Hairy Bikers Beef Stew With Dumplings Recipes

BEEF STEW WITH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Mix flour, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Dredge beef cubes in flour and remove, shaking off excess flour.
• Over medium high heat, melt one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of oil in 6-quart heavy bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven until slightly brown and frothy. Place half of the beef in the hot fat making sure that meat pieces do not touch each other. Sear two minutes per side. Remove from pan and heat another tablespoon of butter and oil then cook the second half of the meat. Remove meat from pan when done and set aside. Total time to sear all the meat is 15 minutes.
• Turn heat to medium and add the remaining butter and olive oil to the pan. Add in chopped onions and cook three minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook for one more minute. Add tomato paste and cook for an additional minute.
• Add in red wine to deglaze pan, scraping up any brown bits from bottom.
• Add browned beef cubes, stock, water, bay leaf, thyme, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to a simmer and cover pot with lid slightly ajar. Simmer for 2 ½ hours or until beef is tender, adjusting water as needed. If all of the liquid does not fit, set some aside and add later as the liquid in the pan evaporates. Either way, check at the two hour mark and if needed, add more liquid. We used exactly four quarts of liquid (Three quarts beef stock and one quart of water).
• After 2 1/2 hours, add in carrots, potatoes, green beans, pearl onions and parsley and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• While vegetables are cooking, prepare dumpling batter as follows: Sift flour, baking powder and sugar together. Add salt and thyme into the bowl and then cut in butter with a fork until pieces are rice size. Add milk and stir with spoon until mixed.
• Add green peas to stew, adjust seasoning and turn heat to low. Remove and discard bay leaves.
• Drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter into stew until all batter is used. (Do NOT just pour the dumpling batter in all at once.) Cover and cook 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Check and if they are not puffed up enough, cook for another minute or two covered. Ours took exactly 15 minutes .
• Serve bowls of stew with dumplings on top.

BEEF & GUINNESS STEW WITH BACON DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• First, make the dumplings. Gently fry the bacon until crisp in a large lidded casserole dish. Stir in the thyme leaves, then tip into a bowl and leave to cool slightly. Add the flour and suet to the bacon, and stir everything together. Make a well in the middle, then add the egg yolk, parsley, ½ tsp pepper and 2 tbsp very cold water, and start to mix into a dough. Keep adding water until you a have a firm but pliable dough. Divide the mixture into eight balls and chill until needed.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Quickly clean the casserole dish with some kitchen paper, then heat the oil. Brown the meat really well in batches, then set aside. Tip in the onions or shallots, carrots and celery, brown well, then stir in the flour. Add the meat and any juices back into the dish, give everything a good stir, then pour in the stock and Guinness. Season, then tuck in the thyme and star anise and bring everything to a simmer. Cover with a lid, then cook in the oven for about 2 hrs until the meat is tender.
• Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the dumplings evenly on top. Put the lid back on and return to the oven for 20 mins, then cook for a final 10 mins with the lid off to brown the dumplings. Bring the dish to the table in all its glory. Spoon into bowls with cabbage and mash, to serve.

MOM'S HEARTY BEEF STEW WITH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering, and place the onion and beef into the hot oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the steak seasoning, stir the meat and onions well, and sprinkle with 1 more teaspoon of seasoning. Add the celery, and cook and stir until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes.
• Pour in 2 cups of water to just cover the meat, onion, and celery, bring to a boil, and stir and scrape the browned bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the beef is very tender, about 2 hours. Remove the meat and celery pieces from the pan, set the meat aside, and discard the celery.
• In a bowl, whisk together the gravy mix with 4 cups of water. Add the mixture to the juices in the pot, bring to a boil, and stir the meat back into the gravy mixture. Stir in the turnip and carrots, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cover, and simmer an additional 20 minutes.
• To make dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture looks crumbly. Pour in the milk, and lightly stir the mixture just until it combines to form a dough.
• Remove 2 cups of gravy from the pot, and reserve. Drop the dumplings by heaping tablespoon onto the meat and vegetables in the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peek until the time is up. Pour the reserved gravy back over the dumplings, stir lightly, and serve.

BEEF STEW AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the beef stew, heat the oil in a large, lidded casserole over a medium heat. Fry the chuck steak for 3-4 minutes, until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the onions, carrot, celery and swede and fry for 6-8 minutes, or until golden-brown, adding a little more olive oil if need be. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the plain flour and stir well. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until it turns a nut-brown colour. Pour in the stock and stir well until the sauce thickens.
• Return the beef to the casserole, add the red wine and bay leaves and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering, then leave to simmer gently for 1 hour with the lid slightly ajar.
• Meanwhile, for the suet dumplings, combine the flour, suet, baking powder and salt in a bowl until well combined. Add the water gradually, stirring the mixture with your fingers, until it comes together as a slightly sloppy dough. Shape the dough into balls roughly the size of a plum.
• For the herby oat dumplings, combine the oatmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and herbs in a mixing bowl until well combined. Grate the chilled butter into the bowl and mix again. Bring the dough together with your fingers, gradually adding enough water, as before, to make a wet dough. Shape the dough into plum-sized balls.
• When the stew has been simmering for an hour, season it again with salt and pepper, if necessary. Put the dumplings on top of the stew, cover the casserole with the lid, and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the dumplings have proudly puffed up. Serve.

BEEF STEW WITH HORSERADISH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Trim any excess fat off the beef, and place in a large plastic bag with the flour and some seasoning. Close the bag and shake it really well to coat all the meat with the seasoned flour. Melt the dripping in a very large ovenproof casserole and throw in the beef and shallots. Give everything a good stir and cook for 10 mins, until starting to brown. Pour over the stock and stir - scraping bottom of the pan to extract all the flavour. Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for 2½ hrs, until the meat is tender and falling apart.
• Just before the beef cooking time is up, make the dumplings. Mix all the ingredients with 175ml cold water to form a heavy dough. Roll the dough into balls about the size of golf balls. Pop the dumplings into the casserole dish, leave off the lid and return to the oven. Increase heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for 15-25 mins until the dumplings are puffed up, golden and cooked through.

LIGHTER BEEF STEW & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep sauté pan. Tip in the onions, bay leaves and thyme sprigs, and fry over a medium heat for about 8 mins, stirring often, until the onions are turning golden. Raise the heat, add the steak and stir-fry briefly until it starts to lose its raw, red colour. Pour in the wine, stir to deglaze the brown sticky bits from the bottom of the pan, and let it bubble briefly. Lower the heat, sprinkle in the flour and mustard powder, and stir for 1 min. The meat should now be coated in a thick, rich sauce.
• Mix in the tomatoes, stirring to break them down. Stir in the stock and bring to the boil. Tip in the carrots, squash and mushrooms, lower the heat, cover with a lid and leave to simmer gently for 1 hr 40 mins, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for a further 20 mins, still on a gentle simmer, until the meat is very tender. Season with pepper.
• When the stew is nearly cooked, heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put a 2.25-litre casserole dish in to heat it up. Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Put the flour, mustard powder, some pepper and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then stir in the spring onions and parsley. Mix the oil and buttermilk together and gently stir into the flour. Add a drop or two of cold water, if needed, to pick up any dry bits on the bottom of the bowl, and stir to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. Be as light-handed as you can, as overmixing or overhandling will toughen the dumplings. Cut the dough into 8 pieces and very lightly shape each into a small, rough ball.
• Carefully transfer the stew to the hot casserole dish and remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Sit the dumplings on top and press them down into the gravy to very slightly submerge. Put the dish on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 mins until the dumplings have risen and are golden on top. Serve with a light scattering of thyme leaves.