Beef Stew

BetsyEllen

Hi all

I'm making a beef stew tonight which always turns out well.
However it's never like I want it to be - you know when you go to a restaurant and get a good steak and ale pie, the filling is really thick and full of really strong flavour?

Any tips on how I can get this at home?
I normally put Guinness in or ale but it can still be a bit flat and I never get that lovely thick consistency I'm after.

Any tips?

Loveinapril

Take out some of the liquid and mix it with cornflour til smooth then put it back in. It thickens it right up (that was my dinner on Sunday!).

Zelda247

Add a little chilli flakes, some tomato paste and some dried soup mix plus some Worcestershire sauce.

howamidifferent

Add some potato (mashed) or potato flakes.

The Hill Billy

Coat the beef chunks in seasoned flour before you brown them. The residual flour will help thicken the gravy. You can add more flour later if you wish to thicken further.

Using a tough, gelatinous cut like beef shin will also help thicken the stew & give it a deeper beefy flavour. Good stock will help flavour-wise too.

Zelda247

That's a great idea about coating the beef, I always forget to do that.

HeidiHeidi

Zelda247 wrote: »

That's a great idea about coating the beef, I always forget to do that.

Makes an unmerciful mess, but really helps to brown and crispy up the meat before putting it into the stew!

I usually make stew with Guinness, and find that the longer you stew it (I do it in the oven on low heat in a casserole dish) the nicer/more tender the meat gets, but also the richer the sauce/gravy gets.

For stock I find the Knorr stockpots by far the best.

Alun

Personally, I've given up on flouring the meat before browning. Makes a mess, wastes flour and I find it impossible to find a balance between browning the meat sufficiently and burning the flour to the bottom of the pan. So I just add a bit of flour to the meat and vegetable mixture and fry it around a bit for a minute or two before adding the liquid.

flutered

if you are stuck for a little beef, add some bacon, no one will know not even yourself

hidinginthebush

You need to cook it for a long time to get that consistency. The onions, carrots etc need heat to make them melt into the stew. That's the reason I don't make stew in the slow cooker, it doesn't get hot enough to melt the veg properly. I always find that the first day of a stew I just have to accept it. Second or even third day (if it lasts that long) is where the magic starts to happen. Same goes for chili or ragu... In my experience it'll need at least 4 hours before it's good to go.

hidinginthebush

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Makes an unmerciful mess, but really helps to brown and crispy up the meat before putting it into the stew!

I usually make stew with Guinness, and find that the longer you stew it (I do it in the oven on low heat in a casserole dish) the nicer/more tender the meat gets, but also the richer the sauce/gravy gets.

For stock I find the Knorr stockpots by far the best.

Alun wrote: »

Personally, I've given up on flouring the meat before browning. Makes a mess, wastes flour and I find it impossible to find a balance between browning the meat sufficiently and burning the flour to the bottom of the pan. So I just add a bit of flour to the meat and vegetable mixture and fry it around a bit for a minute or two before adding the liquid.

If adding the flour I'll pop the meat, flour and seasoning in a bag and give it an old shake. Coats everything and any extra is just left behind in the bag. I agree about burning some of it to the bottom of the pan though. Can be a pain scraping it all off before throwing in everything else.

Personally I don't coat the meat, but my dad swears by it. Coincidentally I prefer my stew and he prefers his.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

BailMeOut

Start with lardons which will help a lot with flavour (bacon makes everything taste better!)
Get big bits of beef. The tiny precut beef bits you see at the butcher are no good, ask for shin and get it cut in to decent larger sized pieces.
Use red wine instead of beer and if you need additional liquid use beef or chicken stock
Keep tasting as you cook and season appropriately and remember a beef pie in a restaurant most likely has a lot more salt in it that you may use at home.

hidinginthebush

Oh another thing... I'd usually use Guinness, but in a thread a while back it was recommended that basically any ale will taste better than Guinness. I've never tried that now, but something to consider...

And while I'm rambling on about stew, dumplings (made from suet) beat spuds in my book. Of course you can have both, but dumplings, with salt and maybe a bit a thyme mixed in are incredible when cooked in the stew for half an hour or so (can't remember how long...the packet has instructions on it anyway!).

BetsyEllen

Thanks for all the replies.

I always make dumplings - absolutely incredible! I used to use Atora suet but then one day I tried them with just flour and water (as per Jamie Oliver) and they were perfect - so delicious.
And I put chunks of potato in the stew.

I use Guinness or Ale a lot, recently used red wine a few times but I think I prefer the ale version.

I think my problem is I put too much liquid in and it can't thicken like I want it to.
I made my stew last night with half a bottle of red wine, beef stock cubes x2 (was out of Knoor stock pots, damn) and a pint of water plus herbs etc.
Put in the slow cooker for 10 hours - absolutely beautiful but still not thick. Added cornflour and it didn't help.

I sometimes do it in the oven but I find the meat isn't as tender as it is in a slow cooker. And I always buy a fatty cut for the extra flavour and tenderness.

hidinginthebush

BetsyEllen wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

I always make dumplings - absolutely incredible! I used to use Atora suet but then one day I tried them with just flour and water (as per Jamie Oliver) and they were perfect - so delicious.
And I put chunks of potato in the stew.

I use Guinness or Ale a lot, recently used red wine a few times but I think I prefer the ale version.

I think my problem is I put too much liquid in and it can't thicken like I want it to.
I made my stew last night with half a bottle of red wine, beef stock cubes x2 (was out of Knoor stock pots, damn) and a pint of water plus herbs etc.
Put in the slow cooker for 10 hours - absolutely beautiful but still not thick. Added cornflour and it didn't help.

I sometimes do it in the oven but I find the meat isn't as tender as it is in a slow cooker. And I always buy a fatty cut for the extra flavour and tenderness.

Do you cook on low or high in the slow cooker? I'm having more success cooking on high when doing stews or chilies to get everything thickened...

BailMeOut

have you tried leaving the lid off so liquid can evaporate?

BetsyEllen

hidinginthebush wrote: »

Do you cook on low or high in the slow cooker? I'm having more success cooking on high when doing stews or chilies to get everything thickened...

Cooked on low for 10 hours - I find even the low setting on mine is quite high though.

BetsyEllen

BailMeOut wrote: »

have you tried leaving the lid off so liquid can evaporate?

I sometimes take it off for the last hour - do you leave yours off for the whole cooking period?

hidinginthebush

BetsyEllen wrote: »

Cooked on low for 10 hours - I find even the low setting on mine is quite high though.

Go with high, you need to get them veg melting Might do it for ya!

BetsyEllen wrote: »

I sometimes take it off for the last hour - do you leave yours off for the whole cooking period?

I wouldn't do that tbh. I find in the slow cooker you'll reduce the volume but it'll be just as watery. On the hob it'll boil off but also thicken, but I'm sticking to my "slow cookers can't melt the veg" point

BetsyEllen

hidinginthebush wrote: »

Go with high, you need to get them veg melting Might do it for ya!



I wouldn't do that tbh. I find in the slow cooker you'll reduce the volume but it'll be just as watery. On the hob it'll boil off but also thicken, but I'm sticking to my "slow cookers can't melt the veg" point

Sorry, I should have said that I only leave the lid off for a while in the oven.
I never do with the slow cooker.

I have some experimenting to do

phormium

You need much less liquid if using the slow cooker as nothing evaporates and the water content of the veg increases the liquid. When I use slow cooker for stews the liquid does not even cover the stew stuff to start with, otherwise it's just watery, now you can thicken it up with enough roux or cornflour or whatever but it just won't be concentrated enough to get a decent flavour.

The Hill Billy

If I find that I have too much liquid in a pot on a low heat - I sometimes ladle the excess into another pot on a high heat to reduce it, then add the concentrated liquid back to the pot before serving for added flavour.

the beer revolu

OP, I think you're using too much liquid.

HeidiHeidi

Damn you all, now I want stew.

But I've no room in my freezer :mad:

BetsyEllen

Ok I've cracked it.

Came home tonight and put a portion of the stew (that I made in the slow cooker yesterday) into a saucepan and added cornflour.
Bought it to the boil slowly whilst stirring and then left it to simmer on a low heat for an hour.

Result: a thick, amazingly flavoured stew that is the best I've ever made!
I'm so happy.

I'm delighted as now I know what to do, I could make an amazing beef and ale pie.

Thanks all.

Gloomtastic!

All you stewficianados, I need your help please!

I'm making a beef and ale stew for tomorrow. I used brown ale 4%, leeks, carrots, celery, onion and beef. It's been in the slow cooker all afternoon. However, it tastes really bitter. Any suggestions to counter the bitterness?

HeidiHeidi

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

All you stewficianados, I need your help please!

I'm making a beef and ale stew for tomorrow. I used brown ale 4%, leeks, carrots, celery, onion and beef. It's been in the slow cooker all afternoon. However, it tastes really bitter. Any suggestions to counter the bitterness?

The recipe i use has a spoon of redcurrant jelly in it.... not sure it'd totally counteract the bitterness but might be worth try?

coleslaw

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

All you stewficianados, I need your help please!

I'm making a beef and ale stew for tomorrow. I used brown ale 4%, leeks, carrots, celery, onion and beef. It's been in the slow cooker all afternoon. However, it tastes really bitter. Any suggestions to counter the bitterness?

A touch of lemon or lime for a sour taste,a teaspoon of sugar for sweetness and salt soy or wostershire sauce for umami,and chilli if you like

Spanish Eyes

I always add Worcestershire Sauce or a few anchovies, they melt down. (that's what's in the W sauce anyway!)

Adds a lovely depth of flavour that I always notice if it's not there.

suicide_circus

Go to your local butcher and ask for shin of beef rather than the usual chunks. Takes a long slow cook but the decadent buttery result is stunning.

Gloomtastic!

I threw a big dollop of redcurrent jelly into it this evening and, whilst a little bit better, still had a bitter undertone. Mrs G! said it was the slow cooker - it isn't hot enough to boil off the alcohol so that is why it's bitter.

It's now in the oven for a couple of hours, maybe tomorrow we'll try again. :rolleyes:

coleslaw

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I threw a big dollop of redcurrent jelly into it this evening and, whilst a little bit better, still had a bitter undertone. Mrs G! said it was the slow cooker - it isn't hot enough to boil off the alcohol so that is why it's bitter.

It's now in the oven for a couple of hours, maybe tomorrow we'll try again. :rolleyes:

mrs G might have a good point ale can be bitter and the alcohol can take longer to cook off so maybe cook it in a pot on a high heat for 10 mins or longer,Best of luck

coleslaw

coleslaw wrote: »

mrs G might have a good point ale can be bitter and the alcohol can take longer to cook off so maybe cook it in a pot on a high heat for 10 mins or longer,Best of luck[ ps strain and rejuice the liquid
/QUOTE]

Gloomtastic!

coleslaw wrote: »

ps strain and rejuice the liquid

Can you explain the rejuice part please?

Just had a taste after an hour in the oven at 150c. The bitterness was gone.

coleslaw

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Can you explain the rejuice part please?

strain the liquid in a pot and put on a high heat until the liquid has reduced by at least have its volume it will become more silkie with a lot more flavour,then add back to the stew

coleslaw

coleslaw wrote: »

strain the liquid in a pot and put on a high heat until the liquid has reduced by at least have its volume it will become more silkie with a lot more flavour,then add back to the stew

sorry for the grammar and spelling

Stheno

Great thread which has solved my dilnemna.

I always did beef stew in the slow cooker, and ended up with watery juice rather than gravy.

Did the same last night then read this thread.

3 hours in the oven at 150 later, I've gotten what I can only describe at sheer deliciousness Thick sauce, now the veg hasn't melted but is very tender, the beef (shin) is gorgeous and it's just yum

Lesson learned

Thanks

Stheno

My OH got home late intent on having a reheated portion of last nights roast chicken dinner.

He came in and I asked him would he like that, his reply "I smelled the stew so I'll try that"

A half portion of his normal dinner later, he was tapping his tummy preparing to belch while prounouncing "best stew ever"

All thanks to this thread

Thanks y'all

It was magic tbh Rich thick gravy, tender meat (no fat as all the fat melted down) and soft yummy veg.

BetsyEllen

Did you put flour on your beef pieces before frying?
And did you use any ale/red wine?

Zelda247

I manage to cook it very well in the slow cooker. I fry the beef cubes with onion then add to carrots, potatoes, parsnip, soup mix (dried lentils etc) small rooster potatoes, small amount of water, stock cube, worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, and finally a few chilli flakes. I cook on low for about 10 hours and it is delicious with very thick gravy.

hidinginthebush

Zelda247 wrote: »

I manage to cook it very well in the slow cooker. I fry the beef cubes with onion then add to carrots, potatoes, parsnip, soup mix (dried lentils etc) small rooster potatoes, small amount of water, stock cube, worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, and finally a few chilli flakes. I cook on low for about 10 hours and it is delicious with very thick gravy.

Interesting I think I'll give this a whirl in the next week or two. Up until now I've only made 1 stew in the slow cooker but was so disappointed with it I went back to my tried and trusted on the hob method. Would be nice to get a nice method for making a hands free one in the slow cooker though.

BetsyEllen

Zelda247 wrote: »

I manage to cook it very well in the slow cooker. I fry the beef cubes with onion then add to carrots, potatoes, parsnip, soup mix (dried lentils etc) small rooster potatoes, small amount of water, stock cube, worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, and finally a few chilli flakes. I cook on low for about 10 hours and it is delicious with very thick gravy.

When you say a small amount of water, I'm guessing then that the beef/veggies aren't covered?

Stheno

BetsyEllen wrote: »

Did you put flour on your beef pieces before frying?
And did you use any ale/red wine?

Yes I did flour the meat.

I didn't use any ale/red wine. After having it in the slow cooker for about 7 hours on low I took it out and put it in the oven onstead

BetsyEllen

Stheno wrote: »

Yes I did flour the meat.

I didn't use any ale/red wine. After having it in the slow cooker for about 7 hours on low I took it out and put it in the oven onstead

Sorry for all the questions but as you've cracked it, you're now the beef stew guru :P

When you took it out of the slow cooker and into the oven for 3 more hours, did you leave the lid off the pot?

Stheno

BetsyEllen wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions but as you've cracked it, you're now the beef stew guru :P

When you took it out of the slow cooker and into the oven for 3 more hours, did you leave the lid off the pot?

Yes.

Zelda247

BetsyEllen wrote: »

When you say a small amount of water, I'm guessing then that the beef/veggies aren't covered?

Correct, the is just enough water to sort of go half way up the contents if that makes sense.

Johnny_Fontane

I use very large pieces of heavily seasoned beef like 150g each, mini steaks, hard fry them. use about 2kg (neck beef is €4.50 a kilo in local chinese store). The trick for me is prepare and thicken your stock in a pan before you put it in the slow cooker. I use a beurre manie to thicken my beef stock, a little bit of worcester sauce, bay, thyme, parsley tied up. Usual large pieces of carrot, celery and parsnip. All goes in to the slow cooker, on low for about 7 hours. Always cook for the day after, so prep it sat afternoon for sunday/monday evening meals.

coleslaw

BetsyEllen wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions but as you've cracked it, you're now the beef stew guru :P

When you took it out of the slow cooker and into the oven for 3 more hours, did you leave the lid off the pot?

i would leave the lid off at that stage, and if need be add a few drops of water or so until nice and thick like a gravy,if you leave the lid on the steam will build up and the sauce will be watery

needacoffee

Coat the meat in flour and brown in pan before adding it to the pot. This will add a lovely brown colour to your Stew and it will also thicken it for you