Comfort Essentials Heartwarming Beef Stew Recipes

COMFORTING BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown beef in batches. Remove with a slotted spoon., In same pan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomato paste. Gradually stir in broth until blended. Return beef to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 1-1/2 hours., In a small bowl, mix flour and water until smooth; gradually stir into stew. Add carrots and turnips; cook, covered, 30-40 minutes longer or until stew is thickened and beef and vegetables are tender. Stir in parsley. Freeze option: Freeze cooled stew in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth if necessary.

COMFORT FOOD BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Place beef and flour in a plastic baggie, Shake.
• Pour oil into a large dutch oven, heat.
• Add beef cook until brown, stirring occasionally.
• Add water and next 4 ingredients.
• Bring to a boil.
• Cover.
• Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours or until beef is tender.
• Discard bay leaves.
• Cut carrots, celery, potatoes, onion, and bell pepper, add to stew.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until tender.
• Combine water and flour, stirring well.
• Pour into stew.
• Boil, stirring constantly till thick and bubbly.

COMFORT FOOD ESSENTIALS: AWESOME BEEF & BRAT STEW

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• I am using charcoal steak for the recipe, because they have a lot of flavor, and tenderize well in the braise liquid.
• To give this recipe more of a deep flavor, I am using homemade bone broth, in place of the beef stock. If you are looking for a simple recipe to make bone broth, check this one out. https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/soup/beef-soup/cooking-essentials-beef-bone-marrow-broth.html?r=3
• Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
• Place a rack in the bottom position, and preheat the oven to 350f (175c).
• Add the flour; along with some salt and pepper, to a bowl.
• Add the cubed beef, and toss to coat.
• Add about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil to a heavy-bottomed pot, over medium-to-medium-high heat.
• Add half the flour-coated beef, and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 - 7 minutes
• When nice and brown, remove and reserve.
• Add a bit more grapeseed oil to the pot, then brown the remainder of the beef, and reserve.
• Add the sliced brats, slightly brown, and then add to the reserved beef.
• Reduce the heat to medium, remove all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan, and then add the onions.
• Stir until they begin to soften, about 3 - 4 minutes.
• Deglaze the pot by pouring in the beer, and allowing it to simmer for 2 - 3 minutes.
• Chef's Note: While the beer is simmering, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the fonds that have developed on the bottom of the pot.
• Add the sliced brats, the reserved beef, the beef stock, water, the dry spices, and then bring up to a simmer.
• Cover, and place into the preheated oven for 1 hour.
• While the stew is baking, prep the veggies.
• After 1 hour, add the veggies to the pot, give it a stir, and put back into the oven, until the beef is tender, and the veggies are cooked, an additional 45 - 60 minutes.
• Chef's Note: While you have the pot out of the oven, give it a taste, and adjust the seasonings accordingly.
• Chef's Tip: The veggies will be ready when they can be easily pierced with a paring knife.
• Chef's Note: Do not forget to remove the bay leaves, and do a final tasting for proper seasoning, before serving.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Serve in big bowls, with some crusty bread to sop up all those amazing juices. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

COMFORT ESSENTIALS: KICKED UP BEEF & TOMATO STEW

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• You will need a good heavy-duty pot, to make this recipe. I prefer my trusty Dutch oven, but use whatever you have available.
• CHILI PASTE Most chefs will tell you that pastes are the only way to get that great chili flavor. So, if you have the time, you might want to try out this recipe for making a great chili paste. If you decide to make it, just substitute an equal amount of chili paste for the ancho chili powder in the recipe. This may seem like a lot of work for one recipe ingredient, but the good news is that this paste can be frozen (I like to use an ice cube tray) and used in other recipes; like a yummy pot of chili, served up on a cold Winter's day... Think about it. https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/other-sauce-spread/chili-paste-essentials-up-your-game.html?r=3 HOMEMADE WORCESTERSHIRE Looking for a good Worcestershire without anchovies? It is easy/peasy to make... https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/other-sauce-spread/diy-essentials-homemade-worcestershire-sauce.html?r=1
• POTATOES AND TOMATOES You will notice that the tomatoes and tomato paste are added near the end of the recipe, and there is a very good reason for this. Because tomatoes are an acidic ingredient, the acidity prevents the potatoes from fully softening. Oh, they will eventually cook through and lose most of their raw texture, but it will take longer (up to twice as long) and they will never attain that fall-apart tenderness that we love in our soups and stews. And that is why, when working with taters, you add the tomato products near the end.
• POTATO TYPES For this recipe I am looking at two possible potato types: The good old American russet, and the waxier varieties, such as red or golden. The choice of potatoes impacts two different areas: Russets: The russet potato is very starchy, so when they cook, they shed some of that starch into the broth, and help thicken it. In addition, they absorb a lot of flavor from the broth, and have a "melt-in-your-mouth" taste. Red and Golden: The waxy variety of the potato family has less starch, so when you chomp down on one, it will still be tender, but will have sturdier bite to it. And, because they are less starchy they will do little to thicken the broth, and will take about 20 percent longer to fully cook. Note: One of the considerations I make when choosing potato type is if I am going to freeze it. The red and golden variety hold up better in the freezing/thawing process, while russets tend to get rather mushy. FYI: For this recipe I am using russets, because I do not plan on having much in the way of leftovers.
• THE BROTH If you want a thinner broth (making it more like a soup), then do not toss the beef in the flour mix, just brown it up with a bit of oil. However, if you choose to brown without the flour mix, make sure that you add the cumin from the flour mix, and add it when the recipe calls for adding the other dry spices.
• CUTS OF BEEF Most cut of beef will work in this recipe. What you are looking for is fork tender beef. So, when you put the beef in the broth, the amount of time it is simmered in the broth, is when it is almost fork tender. My times were based on an arm roast.
• DRY SPICES When it comes to spicing up a recipe the listed amounts are only an average. For example, When the weather turns cold, I usually add a bit more ancho powder, and white pepper. Think of them as suggestions, and then go from there.
• Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• Cut the beef into bite size pieces. I will let you define what "bite-size" means :-)
• Combine the flour mix ingredients in a medium bowl, add the beef cubes and toss to completely coat.
• Add about one tablespoon of oil to your pot, set to medium heat, then toss in some of the beef.
• You do not want to overcrowd the pot, so you probably need to do this in several batches.
• Brown the beef (about a minute per side), then remove from the pan, add another tablespoon of oil, and do another batch.
• Repeat the process until all the beef is nicely browned, then reserve in a bowl.
• Browning beef develops brown bits on the bottom of the pan called fonds. These dried bits, when reconstituted with liquid are like flavor bursts for things like soups and stews. However, if your pan was too hot, those tasty brown bits will turn into bitter burned bits. I HATE it when that happens. If you think your fonds are a bit too on the black side, then wipe the pot out before going to the next step. If they look brown, not black, then leave them in.
• Reduce the heat a bit, add another tablespoon of oil, and toss in the onions.
• Let them cook until translucent and soft, but not browned, about 3 - 4 minutes.
• Toss in the minced garlic, and stir until fragrant, about 60 seconds.
• Add the beef broth and the beef, then allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Toss in the dry spices and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remember that if you are not browning the beef in the flour mixture, add 1/3 teaspoon of ground cumin, or more to taste.
• While the stew is simmering, chop up the carrots.
• Add the carrots and simmer for 15 - 18 minutes.
• While the stew continues to simmer, cut up the potatoes into equal size pieces.
• Throw in the taters and simmer for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, and peas. Then simmer until warmed through, 5 - 8 minutes.
• Take off the heat, stir in the lime juice, and do a final tasting for proper seasoning. And, if the stew seems a bit too thick, add beef stock, a bit at a time until you achieve the proper consistency.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream (optional), maybe some crusty bread and a small side salad. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.