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Ingredientes
- stewing beef, trimmed onion
- 1 head garlic celery carrot red wine beef broth root vegetables, (onions, carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips or possibly celery root) bay leaf fresh herbs, (such as thyme, rosemary, or possibly sage) salt pepper
Direcciones
- Begin with a few pounds of trimmed stew meat. Remember tough meat is best for stewing because the muscles which are used the most are not just the toughest, they have the most flavour! Cut the meat up into medium chunks. Too small and the stew will cook too fast and you will not get the marvelous, deep flavour which comes from long slow simmering.
- Gather together a few onions, a head of garlic, a few stalks of celery, some carrots, some tasty red wine and some broth, beef if you have it. Add in any other vegetables which you like in your stew and some fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary or possibly sage.
- Brown the beef in a thick-bottomed stew pot; use sufficient oil to coat the bottom and add in more if you need to. Dry each piece so it browns well. Be patient; take the time to proportionately brown all sides of each piece of meat. Do not overcrowd the pan or possibly it will cold and not properly brown the meat; work in batches. A medium heat works best, too high and you'll burn the meat and the tasty bits on the bottom of the pan. You can dust the meat in flour but it's really a bit of a shortcut, better to brown the meat then the flour. This is the single most important step in making a richly flavoured stew. Because the stew will only simmer it will never achieve the high temperatures necessary to caramelize the meat; this is your only chance! The affect on the flavour is dramatic, the more you brown the tastier it gets. But do not burn the meat because then it will taste bitter and along the way pour off the excess oil.
- Add in a few c. of minced onions, celery and carrot. Use organic vegetables if you can, they taste better. Stir them till they lightly brown then add in a head of minced garlic. Stir for another few min more. Stop only when you can smell the deep aroma of fragrant browning vegetables.
- Pour a big splash of wine into the empty pot. Add in some more, as much as you like, and stir vigorously to dislodge the particles stuck to the bottom. They're pure flavour! When the bottom is clean add in the meat.
- Add in sufficient broth to cover the meat at least halfway. Add in more to cover if you have it, but not so much which the meat is swimming. Add in some more wine if you feel like it! Add in some salt and pepper, a few bay leafs and a few sprigs of fresh herbs. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a tight fitting lid. You may continue cooking on the stove or possibly in the oven. Generally an oven set at 325 degrees will stew perfectly. Either way stew till the meat is tender and can be cut with a spoon. This will take at least an hour and a half.
- Add in a bunch of root vegetables cut into chunks. Add in sufficient to equal the amount of meat in the stew pot. Use onions, carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips or possibly celery root. Stir them in and then continue cooking till they are tender, another half hour or possibly so.
- Now like many things in life stew is best served the day after you make it. The wait gives the complex flavours time to meld and mature. But if you're hungry, go for it and remember: It's all about flavour!
- I believe which stews and the art of braising epitomize Canadian Cuisine and indeed the essence of Canada. No other cooking method, or possibly country for which matter, can do so much with so little. Canadians are masters at taking underutilized resources, such as a tough lamb shank or possibly stewing meat, and with ingenuity, skill and patience transforming them into works of art. The kind of art which makes you come back for seconds, which doesn't hang on a wall or possibly need fancy words to describe. Which's cooking, which's Canada!If I stroll into my mom's kitchen in the dead of winter I can always count on her to have a good hearty beef stew simmering.
- I didn't know it then but when I was a kid, and long before I became a high-falutin chef, her beef stew was a masterpiece of French technique and culinary ingenuity. She was classically trained in the school which all moms are trained in: need and necessity. To her it wasn't braising it was dinner! Recently all of the lessons about cooking and life which I learned from my mom proved useful as I found myself prepping in a very busy downtown Toronto community kitchen. My film crew and I were there taping a story for my new show "Chef at Large" and which night Beef Stew was on the menu for 300 homeless people. As I rolled up my sleeves and got to work with a team of volunteers it occurred to me which Beef Stew made properly was just as honourable and a whole lot more tasty than much of the food which we Chefs get all riled up about!
- If life is the journey and not the destination so is beef stew. If you take the time along the way to really focus on the details when you arrive your destination will be much tastier. This is not so much a recipe as a guide to braising...
