Make Stew From Scratch

Stew is a perfect winter meal. It's warming, hearty, and full of disease-fighting vegetables and soups. If Grandma's stew was one of her best winter treats, what are we saying when we say that coming home and smelling the stew sizzling was the highlight of her week? I can understand clearly. I hope you will continue the tradition. If not, it's time to learn how to make delicious stew from scratch. There are so many stew recipes out there that it can be confusing. However, they all follow a very simple pattern, and once you understand it, you can easily customize it by changing the meat, spices, herbs, and liquid to your liking. For simplicity, I'll stick to beef stew. This is classic and delicious.

Beef pairs well with bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, and bold flavors. Always use a broth that matches the main protein (in this case, beef). Beef soup is suitable for game, ostrich, and lamb. For pork, chicken, and vegetables, use vegetable or chicken broth.

Remember, you can't make stew in a hurry. Meat should not be cooked quickly, but slowly. The flavors need time to meld, the sauce to thicken, and the meat to fall apart and be tender. For this reason, tough cuts of meat are ideal for stewing. Whatever you do, don't waste your money on expensive cuts of beef. Instead, opt for pot roast, beef shank, beef tenderloin, or even chuck or T-bone steak.

Like many great dishes, start your stew with onions. Chop them, add butter or oil to a frying pan, and cook over medium heat until caramelized. It also doesn't hurt to lightly dust the onions with flour before cooking. When the stew is ready, it's worth it because the flour will give you a thicker gravy instead of a thin, watery soup. Next, stir-fry the meat and other flavorful ingredients to create a flavor base. Add oil to the skillet over medium heat and add the ingredients. Garlic, spices, bay leaves, vegetables, tomato paste, etc. are used here. The important thing is to sear the meat thoroughly over moderately high heat until the pan is browned. Keep the vegetables fairly large so they don't turn mushy when the meat is cooked. Next, add a tablespoon or two of acidic liquid (often wine) to the pan, cook briefly, and scrape up any burnt residue from the bottom of the pan.

Most of the work is now complete. Now all you have to do is add the liquid and any additional spices. The liquid is usually soup or water, but you can also use canned tomatoes. For seasoning, Worcestershire sauce is a good place to start. It's never a bad idea to add a glass or two of wine, plenty of pepper, and if you like it a little spicy, add some Tabasco. The soup can be salty, so don't forget to taste it before adding salt. Thyme, fresh or dried, is great for seasoning beef stew.

Add your favorite liquid and seasonings, then cover and simmer everything over low heat. After about an hour, add the diced potatoes so they don't get too mushy. If you don't want your vegetables to be too soft, you can also add them to the potatoes instead of browning them in the pan first. After a total of 2–3 hours of simmering, you'll have a piping hot, aromatic stew with amazingly tender meat.

Article Source: https://boostarticles.com

Join Us: https://boostarticles.com/signup