If you choose wisely, there’s a wealth of information on the internet for the home cook searching for recipes or ideas. I refer to it all the time. Several of my favorite sites include Food 52, Chef Steps and Serious Eats. Their recipes are fully tested to be virtually foolproof, and at Chef Steps they offer instructional videos that are extremely helpful.
One that caught my attention recently was the recipe for beef stew from Serious Eats. It turned out to be the essence of heartiness, a perfect beef stew. Several components, however, of the dish are unusual—certainly different from the typical methods used for this simple preparation.
I made the dish over the weekend and it was indeed an All-American Beef Stew. One step was to mix one quart of chicken stock with four envelopes of plain gelatin, a few anchovies and several tablespoons of tomato paste. These are all mixed in a blender until fully emulsified; it forms the basis of the cooking liquor in which the stew braises. The gelatin adds texture and body.
Another step involves how you prepare the beef. It calls for using a rolled boneless chuck roast of about 3 pounds. I bought the roast from Bisson’s in Topsham, but Pat’s Meat Market, Rosemont, The Farm Stand and Whole Foods generally have these roasts. You’ll pay more for it at Rosemont and Farm Stand because they sell meats that are farm raised locally as pastured, organic beef. The Bisson’s meat is from their farm too but costs far less than the organic variety. You then deconstruct the rolled roast by untying it and cutting it into 3 or 4 steaks. These are browned in a large Dutch oven in preparation for the braising. After browning and allowed rest, they are then cut into large cubes of about 2 inches each when set to cook with the aromatics and stock.
When I make this again I would make a few minor changes. The recipe suggests using either fresh or frozen pearl onions; I used frozen. Next time I’d make the effort to prepare small white boiling onions (larger than tiny pearl onions) for the stew. The pearl onions got lost in the recipe because they’re so small and I’d rather have onions cooked fresh in the last hour of braising. I’d also cut the carrots into larger chunks—both of these ingredient in larger dice and size make for a nicer presentation where you see the trio of vegetables better—potatoes, carrots and onions—in the finished dish. The aromatics also include mushrooms; these add flavor but don’t make a visual statement.
The recipe also calls for braising it in a slow 275-degree oven in a partially covered Dutch oven. Usually you cook these braised dishes in a closed pot; with the pot partially covered it helps to reduce the liquid in the braise. Just set the pot cover to allow about an inch open to the oven heat. Also, the meat should be at a constant slow simmer: I first brought it to the simmer on the stove top and put in the oven to cook– raising the temperature to just under 300 degrees to maintain a constant slow simmer.
Note that the recipe calls for adding frozen peas at the end. As you’ll see in the first photo, they’re not shown because I forgot to add the peas. When I reheated the leftovers the next day the peas were included.
Here is my adaptation of All-American Beef Stew by J. Kenzilópez-Alt of Serious Eats and author of the terrific cookbook, “The Food Lab.”
Adapted from Serious Eats
Ingredients
- 1-quart homemade chicken stock or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
- 4 packets unflavored gelatin
- 3 heaping tablespoons tomato paste (about 2 .5 to 3 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 oil- or salt packed anchovy filets
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 pounds whole boneless beef chuck roast cut into 3 or 4 steaks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
- 4 to 5 medium carrots (about 10 to 12 ounces), 2 left whole and 2 cut into roughly chopped pieces, about 1 inch in size
- 8 ounces fresh or frozen pearl onions (thawed if frozen, peeled if fresh) or use small white boiling onions (larger than pearl onions) plunged into boiling water to simmer for 1 minute then put into an ice bath; skins slip off
- 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled, split in half
- 2 small stalks celery (about 3 ounces)
- 3 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled but loose skins brushed off
- 1 cup dry sherry, dry vermouth or red wine
- 2 heaping tablespoons flour
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 to 1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered or cubed (large cube)
- 4 ounces frozen peas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees; adjust temperature as needed
- Combine stock, gelatin, tomato paste, soy sauce, anchovies and Worcestershire in a blender and blend on high speed until homogenous. Set aside.
- Adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Generously season beef all over with salt and pepper and add to Dutch oven. Cook, turning occasionally, until beef is well browned on 2 sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer beef to a rimmed baking sheet or large plate; set aside.
- Careful not to let the empty pot smoke; remove from heat temporarily and bring back to a medium-high temperature when you add the mushrooms, cook, stirring until liquid is released and mushrooms begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper then transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
- Over medium high heat add halved yellow onion to Dutch oven, cut side down. Add the two whole carrots (set remaining carrots aside), celery sticks and garlic. Cook, turning carrots, celery and garlic occasionally until all the vegetables are well browned, about 4 minutes, being careful not to let the pot scorch.
- Add wine or sherry, scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon and cook until reduced by 3/4, about 3 minutes. Add broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
- Cut seared steaks into 1 1/2 - to 2-inch chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with flour until beef is coated. Add beef and any juices accumulated in the tray or plate to the Dutch oven along with bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Stir to combine and return to a simmer over medium heat.
- Transfer to oven, cover with lid partially open, and cook until beef is starting to become tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Liquid should be at a slow, steady simmer the entire time. Check after about 15 minute to see if the temperature is right. Adjust oven temperature to about 300 degrees if necessary during cooking to achieve a steady slow simmer.
- Remove stew from oven. Using tongs, fish out and discard carrot, celery, thyme, bay leaves, onion and garlic. Add potatoes and reserved sautéed mushroom, pearl onions and carrots to stew. Return to oven and continue to cook, partially covered, until beef, potatoes and carrots are tender and broth has thickened, about 1 hour.
- Remove stew from oven. If you want a thicker sauce (it was perfect for me), place over a burner and simmer for up to 15 minutes to desired consistency. Stir in peas and simmer gently until just cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately or for better results, let the stew cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight; the fat (there wasn’t too much) will congeal and you can remove it easily. Reheat adding a tablespoon or two of chicken stock to help reconstitute the liquid as the stew reheats over very low heat, stirring frequently. The stew will keep for up to 5 days refrigerated.