Beef Stew Recipe

This hearty beef and vegetable stew is a favorite around here, especially in the winter.

Before You Begin

Ingredients

• 900 grams (2 lbs) Beef, cubed and excess fat removed. More or less is no problem. Do not waste your money on a fancy cut of meat! You're going to simmer this for a long time, and it will become very tender.
• 900 grams (6 cups) Potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces. One medium potato is about 1 cup in volume.
• 260 grams (2 cups) Carrots, peeled and sliced. Two cups is about 2 to 3 medium-sized carrots.
• 340 grams (2 cups) Onion (Yellow or Brown), chopped. About 2 medium onions.
• 200 grams (1 1/2 cups) Pearl Onions, or Onion (Yellow or Brown) cut into small wedges.
• 4.17 grams (1 tsp) Granulated Sugar.
• 11 grams (2 cloves) Garlic, fresh chopped. If you have only garlic powder use 1/8 tsp of garlic powder per garlic clove.
• 24 grams (8 cubes) Beef Bouillon. 1 cube = 1 tsp of powdered bouillon.
• 5.69 grams (1 tsp) Salt.
• 1.15 grams (1/2 tsp) Black Pepper, fresh ground.
• 1.26 grams (1 tbsp) Basil (dried leaves).
• 0.6 grams (3 leaves) Laurel (Bay Leaf).
• 2.74 grams (1 tbsp) Thyme (dried, whole type).
• 29.6 ml (2 tbsp) Oil.
• 14.8 ml (1 tbsp) Worcestershire Sauce (optional). 1 ~ 2 tbs ok. I've never used this.
• 9.9 ml (2 tsp) Kitchen Bouquet (optional). I've never used this.
• 15.00 grams (2 tbsp) Cornstarch. You can substitute 45 grams (3 tbsp) flour if you don't have cornstarch.
• 1,920 ml (8 cups) Water

Preparation

1. Trim excess fat from the Beef, and cut into cubes about 2.5 cm (1 inch) in size.
2. In a large pot, add Oil and Beef, and sprinkle on the Sugar. Brown the meat on all sides over medium heat, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the Chopped Onion and stir in. Continue cooking until the Onions start to become transparent, about 8 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add 8 cups of water and bring to boil.
6. Add the herbs and spices (Bouillon, Salt, Pepper, Basil, Laurel, Thyme, optional Worcestershire Sauce, and optional Kitchen Bouquet).
7. Reduce heat, and simmer partially covered for at least 30 minutes, but 60 minutes or more will give you more tender meat. Keep reading below.
8. Peel and cut the Potatoes and Carrots, storing them in a bowl of water so they don't turn brown. Now take a break until the Beef and Onions have simmered long enough.
9. This step takes a total of 15 minutes for average-size vegetable chunks. You want to cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes, carrots for 10 minutes, and onions for 5 minutes. As you add each vegetable, momentarily raise the heat to bring the pot back to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Be careful not to overcook or the vegetables will become mushy.
10. Check for doneness. The center of a piece of potato should be nearly transparent. Carrots should be soft enough to chew on, but not mushy. Cook a few more minutes if these aren't ready yet.
11. Turn off the heat. Mix the Cornstarch or Flour with a few teaspoons of cold water to make a paste, and stir the paste into the stew. This will thicken the stew slightly and make the soup less transparent.
12. You're done. Serve after this has cooled a bit. Don't serve the Laurel.

Serving Suggestions

Storage

References