Skip's Beef Stew Recipe

Not Getting It

I start worrying that someone isn’t getting the nutrition message when they mutter some form of, “Well, moderation in all things, that’s what I always say.”  Ugggh.  It’s enough to make you scream.  Often, they believe this mindless phrase is found in the Bible.  It isn’t. 

Some attribute the phrase to Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean, but Aristotle was saying you should seek the happy space between excess and deficiency.  Actually, that’s our goal in Word of Wisdom Living.  We seek a thoughtful balance, for example, between life-shortening junk food and blowing your life worrying about food. 

To help you maximixe your life, Word of Wisdom Living, on each week’s subject, provides the quick answer to a healthy diet, along with one of 52 Healthy Changes to help you do it.  We also offer menus and recipes for your consideration, recognizing that everyone has different needs. 

Back to moderation in all things:  Think of the three categories—best, good, and worst.  We seek the “best” on things critical to our health.  For things that matter less, “good” is good enough.  And we shun the destructive effect of “worst.”  Consider the example of fats:

1. Best:  Be sure to get adequate omega-3 fats from plant and animal sources.  No moderation here—this is essential to the health of brain and body.
2. Good:  Butter, olive oil, and coconut oil are examples of healthy fats.  Enjoy them—in moderation.
3. Worst:  Avoid deep fat fried foods.  Period. No moderation.

Meat Sparingly

The Healthy Change this week says: “Agree on a 'sparing' meat intake goal as a family and write it down.  Let your goal guide your menus.”  In the opening Quick Answer, we reminded that at the end of the day, our care of animals would say everything about the humanity of our society.  I believe this.  And we eat animals in our home, but sparingly and with thanksgiving.

We all turn our heads towards a pasture of grazing cows, don't we?  The beautiful wife especially enjoys seeing the newborn calves with their mothers in the spring.  But it’s sad to see an aged animal left in the field to fall victim to predators and disease.  In our best world there are no CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations, like feedlots).  The cattle graze contentedly at pasture, reproduce, and, humanely, become meat for mankind to enjoy, sparingly, without waste.  This can best happen on the scale of the family farm, or ranch.  We don’t need monopolistic food corporations to do this right. 

Rediscovering Stew

Stew is a traditional dish; mankind has enjoyed it for millennia.  People today don’t eat stew as much as in olden times.  As a child I looked forward to my Mom’s stew.  Stew is roughly ¼ meat, ¼ potatoes, ¼ aromatic vegetables (carrots, celery, onions), and ¼ liquid (broth or stock).  Stew isn’t strongly flavored; most of the taste comes from the meat, and the vegetables. 

The flavors in stew can be as simple as salt, pepper, and a bay leaf or two.  Most recipes include garlic, and perhaps thyme and sage.  Add a little chopped parsley before serving, if you like.  Older recipes include Worcestershire sauce.  My Mom didn’t add tomatoes in any form, so I don’t either.  I also avoid those '60s and '70s recipes where the flavor base is a package of onion soup mix. 

The editors of Cook’s Illustrated gave their test kitchen’s take on stew in their big book titled The Best Recipe.  This is what I gleaned from their study of stew:

• Liquid:  Chicken stock gives a better taste than beef stock per Cook’s Illustrated.  This is good as chicken stock is more practical to make.  You can use store-bought, but it’s a pale version of homemade.
• Flavors:  If you use garlic in your stew (did I mention the beautiful wife’s mother had the surname of “Garlick,” or that she loves the smell of Gilroy, the garlic capital ?) Cook’s Illustrated says the flavor is better if you sauté it first.  Some recipes, especially for slow cookers, just toss the garlic in the pot.
• Meat:  The tougher meats are fine for stew—beef, lamb, or pork all work.  I was curious to use lamb, mainly because, to my knowledge, it’s the only animal that still comes to market straight from pasture.  But the market had beef chuck roasts for $3/lb, so how could I resist?  If you use lamb or pork, the shoulder cuts offer the best value.  Cook’s Illustrated avoids the pre-cut stew meats, as the sizes are often irregular and come from a variety of cuts. They also suggest browning the meat, but I don’t.
• Vegetables:  In addition to the specified vegetables, stew is another dish good for cleaning out the vegetable inventory.  One source said parsnips were an overlooked vegetable; I put some in for an experiment—parsnips might be one of those acquired tastes.
• Time:  Add ingredients according to their cooking time, rather than all at once.  Per Cook’s Illustrated beef takes 2-½ hrs stewing time, while lamb and pork take just 2 hours.  Of the vegetables carrots (and parsnips) take the most time, about 1 hour; potatoes (depending on the variety) take ½ hour; peas, if used, should be added just before serving.  Working moms might prepare stew on the weekend, or use a slow cooker. 

Skip’s Beef Stew Recipe

I know, it takes a lot of chutzpah to put your name on a recipe that’s been cooked for millennia.  But I do, if only because I make my version as healthy as practical.

Ingredients:

2 lb. beef or lamb, trimmed and cut into 1” cubes     

3 cups chicken stock (of beef, if homemade)

1 tsp salt (assumes stock/broth is not sodium free, otherwise 2 tsp)

1 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

1 T Worcestershire sauce (optional)

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp sage                 

3 large boiling (see below) potatoes, diced 

4 carrots, sliced

2 medium onions (white or yellow), chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

2+4 T olive oil or butter

4 cloves garlic (or more, if you like), minced

4 T flour

1 cup water or stock (enough to cover vegetables)           

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Finely chopped parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Place meat, stock, salt, pepper, bay leaves and thyme in a 4 qt. kettle, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer one hour (add a half hour for beef).  After trimming the meat, I actually had 1 lb.-10 oz. and it was plenty.  (Note: My recipe doesn’t call for browning the meat.) 
2. While the meat is simmering, clean and cut potatoes, carrots, and celery into bite-size pieces; chop onions into smaller pieces.  Add carrots to the pot after 1-½ hr (1 hr. if using lamb or pork).  (Note:  Boiling potatoes are the waxy type, like the red or thin-skinned straw-colored varieties.  You can use Russets, just remember they cook faster.)
3. In a frying pan, while meat and carrots are simmering, sauté chopped garlic in olive oil about 1 minute and add to pot at any time.
4. In the same frying pan, make a roux by stirring flour into 3 T hot olive oil or butter; cook 3-5 minutes until a nutty aroma develops.  Blend water or stock into roux and transfer to stew pot, at any time.   (I added a little Kitchen boquet to improve the color.)
5. Add potatoes, onions, and celery for last 30 minutes of cooking time.  (Excess cooking makes them mushy.)  Add liquid to cover vegetables.  (My vegetables were larger so I added almost three cups.)
6. Before serving, check seasonings (some like their stew a little saltier), and stir in optional peas.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Serves eight to ten.

Please comment:  Yes, I know, we always ask for comments.  But the thousands of comments you have made are a big part of the success of this blog.  So please comment on your family’s experience cooking stew. 

What other recipes would you like to see?  Our focus is on basic recipes that enable the breakthrough to healthy eating.  We only get 52 in a year, so we have to make them count. 

Comments

[Rill]

My mom always did beef stew in the crockpot on fast sundays. Very simple with just water, beef bullion cubes, salt & pepper, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and a roast. She'd put it in at 8am and let it go until 4 then shred the beef. It was lovely.

I just can't leave simple recipes alone. I'm always adding more vegetables now. ~_^

[Lindsey]

I loved the first paragraph of the post! My in laws always say that about the garbage they eat. I always thought it was in the scriptures, so I was laughing to read your post.

We have 9 am church now, so I'm always looking for a good quick recipe to get cooking before church. The other day I did a lamb stew. I didn't have time to saute or brown anything, I just threw it all in: lamb, potatoes, carrots, onion, salt and pepper in the crock pot. It was delicious. Last week I put a pastured chicken in, seasoned it with salt and Kirkland signature's organic no salt seasoning (love that it has no hidden msg!) and about a cup of water in my dutch oven at 300 for 3 hours. It too was great and hardly any work.

[Laura]

I love stew! My mom would make French oven beef stew quite often when I was young. In Oregon, we had access to some wonderful local pastured lamb so I tried lamb in my stew instead of beef. Oh, it was so good. I prefer good lamb over beef any day. It's unfortunate that we don't have a good source where I live now. I love the ease of making stew. It is a hearty, warming meal on a cold winter's day. Of course, we don't have a lot of those here either - for which I am grateful!

[Emily]

I've never tried stew, but it looks pretty easy. Thanks for the recipe!

[Julie-Lynn]

Hi Skip,
Thanks for the tip about what cut of meat to buy instead of the "mystery beef cubes" I never know what to buy. I grew up with 70's stew- with the soup packet, water, and "gravy master"...gross, what is in that stuff? My mom is still fond of her little brown bottle. When I make mine I try to cut down on the amount of meat and sometimes add some instant barley to it. I also make it for camping. i cook it ahead and put it in the cooler. It reheats nicely and is yummy eating a mug of stew around the campfire!

[Suzy]

Parsnips are wonderful when prepared 'properly', but yes they can take a while to get used to. My children BEG for "mashed carrots'n'parsnips" and eat that before anything else on the plate. Just boil 2/3 carrots, 1/3 parsnips (and parsnips cook faster than carrots so cut the carrots a little smaller) until they are cooked, and then mash them together with a little salt, pepper and butter. Add milk if you want a more creamy flavour. Also, my Dad makes the best roast parsnips ever - toss them in oil and bake them in the oven for 1/2 hr @ 180C. The are best eaten with roast spuds and pumpkin, and a serving of mashed carrots'n'parsnips on the side.

[Christie]

This stew looks fantastic. I have good memories of my Grandma's stew. It's more tomato based with tons of veggies. I've made it with chicken and beef, and even without.

I've really enjoyed browsing this blog. Eating healthy and feeding my family healthy meals has been weighing heavily on my mind lately. I came across your site and love it. Please keep it up!

[LizA]

How curious -- I grew up in the 60's and 70's, and stew was as common as meatloaf. Mom was a frugal cook with four (then later 8) mouths to feed. We didn't have broth or bullion that I recall. Mom would shake the beef cubes in a paper bag of seasoned flour, then put a quick sear on it: the reasoning being that you cookhe raw flour taste off, and it becomes the thickener as the meal cooks.

Any time you put a sear on the meat you accomplish both sealing in moisture and creating flavor via the carmelization of sugars. We one to forgo the browing because of the oil, I would suggest the addition of a Beurre Manié -- a paste of flour and softened butter, used to thicken soups and sauces.

[Elisa]

I made your stew for dinner tonight and it was a huge success. I have 5 boys and they all loved it! We will definitely be making this again soon. Thanks for posting some of your recipes. This is a great addition to your already wonderful blog.

[Nancy O]

We always had cabbage to the base of the beef stew and a little jalapeno. We go whole hog on veggies in the beef stew - some spinach or chard at the end. Love peanuts in my cole slaw now.

We have been making a butternut squash and hazelnut lasagne lately. It is delicious but I think a little dense on calories for me with the creamy cheese sauce - we make some cashew cream to use in it - but still lots of calories. Mmmm. The recipe is at Epicurious. It would be better with a whole grain noodle.

[Konnie]

We like stew around here. My recipe is similar to yours, but sometimes I cook a few (4-6) brussell sprouts, chop them, and toss them in. We really like the subtle flavor they add.

[Leah]

My mom would boil parsnip strips and then fry them in butter. It brings out the sugan to let them get a bit crisp in the frying pan. I love the way they smell almost as much as the way they taste!
Leah