An Autumn Classic

This edition of Southern Home Cooking we are going to make a Southern Beef Stew.  Beef stew is autumn classic and pairs well with the corn bread we made before, although without the cheese and peppers. 

   

As with most southern dishes, there a literally hundreds of ways to fix this dish, it all depends on what you like or don’t like.  For instance, this recipe calls for a whole sliced onion and I can’t stand cooked onion (it’s a consistency thing) so I used onion powder to taste instead.  There are many more recipes that call for things like bay leaves, crushed or minced garlic, celery and other vegetables and herbs.   I wanted to keep it simple, so I used just a basic recipe.  Of course, some of the measurements may be off a bit.  It is hard to gauge when Momma says a dash of this and pinch of that then taste it to see what else you need.

  

Just as with any beef stew, we are going to start with a basic cut of meat.  Some use a chopped-up roast or cut steaks.  Since beef can be expensive, I generally get the stew meat and then trim most of the fat before browning it in the pan. 

  

You’ll need a deep pot of some type.  For most recipes, I use a porcelain coated cast iron Dutch oven, the cast iron cooks very evenly but any soup pot will work.  

  

Heat your pot on medium heat, throw in the butter and let it melt.  While your pot is heating up, go ahead and get your flower and meat and dredge your meat in the flower until it is coated.  When your pot is hot enough, throw in the butter and the meat and brown up your meat.  Be careful not to overload your pot with meat as that can end up steaming your meat instead of frying it, which is what we want to do.  (It wouldn’t really be southern if something wasn’t fried!)  If needed, do several batches of the meat until all of it is cooked up.  Once done, add your water and spices plus the cut up onion, but hold off on the tomato paste and beef bouillon; those will go in after the meat is tender.  Bring the whole thing up to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour. 

  

While your meat and spices simmer, go ahead and cut up your potatoes and carrots.  I use the red potatoes but peeled russets work fine, too.    Baby carrots are my favorite for this but whole regular one a just as good.  I always like to rinse my vegetables and potatoes.  You never know what’s on them, especially when you use fresh vegetables. 

  

Once your meat is done and tender, add in your tomato paste and mix well.  Then, throw in your vegetables and beef bouillon, stir it around and then turn the heat up and bring it back to a boil.   Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until your vegetables are fork tender. 

  

I like to pair this with cornbread and sometimes with rice.  It’s a good rule of thumb that if you are going to do that, go ahead and mix up your cornbread and/or start the rice while your vegetables

     are cooking.  They generally will all be done about the same time. 

 

Of note:  This is generally a much thicker stew than most are accustomed too.  Keep in mind that we fried our meat with flour, which will act as a thickening agent.  Tomato paste can also be a thickening agent so you shouldn’t end up with a “soup” type of consistency.  It will be somewhat thick. 

Ingredients:

2- lbs. of Stew Beef

4 cups of water

4 teaspoons of beef bouillon granules

1 medium onion, sliced

3-4 carrots, sliced

6-8 red potatoes (or russet)

2-3 tablespoons of butter

1/3 cup of tomato paste

1-2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon Paprika

Black Pepper to taste

Garlic (powder or minced fresh) to taste

Flour (used to dredge meat before frying)

  

The whole process usually takes a couple of hours, so it isn’t a “quick” meal.  I like to make this on the weekends when the air gets crisp.  It’s belly warming comfort food that warms the heart as well as the belly. 

  If you are interested in a few other variations:

   http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2008/12/marys-homemade-beef-stew.html#axzz4si1WUMLG

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/69377/southern-style-beef-stew/