Beef Stew

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

for tonight 11/7/2012

Mike's famous "no contrast" Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms and rutabaga
This classic beef stew recipe has all you expect in beef stew: tender chunks of beef, carrot, rutabaga and potato. Yet the mushrooms are a wonderful surprise.
MwS]- I may use a bit of bacon fat along with the cooking spray.  There are other things that did not get to paper.. I swam a Habanaro through the beef as it cooked.  I sliced it open and tossed it in and set a timer for 45 minutes-- I pulled it out at 45 minutes and threw it away. 

1 tablespoon Roasted Peanut oil, divided
1 pound small Cremini (or other) mushrooms
Cooking spray
3 cups chopped onion
9 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds beef sirloin roast, cut into large but bite-sized pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup dry red wine (Zinfandel)
1+ tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
2 Tbl. 3 crabs fish sauce
1 bay leaf ( I use 3-4 bay leaves )
2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled white potato (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups of peeled cubed rutabaga (or turnip)
1  cups (1-inch) slices carrot (about 12 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces) (mixed with some beef stock to form a slurry)
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)( I used 2+ Tb of fresh Thyme in the vegetable mix)
2 Tbl chopped fresh Italian Parsley to garnish

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown.
Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl.
Lightly coat pan with cooking spray.
Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown.
Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.
Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat.
Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides.
Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil.
Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Stir in potato, rutabaga and carrot.
Add fish sauce
Add flour slurry mix well
Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally.
Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Discard bay leaf. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Enjoy....

[LizR]

Sounds good GG! I like to add just a touch of sweetness, like some tomato paste or a tablespoon of current jelly. I think of that as my "secret" ingredient.

I also like to use pretty well-marbled chuck. If I use lean meat, it is always dry.

Hope you enjoyed it.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Sounds good GG! I like to add just a touch of sweetness, like some tomato paste or a tablespoon of current jelly. I think of that as my "secret" ingredient.

I also like to use pretty well-marbled chuck. If I use lean meat, it is always dry.

Hope you enjoyed it. 

It was way good, I changed the recipe below to show that I used a 2.7lb sirloin roast.  That roast was marbled well and though I did have to cut out a few chunks of connective tissue what I cooked and served was very good.  The sirloin took less time to cook too, I always do my stews in two parts and then add them together for the last half hour to marry the flavors.  I did swim a Habanaro though the sauce for a while and that bit of sweet background heat added to the stews super deep flavor.

....