BS: Things to put in a stew

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 12:36 PM

> chicken stew with boiled egg

.... while singing "Mother and Child Reunion" ....

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 06:54 PM

I made a rubbish stew last week. I ended up throwing some it away. I used expensive ingredients - but it really tasted awful.

no guaranteesa are there?

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 06 Oct 25 - 09:31 PM

So Big Al Whittle, I'm intrigued. What was in the stew?

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Oct 25 - 01:02 AM

try a bit of skirt

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 09 Oct 25 - 03:52 PM

So, Big Al Whittle, I'm still wondering about the ingredients of your expensive "rubbish stew".

If I had made a rubbish stew it would include seafood - or what I call smelly things. ;-( Not my favourite food group. So, for example, even though I thankfully have never tried either eating or making bouillabaisse, I know that it is important to put the types of smelly ingredients in at the appropriate times so that each type cooks to the right consistency and flavour. So, in my rubbish stew detective evaluation of likely ingredients, this could be high on the list because smelly foods are expensive. (Apologies to lovers of those things. LOL)

Another possibility could be a spicy dish e.g. Indian, Thai, Chinese, Malaysian etc where the spice mix was not quite right. If there was too much chilli for example it could ruin the dish for some people. For me if there is too much star anise it ruins it for me. I actually hid the jar of star anise from my Hubby after he started putting too much in some of the dishes he made. He never knew that. :-D

To solve the problem of spice and flavour balance in Asian dishes I tend to use a jar of paste from a reliable brand as the base and then enhance some of the flavours. For example, I love Thai green curry so the paste I use after trying a few alternatives is Mae Ploy Thai green curry paste. We have lemongrass and a kaffir lime tree growing in our garden so I add some of those fresh ingredients as well.

So, what was actually in your rubbish stew, Big Al? This inquiring mind wants to know and was it the actual ingredients or the balance of flavours, or the cooking method, over-cooked, under-cooked, or something else e.g. it didn't suit your taste preferences?

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Oct 25 - 06:30 AM

well to be honest -its not what i put in - its what I did.

I've got one of those things where you pull a string and it slices up your onions. Then I cut the potatoes up too small added meat. beefstock.oxo veg cubes. gravy granules. then I cut the carrots up too small.

into a slow cooker too long. the spuds, onions, carrots disappeared, and was liquiddy.   so i dumped the lot into a wok and set the controls for the heart of the sun.

Tasted vile. You could cure the crime problem tomorrow with that stuff.
Sentenced to eat Al's stew, til they beg for mercy.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 13 Oct 25 - 09:54 AM

Don't be so modest, Big Al. Bake it hard and shove it inna bun, and victims customers will always come back for more despite remembering what it tasted like last time. You could be the next Throat.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 13 Oct 25 - 10:00 AM

.... you could even call it One Of These Days.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 13 Oct 25 - 02:03 PM

Thanks for the update, Big Al.

I was worried that it might have been one of my suggested stews which didn't work out well.

You could put the spuds in later next time - e.g. an hour before the end - so that they don't fall apart. The onions are ok for the whole cooking time because they fall apart anyway.

After the disaster struck, I would have probably added some extra liquid and turned it into a soup. You already had beef stock and some oxo veg cubes, so just some hot water would do it and let it simmer for a while.

Also, even with slow cookers I prefer to get out the fry pan and fry the beef and remove it from the pan, then the onions for a few minutes, then add the carrots and fry them for about 10 minutes. It gives them all a better flavour and texture. Then I would put them in the slow cooker with the stock and oxo cube, put a bit of boiling water in the frypan and stir it around to get all the flavours and add that to the rest, and add the potatoes about an hour before the end of the cooking time.

Yes, it takes a bit more time but I think it makes it all taste better.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Oct 25 - 07:40 AM

I still think my crime prevention scheme has the edge - although perhaps it a bit cruel and unusual.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Oct 25 - 09:15 AM

haricot beans, but a tin of baked beans wash the tomato off, very cheap protein

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 14 Oct 25 - 11:34 AM

Well, Big Al, maybe it was not delicious but definitely nutritious so I am sure someone would have appreciated it if you gave it to them.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Oct 25 - 12:05 PM

Package it as pet food perhaps.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 14 Oct 25 - 12:25 PM

A couple more thoughts:

I think the cooking instructions which come with the slow cookers are a bit deceptive. Chop everything up, throw it all in and turn it on. It doesn't usually give the same result as the pre-frying of different ingredients in order depending on their type. My usual frying order is sear the meat, remove from pan, fry onions on medium heat for about 10 minutes, add chopped garlic for a couple of minutes then remove from the pan, throw in chunks of other firm veg e.g. carrot, sweet potato, etc and fry that for about 10 minutes. Cook in slow cooker and add softer ingredients within the last half hour to an hour, e.g. spuds and anything really soft like green beans, broccoli or frozen peas for the last 10 minutes or so. Throw in chopped fresh herbs in the last couple of minutes. We have an induction stove top with a timer on one section so I can set the timer for individual frying processes, then set the timer for the slow cooking part.

My other main thought is that stews seem to need a keynote flavour e.g. red wine, or stout, or an Italian herb mix with maybe a bit of paprika, or my fave flavour mix ras el hanout, or whatever takes your fancy but stick to one flavour theme.

And, I'm not sure if I said this before but about 15 or 20 minutes before the end of cooking beef or lamb stew in a pot - timing might be different in a slow cooker - I throw in about 3/4 cup of red lentils. They are fairly small with a neutral flavour, and break down and thicken the stew juices without detracting from the main flavour, and they add some healthy fibre as an added bonus. Easy peasy. No mucking around with a wok on a Highway to Hell setting.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Oct 25 - 03:48 PM

another way to thicken a stew is to grate potato.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 15 Oct 25 - 12:27 AM

Personally, I don't like either the consistency or the flavour when using finely chopped potato to soak up the stew juices. It seems to steal the other flavours out of the stew, IMHO.

I prefer to make mashed potato with butter and place the serving of stew on that.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 15 Oct 25 - 01:51 AM

All a matter of taste. Corn flour is another alternative

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 15 Oct 25 - 03:45 PM

Haricot beans take a very long time in a slow cooker,best to boil first then put in slow cooker
Boil for 10-15 minutes then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, which may take 45 minutes to 3 hours,

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Oct 25 - 02:51 AM

fry the meat after covering in flour then put in slow cooker

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 16 Oct 25 - 04:53 PM

BTW, I use a large, heavy enamelled cast iron pot with a lid to make my stews on the stove top. I can fry each ingredient as I need to, and then put it all back in the same pot to slow cook the stew. Handy. Less washing up, too.

Also, for beef stews, depending on the flavours, I sometimes splash a tablespoon or two of yummy pomegranate molasses over it - not too sweet, not too tangy, but a lovely addition to some stews. I also splash a bit inside the pies I make with leftover beef stew. It tastes a bit similar to balsamic vinegar.

Worcestershire sauce is a good addition to some stews.

Have we mentioned Spaghetti Bolognese, i.e. beef with tomatoes, tomato paste and served with pasta? Note: I usually add some veges as well.

Which reminds me that the leftovers of some of the stews can be made into lasagne, or pastitsio with béchamel sauce on top.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 25 - 06:50 PM

In cooler months I make a chicken stew that is basically the filling for chicken pot pies. Chicken diced in big pieces, onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, oregano, ground black pepper, and then add homemade chicken stock. Once it is near finished add frozen green peas, and thicken it with water and flour (I am able to accomplish the same thing now with a King Arthur brand Measure for Measure gluten free flour).

It's a lot of work to make a crust and bake the chicken filling in it to make pot pies, so I used a shortcut (back when the kids were little and thought the plain stew wasn't interesting) of making pie crust and cutting out shapes with cookie cutters, holiday shapes and others. Bake those and serve them on a plate next to a large bowl of the stew. The first time I did this, they wanted to just eat the crust, but I pointed out they had to crumble them on bowls of the stew, and they were ok with that.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Helen
Date: 16 Oct 25 - 08:04 PM

The chicken stew sounds good. The paprika chicken recipe I use would probably be good in a pie but there are rarely any leftover. I added a link on 05 Sep 25 - 03:04 PM to a recipe which is almost the same as the one I make.

I cheat with the pie pastry. I buy frozen puff pastry, but I don't know if there are gluten free varieties available.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Oct 25 - 08:20 PM

In ~ 15 months since I shifted to gluten free I've explored a number of the non-wheat flours, but I haven't tried to make pie crust with any of them. When I make this meal these days I don't bother to try for a crust topping, I just eat the stew itself.

Subject: RE: BS: Things to put in a stew
From: The Sandman
Date: 17 Oct 25 - 01:17 AM

I only eat free range chicken