Homemade Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good stew? ›

"Soups and stews really need to simmer for long periods to allow the ingredients to meld together. Taking that a step further, most soups and stews are better if you prepare them the day before serving. Allowing them to cool and then reheating them really helps bring out the flavors and textures."

Add spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin at the early stage of cooking, when you are frying onions and garlic, to enhance the taste of the beef stew. Fresh herbs like coriander and bay leaves also contribute a distinct flavour without making the dish too spicy for the younger members of the family.

Always sear your meat before you add the liquid and vegetables. A caramelised sear is essential to the flavour profile of a good stew, adding a rich undertone that you just won't get by throwing in the meat in its raw state. You want the stew to be slightly thickened, but not gloopy.

How to Make Beef Stew on the Stove: It's important to cook stew slowly over low heat. High heat will cause the meat to tighten and toughen, while low heat allows the meat to become fall-apart tender. Simply cover the pot and keep the heat as low as it goes.

Tapioca. One of the joys of eating stew is its hearty sauce, which should have more body than regular soup broth. Add a little tapioca to absorb some of the liquid and you'll end up with a nice, thick broth. Use this tapioca trick in your own favorite stew recipe, or see it at work in our Classic Beef Stew.

Laurence further reveals that "adding wine or other alcohol brings out different flavors (those that are alcohol-soluble) that wouldn't otherwise be expressed in the dish. There are flavors in tomatoes that are alcohol-soluble, so adding red wine along with tomato paste also helps to enhance beef stew."

Use cornstarch to thicken your stew towards the end of cooking, as cooking it for a long time can break down the starch and your stew will thin out again.

Vegetables that work well in a beef stew include Hardroots vegetable, carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, and parsnips. These vegetables add flavor and texture to the stew while complementing the richness of the beef. You can also consider adding mushrooms, turnips, or peas for variety. Onions, carrots, peas.

A bit of tomato paste amps up the flavor of beef stew, giving it a richness and a punch of umami that makes the stew truly memorable.

Is it better to use beef broth or stock for stew? ›

Ideally, you'll use beef stock, but beef broth is fine too. Veal stock would be divine. Instant bouillon paste will add flavor and is perfectly acceptable. Indeed, even if all you have is chicken stock, it will still be better than water and won't make your beef stew taste like chicken soup.

Beef Stew Tips

The red wine adds flavor to the stew, but its primary purpose is to tenderize the meat's tough muscle fibers. Adding a little vinegar will introduce the same level of acidity to the simmering broth.

Add the wine and tomato paste to the onions and other aromatics in a pan before slow cooking. Plus, this helps to really deglaze any fond that's left. This ingredient is one that your mum and nan would probably use in their stews. It adds a bit of tang, sweetness and savoury spices that give an extra punch of flavour.

The choice becomes easier when you realize that simple baking soda can be an ideal meat tenderizer that helps to bring out all the aromas and flavors in every sizzling beef stew or charburger.

If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours. Chuck meat is your best bet for beef stew, but it's also a pretty tough cut so it needs time to break down and become tender.

If you're making a spicy stew, add a spoon of smooth peanut butter to the stew– it thickens slightly and add a wicked depth of flavour. If you need to thicken the sauce later on in the recipe mix a spoon of flour with a little stock to make a paste and stir a little at a time into the stew.

Beef Stew Tips

The red wine adds flavor to the stew, but its primary purpose is to tenderize the meat's tough muscle fibers. Adding a little vinegar will introduce the same level of acidity to the simmering broth.

Beef stew is common, but other proteins work as well. Seafood, chicken, and even vegetarian stews exist. Part of what makes a stew a stew and not a soup is the mixture's thickness and the chunks of ingredients. The liquid suspending the chunky ingredients in a stew should be more of a gravy than a watery dish.