It's time to make beef stew with one of my favorites recipes. I love my meaty red stew that I make so often that I even have a go-to label for it. Now, if you are feeding a crowd, or simply want to make your house smell heavenly as you're making it, start with the recipe below.
You can use any red meat or mix and match it with a beef chuck. I'm a big fan of shoulder cuts, such as the bone-in sirloin, rump steak and chuck eye. These are the bigger boneless steaks. Another good choice is to use stewing beef, which is cut from the chuck and round. Other good choices are grass-fed or local beef.
When the beef stew is finished, give it a taste. Mix it into the stew if you've got some roasted pumpkin (steamed, pureed or mashed). If it tastes off-balance, add some finishing flavors to bring it to the next level. Try adding soy sauce or Worcestershire for extra savory (or umami) flavor, a touch of honey or brown sugar for sweetness, lemon zest or vinegar for brightness, chili powder, or smoked paprika spice and depth.
Yes! If you brown the meat before adding your liquid, the meat absorbs more flavor from the flavor of the browned stew stock, while still offering a delicate flavor from the meat.
Even if you don't brown your meat, you'll still want to brown your carrots. The browning process is also a perfect opportunity to salt the stew to complement the flavor of the meat and veggies.
You add vegetables like carrots and potatoes to beef stew for extra flavor and texture. Carrots add sweetness, and potatoes add a unique flavor and texture that not many stews have. For both, cut the potatoes into medium-sized chunks and leave the carrots whole.
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