Old Fashion Beef Stew Recipe That The Whole Family Will Ask For Again And Again
Every household has a beef stew recipe. It is easy to make because you only need some water or broth, beef, and vegetables to make a basic stew that will feed a large family. It is dinner in just one pot. A nice crusty bread or dumplings made in the stew are all you need to make a nutritious feast.
Once man learned how to make fire, he quickly learned how to cook. Stew was a great meal even back in Biblical time when a bowl of it was traded for a dowry in the book of Genesis. Lamb and fish were the ingredients used by Romans to make stew. The first recipe to ever be recorded was during the fourteenth century. Stews are all different depending on the area and what is grown in the region.
When the weather gets cold, there is nothing better than a piece of bread and some stew to sop it up in. Stew is economical because a cheap cut of beef can be used instead of the expensive stuff, because it will tenderize from the extended simmering period it takes to make stew. If you only have a little bit of meat, you can still feed a multitude by adding more vegetables. A large family can feast on stew.
Stew is a peasant food because the ingredients do not cost a great deal. There are however, more expensive stews on some menus in expensive restaurants. Boeuf Bourguingnonne is found in French Restaurants and Beef Burgundy is a gourmet type of stew. Sirloin or eye of round can be used, but if you do not have the money, a top or bottom round will do just as well. The beef is chopped into cubes or strips then browned. Liquid is put in the pot and it simmers for about one to two hours. Stew is thickened so that it makes a gravy, while soup is not and stays more liquid.
Chop about two or three pounds of beef making strips or cubes and then cover it and put it aside. Put some oil in the bottom of a large pan or Dutch oven. Crush two cloves garlic and saute in the pan. Peel and chop up two to three onions and put them in the pot. Saute until they look translucent. Put the cut beef in and be sure that it is browned on all sides. It does not have to be cooked all the way through because it will cook during the simmering process. Pour in four cups of beef stock or broth and heat to a boil. Chop one cupful of carrots and about three fourths cup of celery and add to the pot. Put the beef chunks back in and put in one bay leaf.
Once the stew comes to a boil again, switch the heat down to a simmer. Put on a lid and let it go for twenty minutes. While it simmers peel and chop four large potatoes. When twenty minutes elapses, put the potatoes into the stew and add half teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme.
Let the pot simmer for thirty more minutes but keep an eye out to make sure the liquid does not get low. If it does add water or more broth and get it up to a simmer again. When there is only about ten minutes left on the timer, taste the stew and see if it needs salt or pepper. Also remove the bay leaf. To make the stew thicker combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with water to make a thick paste that will still pour. Put this in and stir the stew. It should start to thicken in about 3 minutes, and if it does not, in 5 minutes add a little more cornstarch and water. Stir constantly or the cornstarch can clump up and make lumps. Serve your stew to your family and friends with some bread to make a great dinner on a cold or not so cold night.
We do not know about you, but we cannot turn down a good beef stew recipe. For those cold, sick feeling days, the chicken soup recipe will hit the correct place.