What Kind of Ways Can I Make Beef for Stew?

Beef stew.

A good stew is more than just a bunch of ingredients thrown in a pot of boiling water and cooked for a while. To bring flavor out, each ingredient should be properly prepared and seasoned. When adding beef to your stew, how you make the meat depends on the type of cut.

Prepare Stew Meat

You can find stew meat in most grocery stores. Pre-cut into small chunks, this type of beef tends to be a bit on the tough side. Alternately, you can buy a boneless beef chuck or other roast and cut it into 1-inch cubes.

Brown the Beef

Before adding to a stew, you should brown it in a pan with canola or vegetable oil. Don ot use olive oil as its smoke point is too low and it will change the flavor of the beef. Saute the meat lightly, just until all sides are brown. Do not crowd the beef in your pan or it will steam and toughen. Cook in batches if necessary. Browning locks in flavor and tenderizes the meat.

Flour Beef

You may lightly coat each chunk of beef in flour after browning, which helps thicken the stew as it cooks. For added flavor, add some black pepper and a pinch of salt to the flour mixture. Dredging the beef in flour is not generally needed unless you chose a very lean cut of beef. You can always add corns starch or flour to the stew before serving if the sauce is not thick enough.

Cook Until Tender

How long you cook your beef in the stew depends on your method of cooking the stew. If using a crock pot or slow cooker, it can take all day to tenderize the meat and thicken the stew. If cooking on the stove, you do not want to boil the stew, instead keeping it at a low simmer. When you can easily pierce the beef with a fork, it is done. Cooking longer may tenderize the meat more.

References

• Wheeling Gourmet:Browning Beef
• Reluctant Gourmet: Beef Stew Recipe