BS: Crockpot Beef Stew

Subject: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 05:20 AM

My mother-in-law used to make the most wonderful beef stew, and it made the house smell so good all day. But she's gone now, and I am the only carnivore left in the house who can make anything more sophisticated than frozen pizza.
I've tried making beef stew several times, but it never seems to come out right. Does anyone have a recipe for beef stew, particularly one I can make in a crock pot?

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 06:04 AM

I add a little Guinness to the pot Joe. Plenty of onions and garlic (if you don't dislike garlic!) If you don't make your own stock (boiling up bones and scraps for ages - very tedious) a good stock cube is important. Enough salt (ignore the health gurus) and coarsely-ground pepper.
Of course, husband would add heaps of chilli powder and those deadly Scotch bonnets, but I'm sure your mouth & insides wouldn't cope with those.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 06:11 AM

Use a cut of beef such as shin. Put in the pot with onion, celery, carrot, herbs such as thyme and bay leaf, a little garlic. The important thing is the beef - you don't need to use expensive steak.
Top up with water, stock if you wish, but with just water it will turn into stock while it cooks.
Then give it very long, very slow cooking, overnight is ideal.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 06:15 AM

Oh yes, salt and black pepper. Thanks Sen.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 07:07 AM

I agree about shin. You need to trim it somewhat, but the fat and sinewy stuff renders nicely and adds flavour, so don't go beserk. When I do it, the pieces of meat are about an inch in size to begin with, but they shrink somewhat during the cooking.

You don't need herbs or garlic. Definitely no mushrooms. Why over-egg the pudding? You've chosen a flavoursome cut of beef, so let it do the talking. My method couldn't be easier. Put the beef into your big, deep pan with some water. While you're bringing that to the boil, peel and cut some carrots into fairly thick rounds and throw them in. Roughly chop some onions and throw them in. Cut a peeled swede into half-inch chunks and throw them in. Peel some potatoes and chop them into one-inch pieces. Throw half of them in now and the other half in an hour's time. Season well with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. You can add more later if needs be.

Simmer for about two hours or until the meat is drop-dead tender. I haven't mentioned amounts. When we have this, I make enough for three lots for the two of us. That would be about two pounds or a bit more of meat, three onions, three fairly big spuds, a medium swede and about a pound of carrots. The water should cover everything. I use my biggest, deepest Le Creuset, which is a 26cm one, and it's filled nearly to the top.

Now here's the rub. Do not eat this today. Eat your first lot tomorrow. You will not believe the improvement in flavour that keeping it for 24 hours makes. I portion the stew carefully into three separate lots and put two in the fridge, one for tomorrow, one for the next day and one for the day after. Now I can't envisage this without suet dumplings. For two people, you need 50g suet, 100g self-raising flour and seasoning. Add a bit of water very carefully to make a firm but flexible dough. Not sloppy. It takes a bit of practice. Form the dough into six dumplings. Bring the stew to the boil and carefully add the dumplings. Put the lid on and simmer gently but merrily for 20 minutes. We like to have a few extra boiled spuds to ladle the stew on to, but that's up to you. Crusty bread would be just as good. Done.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 07:09 AM

I have an aversion to using beer of any kind in stews, by the way. Make the stew without and drink the bloody beer is my philosophy.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 07:13 AM

And if you just buy Atora suet (not the fake stuff). it tells you on the packet how to do the dumplings.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 08:06 AM

I've looked up American beef cuts and find that there the shin is known as the shank.

I agree about the dumplings, and about the beer - much better to drink it.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 09:05 AM

A Swede? Tastier than Danish, or just more savory?

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jeri
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 09:25 AM

It probably depends where you shop, but we get pre-selected and cut up "stew beef". The angus is good, but sometimes the cheap stuff has more flavor.

Mrrzy, a swede is a rutabaga. They cleverly hid that information away on Wikipedia.

We in the states flavor with mirepoix: celery, carrots, and onion. It's probably worth trying the rutabaga.

And coat the beef with flour and brown it first. I like Guinness in it, but I like Guinness in me, too, so it's your choice.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 01:41 PM

I don't like adding flour to stews. I put cut-up potato in at the beginning, which thickens the stew nicely. I add more cut-up potato about half way through, which gives some nice potato bite. You can brown the meat if you like, but I don't think it makes much difference, and it mucks up the cooker, takes time and stinks out the house. Celery is fine if you like it. I don't add it to my stew for the simple reason that I've never done it.

I'm going to make a big batch of lamb stew this weekend, following, more or less, Gennaro Contaldo's Youtube version. I use frozen peas which I add near the end. I wouldn't add peas to the portion saved for the next day until I reheat it, as they go a bit sorry-looking if they've been in there all that time. It's a beauty, even though he breaks the Italian rule of not putting garlic and onion in the same dish. At least he doesn't mince the garlic...

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Raggytash
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 01:55 PM

Jos has mentioned the most important ingredient TIME. Not thyme but TIME.

Long and slow cooking will transport almost any cheap cut of beef into a wonderful stew.

When I was at school Ma Keogh, the school …….. well everything, cook, first aider, shoulder to cry one, made the best stew known to man.

One of the things she put into it was Butter Beans. Here I am 50 years later and I still relish that stew especially served with Roast Potatoes!! Uuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 02:02 PM

If I'm making stew on the stovetop I braise the meat (cut it into generous-sized pieces then brown all sides before adding a 1/2 to 1 inch of stock and let it simmer on low for as long as I can manage to wait before moving to the next steps. You could easily brown on the stovetop and braise in the oven.) Then add vegetables and seasonings and such.

In a crockpot for some reason the order of the meat is counter-intuitive; my (ancient) crockpot instructions say to put the vegetables on the bottom and the meat on top. I usually do a pot roast in the crock pot though, rather than stew.

Stove top stew involves cooking the meat first and sometime during the meat cooking adding chunked up onion. When the meat is close enough to ready then add the cut up potatoes, carrots, parsnips if you like them (I do), and turnip or rutabaga if you like them (I don't much). Sometimes I wait till near the very end and add broccoli florets. The broth usually has some Worcestershire sauce added, some mustard, and I like to add a little red wine. Salt and pepper and a little dried oregano. Whatever broth (chicken or beef) needs to be topped periodically so it doesn't get too thick or sticky. I add a little flour and water mix to the stock right near the end do thicken it.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 02:02 PM

All of that said, this isn't exactly stew weather. Are you having a cold snap there in the Sierras, Joe?

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 02:27 PM

Joe buy a Mc Cormack spice packet that says beef stew. Follow instructions and eat.

I used the crock pot yesterday for spag sauce - 1/2 salsa 1/2 spag sauce and spices. Sausage and meat balls are cooked separetly and added later. It is less sweet than bottled sauce.

I like pecan pieces in sauces, stews and salads

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Helen
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 04:01 PM

Hi Joe,

I fry onions in a pan on the cooktop until they are translucent and then add chopped garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. Note: frying the onions changes the flavour. A stew with unfried onions doesn't taste right to me. Frying onions can take about 10 minutes so I usually cut up the meat and veges while they are frying. Also, I usually fry a double amount of onions and garlic and freeze half for my next dish to save time.

Put the onions and garlic into the slow cooker, then turn the heat up in the pan a little to quickly sear the beef, turning it to make sure all sides are brown. This should only take a couple of minutes. If you want spices in your stew you can dust the beef with the spices before throwing it into the pan.

The beef I use is a cheap cut called chuck steak here in Oz but it might be called something else where you are.

Note: Don't use expensive frying steak like sirloin because that works best when fried quickly e.g. on the barbie, so use the type which is best for slow cooking.

Put the seared beef into the slow cooker. If you are feeling so inclined you could fry up the chopped veges for a few minutes but that's not essential. I just find that frying them brings out the flavours. I use carrot, orange sweet potato, potato as my main veges but I usually put the potatoes in about half way through the cooking.

Put the veges in the slow cooker, add enough stock to just cover the lot and press the on button and walk away. I use liquid stock from a packet and I use half stock and half hot water.

There are variations on flavours.

If you are using herbs, put them in towards the end of cooking or the flavour will be lost but spices can go in at the beginning.

If you are using Italian herbs and spices, add a bit of tomato paste to bring out the flavour of the meat.

Or, beef bourguignon/beef in red wine is excellent. You can fry some bacon first, then after you fry the beef, take it out and throw in a good glug of red wine to lift the flavours off the pan.

Beef and Guinness is similar. Both make great fillings for pies. I often make pies with leftovers the next day using store-bought frozen puff pastry for the top.

One of my favourite beef dishes uses Moroccan spices and near the end of cooking - maybe an hour before the end in a slow cooker, or about 20 minutes on the stove or in the oven - throw in about a cupful of prunes which have been soaked in boiling water. Put the prune water in as well. I buy a spice mix here called Arabic seven spices: paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom or there are different variations available.

Moroccan lamb and apricot stew is also one of my faves. Same idea as the beef with prunes. Soak some dried apricots in boiling water and add the apricots and water near the end of the cooking time.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 04:02 PM

We've had non-stop rain and 14C today. Stew weather.

The veg on the bottom and meat on top is reminiscent of Elizabeth David's boeuf en daube, a classic from her French Provincial Cooking. The meat is top rump and is cut into slices about half an inch thick to the size that will sit on the palm of your hand. It's almost my signature dish, it's an absolute cinch and it works perfectly every time.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 04:17 PM

Diced shin doesn't need overnight cooking or cooking in a slow cooker (use that for mulled wine then ditch it!). It's done in two hours at a gentle simmer, or just a bit longer at most. Some of you guys don't half over-egg. Your great-grandmother didn't do all that flouring, browning, onion-frying and herbing. Everything went in the pot and she could knit her boy a new jumper while the pot simmered, then she could feed twenty farm-hands who would then love her for ever. Use the best quality basic ingredients you can lay your hands on and trust them to deliver all the flavour you need!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: leeneia
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 04:39 PM

Cut beef chuck into squares about 1.5 inches on a side.

Cut up onion, carrots and potatoes to suit your taste.

Line a slow cooker with a Reynolds slow-cooker liner for easier clean up.

Put the meat, then the vegetables in. Potatoes on top. You want the meat to be in contact with the ceramic. Add perhaps 1/4 cup water.

Slow-cook on low "all day". Maybe 8 hours. Check for tenderness.

In defiance of Reynolds's rules, carefully remove the bag of food, plop it in a steel bowl and refrigerate it.

Next day, remove the fat from the top. Stir in 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.

Heat up and serve. Salt and pepper at the table.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 05:10 PM

I feel offended if anyone has to add salt and pepper at the table to my cooking. In fact, it never happens except when the folks are seasoning a buttery jacket potato or seasoning their fried eggs. It's the cook's job to get the seasoning right.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 05:22 PM

This is why my husband and I prepare our meals separately. He puts literally several tablespoonfuls of salt into his Fiery Horror (very bad for his health I know) whereas I hardly take any salt (blood pressure).
I like a small dribble of Guinness or sherry in my beef casseroles, but as he's a Muslim he wouldn't be allowed to eat them.
I do think one shouldn't mock, criticise or deride anybody's cooking or taste in food. Each to his own and all that!
Joe, you could always order a takeaway!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 06:00 PM

If you put Guinness or sherry into a casserole, by the time it's done there would not be a scrap of alcohol left in it. Tell him!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 06:08 PM

I believe in seasoning throughout the cooking. A little bit to start with, lots of tasting and adjusting throughout. Cook's job. By the time it's done, you should have it perfect. As I always say, with top-quality ingredients adding all their flavours, saltiness is the last thing that should be worrying you. Salt, as well as other additives you'd never see in your kitchen, is used in the factory food production of ready meals in order to hide the inferior nature of the ingredients they use. You wouldn't eat at a top restaurant and ask the waiter for a bottle of Heinz tommy-k to go with your fine dining. That's how I feel about adding salt at the table!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 06:10 PM

I realise that Steve. And I've always put sherry into trifles, plus brandy/rum in Christmas cakes and on the Christmas pud. And funnily enough he gobbles them up like a kid.
I suspect that his 'Muslim get-out clause' for not eating my casseroles is because they're too bland for his palate. He prefers his savoury food to be so spicy it blows your head off!
Pssst, don't tell the Imam, but he adores bacon!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jeri
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 07:00 PM

Nobody doesn't love bacon.
One can get used to a less salty flavor. One just needs to try to.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 07:15 PM

That's right. A tee shirt is available with the slogan "either you like bacon or you're wrong." My chicken and my three-bean risottos always start with bacon, fried until rendered before the onion goes in. My bolognese ragu must have bacon. The bacon adds a bit of salt but, more importantly, a depth of flavour. There's a tipping point in dishes when it comes to salt. A smidgeon over and the salt becomes repressive. You can add (during the cooking) but you can't take away. And, with risotto, it's best to do the final taste after the parmesan has gone in, as it adds its own contribution to saltiness.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 09:56 PM

All of these recipes are wonderful, and they are making me very hungry. Somebody sent me a personal message and suggested that I add a teaspoon of bourbon, so I did that right away. I did an amalgamation of all the suggestions above, and then I went upstairs to take a nap. When I came down, the house smelled terrific. So, I think I did something right. I'm going to let it cook a couple more hours and drink some of the bourbon.

-Joe

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Rapparee
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 10:20 PM

Get a couple big cans of Dinty Moore. Throw it in a crockpot. Add cheap red wine, Worcestershire sauce, maybe some ketchup or V-8, some pepper, and a bay leaf (for authenticity).

Serve. Claim that you worked all day on it.

If you want a recipe for son-of-a-bitch stew I have one, but it's more difficult than the above.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: leeneia
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 12:36 AM

Joe, I forgot about thickening the gravy. I often don't bother, but beef stew is traditionally thick. If you want gravy, you will have to measure the liquid, make it up to one cup, then follow the directions on the Wondra flour container.

Oh gosh, Rap. I should have told Joe to add a bay leaf or two.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: JennieG
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 01:29 AM

Joe, if you drink enough bourbon before eating your stew you probably won't care if it tastes good or not.......

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: BobL
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 02:55 AM

Have to disagree with you, Steve, on the subject of beer - my beef stew always has half a bottle of beer added. Doesn't seem to matter whether it's lager, bitter or Guinness, it's a vast improvement. The other half bottle disappears before long, but you can always open another to drink with the meal.

Incidentally I always lower the oven temperature once the stew starts to simmer - water boils at 100°C, there isn't much point in trying to get it any hotter.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 03:39 AM

One of my Irish aunties used to add a large dollop of Marmite to her stews and casseroles. To say they were ghastly is an understatement, but as a young girl I was too polite to refuse to eat it up. Groo...

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 03:51 AM

Don't worry Leeneia, Joe said he amalgamated all the recipes, and I mentioned bay leaves early on.

Rapparee, I have never heard of Dinty Moore - it sounds like a P. G. Woodhouse character.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 04:09 AM

Grandpa Offer used to cook up a can of Dinty Moore beef stew for us when we were kids, and we loved it. I tried a can as an adult, and I hated it. Too greasy.

I had my stew for dinner, and it was terrific. I bought turnips at the farmers' market for the stew. When I cut them up, they looked very red, but I'm not all that familiar with turnips. Turns out they were beets. Lord knows where my wife put my turnips. But hey, they were really good in the stew.

Mostly, I used the recipe from the Rival Crock Pot cookbook:

Insert in pot, in order:
3 carrots, cut up (I used a pound of "baby carrots")
3 potatoes, cut up (I used a 3-pound bag of Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
2 pounds beef chuck or stew meet (I used flank steak because it was on sale)
1 cup beef stock (I used 2 cups beef buillon, because 1 was too dry)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (I was generous)
1 clove garlic (I was generous)
1 bay leaf (I used 2)
Salt to taste (I used none, but the bouillon was salty)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika (I was generous)
3 onions (I used 1-1/2 very large onions
1 stalk celery with tops, cut up (I used more)
Added:
And the unintentional beets.
And one teaspoon bourbon to level out the taste.

I cooked it on high in the crock pot for about 5 or 6 hours, and it was good.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Mrrzy
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 09:20 AM

The thing about carrots is, while they are inedible cooked, a stew or soup won't taste right unless they are in. So you have to leave them in big enough pieces to be avoidable.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 09:28 AM

Carrots need to be in big pieces because of the long cooking time. They still won't have much bite left but you can squash them into the gravy with your fork. You could always just put them in for the last half-hour or so but I can't be arsed with that. The best way to cook carrots as a veg is to roast them in the oven for about 25 minutes in fairly big batons in seasoned fat. Some lemon thyme scattered in with them is good. They end up far from inedible. Good for you too.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 09:38 AM

For future consideration: if you want to add bullion, consider "Better Than Bullion".

And "Ketchup"!!!??? Wt-actual-F?!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 10:16 AM

If you had plenty of bullion you could afford the best bouillon around.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 11:27 AM

Most stocks you can buy this end, used in the amounts stated on the pack, make everything inedibly salty.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: leeneia
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 01:15 PM

Surprisingly good beef dish.

Put cut-up beef chuck roast in the slow cooker.
Add chopped onion.
Add one bay leaf.
Pour on one cup of beer.
Slow cook till tender.
Chill, defat.
Reheat to serve.
Just before dining, stir in 2 T ketchup.

Good with noodles.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 02:11 PM

My mother-in-law used to put ketchup in stew. Sounded weird to me, but it tasted great.
(I confess that I corrected my spelling of "bouillon" above. I swear I spelled it right when I typed it, but my computer may have incorrectly corrected me)

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 02:21 PM

I never measure to thicken the stew liquid, it's all eyeball. It always comes out good. I would suggest starting with 1/4 cup of flour and about 1/2 cup of water, well mixed. I don't pour in the thickening flour water mix all at once, though, I start on one spot and add a little, stir it in, move about 90 degrees (compass-wise) around the pot and add some more. Depending on how those first couple of spots thicken I might give it all a good stir to let it stay with that amount, or continue moving around the pot adding more flour and water.

You could use cornstarch and water, but it doesn't remain thick; once cooled and then reheated the liquid is runny again.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 02:38 PM

Potato. Ten times better than flour!

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 03:16 PM

I suspected that the 'bullion' might be the result of an over-enthusiastic autocorrect system. I hate them and won't use any equipment that has one. I refuse to be over-ruled by a stupid machine that thinks it knows better than me.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 03:56 PM

Mind you, I used to use cornflour to thicken my cottage pie. All I could taste was cornflour.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Rapparee
Date: 19 Jun 20 - 08:56 PM

Dinty Moore stew.

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Jos
Date: 20 Jun 20 - 02:47 AM

Thanks Rapparee.

[And apologies - I managed to misspell P. G. Wodehouse without the aid of any autocorrect system.]

Subject: RE: BS: Crockpot Beef Stew
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Jun 20 - 05:40 AM

Well I've just looked up "Dinty Moore stew". I'm horrified. I think I've just discovered everything that's wrong with America. It must be what Trump exclusively eats.