I know in a previous entry I spoke about making a metaphorical “stew.” But now, I will bestow upon you readers my new recipe for making a real stew — and a very tasty one at that. If you don’t have a crock pot, substitute it for a regular pot and just cook it in your oven at 200 degrees or so for 6-8 hours.
Ingredients
- 2lb stew meat (I used pre-cut chuck stew meat from the grocery store)
- 3 tbsp. olilve oil
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 4 carrots chopped to 1/2″ pcs.
- 3 potatoes cubed appropriately
- 2 onions also cut up as desired
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. rosemary
Mix flour, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Dredge beef in flour mixture and brown in a pan with olive oil (you’ll need to do this in two batches) for approximately 2-3 minutes each side over medium heat. Throw the beef and unused flour mixture into the crock pot. Put everything else into the crock pot as well, and mix it up to combine and fairly evenly coat. Cook on low for 10-12 hours, or on high for around 6 hours. When it’s done, let it cool at room temperature for an hour or so and then refrigerate. The stew is better after it’s had a chance to rest for a day. Feel free to skim fat off of the top, and/or thicken the stew if desired (I found very little fat, and a perfect consistency already). Makes ~4-6 servings. Yum.
Into The Weeds 