Beef stew is a seasonal dish for my family. It's naturally hearty in nature, and tends to be one of my featured slow cooker dishes when the weather turns cold. Today, I'm using cubes of chuck roast because it was on sale and slow cooking makes it incredibly tender and flavorful. However, stew beef is a bit leaner, and of course, works perfectly for slow cooking, too! This is one of those moments that it pays to have a great relationship with the butcher at your local butcher shop or grocery store, so, they can assist in cutting the meat into cubes for you. When chuck roasts or stew beef go on sale, that's when I tuck a pack of these delectable cubes into my freezer for a rainy day pot of stew. In addition, when preparing stew, going the extra mile and browning the meat cubes prior to slow cooking the stew is well worth the trouble and adds a layer of flavor you'd miss otherwise. I like to serve this with a scoop of rice, and a sprinkle of parsley, but, a close favorite would also be to serve it over egg noodles. And, I always have a basket of crusty garlic bread to dip in the rich gravy.
You'll need:
2-2 1/2 lbs. cubed chuck roast or stew beef
1/2-1 lb. peeled baby carrots
10-12 small red potatoes, halved
1 medium onion sliced
1 stalk of celery thinly sliced
8 oz. sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
seasoned flour to coat the meat cubes:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp meat seasoning blend [*see cook's note]
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
black pepper to taste
add'l seasonings:
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. meat seasoning blend [*see cook's note]
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne [optional]
salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil
Mix together the seasoned flour ingredients.
Coat the pieces of meat with the seasoned flour on all sides. You can do this by shaking in a large plastic storage bag or by hand.
In a stove top pan, in a few drizzles of olive oil, brown the meat on all sides. Arrange the meat onto the bottom of the slow cooker. To the pan add the worcestershire sauce to deglaze the pan scraping any brown bits off the bottom. Add the mushrooms, sliced celery, minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of meat seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. Cayenne will give the stew a little heat, but, it's delicious with or without it, so, the choice is yours. Add salt and black pepper to your taste. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan, then add 1 1/2 cups of beef stock. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat.
Arrange the onion slices and carrots over the meat cubes. Sprinkle the veggies with additional salt, black pepper and meat seasoning.
Pour the broth and mushrooms over the top. Cover tightly.
Cook on high for 1 hour then add the red potatoes halves. Continue to cook on high for an additional 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10. Stir well before serving. Serve hot with rice or egg noodles. Yield: 8-10 servings
Cook's note:
*The meat seasoning blend I used for this stew is called "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic." It's readily available on the spice aisle of most grocery stores.
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