should only take a few minutes.)
Whisk together the flour and water until smooth. Whisk this into the pot. Select SAUTE, adjust to normal. Brint to a simmer and then cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened, and any flour taste has been cooked out. Select CANCEL.
Serve hot spooned into bowls along with crusty bread to sop up all that lush gravy.
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
I was really pleased with how delicious this stew turned out and how very quickly it was ready in comparison to the traditional method.
My friend Glenna stopped by right after it was done. She has just bought herself an Instant Pot, so she was quite interested in how it went together. I gave her a bowl of it to take home with her. (She just lives across the road from me.)
I think I have found a new way to make a tasty stew! Many thanks to my sister for inspiring me!
.JPG "Instant Pot Beef Stew")
If you would rather make stew in the traditional way you might enjoy the following recipes:
BEEF STEW FOR TWO WITH BISQUICK DUMPLINGS - A down-sized version of my favorite beef stew, perfectly sized for two. It may be smaller in size but is every bit as delicious as the full-sized version!
IRISH LAMB STEW - There is nothing fabulously outrageous ingredient-wise about this stew. Simple ingredients put together in a very simple way. Stewing Lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery. Thyme, stock and seasoning. A bit of oil for browning the meat.
EASY OVEN STEW - This has to be the easiest and tastiest stew around. I clipped the recipe from a newspaper many moons again and I have been using it ever since. It pretty much cooks itself. With just a bit of peeling and chopping, your work is pretty much done, and if you use frozen chopped onions and buy your meat already cubed, then it doesn't take long to throw together at all.
Yield: 4
Instant Pot Beef Stew (with Potato Gnocchi)
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M
You won't believe how quickly you can make a delicious stew in an Instant Pot! This is quick easy and incredibly tasty!
Ingredients
- 1 pounds boneless stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 TBS oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt)
- 1/2 tsp dried summer savory
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- 1/4 cup tomato ketchup (61g)
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TBS Balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup beef stock (360ml)
- 4 1/2 cups peeled and prepped vegetables (see note)
- 1 package refrigerated fresh potato gnocchi (4 serving size)
- 2 TBS flour
- 2 TBS cold water
Instructions
- Add the cooking oil to the Instant Pot insert. Select sauté, adjust to normal. Add the beef cubes, cooking in two batches. Cook 2 to 4 minutes on one side until browned. Repeat on the second side.
- Once all of the meat has browned return it to the pan along with all of the herbs and seasonings, along with the broken bay leaf. Give it all a good stir and cook for a few minutes. Select CANCEL.
- Place all of your prepped vegetables on top of the beef in the pan.
- Whisk together the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Balsamic vinegar and stock to combine. Pour this mixture over top.
- Secure lid. Set pressure valve to SEALING. Select MANUAL. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Select CANCEL.
- Set pressure valve to VENTING to quick-release pressure.
- Add the potato gnocchi, cover and keep warm on the warm setting until the gnocchi have cooked through. (Should only take a few minutes.)
- Whisk together the flour and water until smooth. Whisk this into the pot. Select SAUTE, adjust to normal. Brint to a simmer and then cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened, and any flour taste has been cooked out. Select CANCEL.
- Serve hot spooned into bowls along with crusty bread to sop up all that lush gravy.
Notes
I used carrots (3 large), parsnips (3 small), 1/2 a small rutababa/swede, 1 medium onion, 2 stalks celery. Peel all of your vegetables. Cut the carrots and parsnips into thick coins. Cut the swede into 1/2 inch cubes, chop the onion. Slice the celery into 1/2 inch pieces.
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Add the vegetables and add water as needed.
Cover and cook on low for a further hour or so, or until the meat and all of the vegetables are tender. Add the potato gnocchi. Cook for several minutes until the gnocchi are tender.
Whisk together the flour and water until smooth. Whisk this into the stew, whisking constantly, until the mixture has bubbled and thickened. Cook for a few minutes to cook out any flour taste. Serve as above.
Leftovers taste even better the day after, and this freezes beautifully.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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