2 lb boneless chuck 1 1/2 thick
4 thick bacon slices
2 large yellow onions
2 large cloves of garlic
3 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine, beer, more broth
2 parsley sprigs
2 tsp fresh tyme or 1/2 ts. dried
6 large carrots
2 large baking potatoes
8 oz frozen pearl onions
1 chopped parsley for garnish
1 cooked egg noodles or rice
Directions
Trim of all fat from beef chuck. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Pat meat
dry with toweling. Cut bacon into 1/4 wide strips. Cut large onions
into 1/4 inch wide wedges. Mince garlic. Cook bacon in a heavy
bottomed 4 1/2 quart dutch oven, until crisp. Remove pieces with
sloted spoon. Pour bacon fat into a bowl. Return 1 tbsp fat to pan.
Heat over medium-high heat. Add enough beef cubes to cover bottom of
pan. Cook, turning cubes with tongs, until browned on all sides. As
beef cubes brown remove from pan and add uncooked beef until all
pieces are done. Add bacon fat as needed to keep meat from sticking.
Remove all meat from pan. Add 1 tbsp bacon fat. Add onion wedges and
cook until onion wilts and is golden brown. Add garlic and cook and
stir for one minute. Return meat to pan. Add salt, pepper, and
flour. Cook and stirover medium heat to brown the flour slightly,
about three minutes. Pour broth and wine, if used, into pan so meat
is barely covered. Stir well to scrape browned bits from bottom of
pan. Stir in parsley and thyme. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat
to very low. Cover pan and let simmer for until meat is almost
tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Shortly before meat is tender, peel
carrots, and potatoes. Cut into pieces. Stir into meat mixture.
Continue cooking until carrots and potatoes are tender but not mushy,
about 20 minutes. Heat any remaining bacon fat in a large skillet,
add pearl onions and cook, stirring, until onions are golden on all
sides. Stir onions into stew. Cook five minutes. Sprinkle stew with
crisp bacon pieces and chopped parsley. Sevre over cooked noodles or
rice.
Servings: 6 servings
Basic Beef Stew Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Beef; Beef Stew; Dutch Oven; Meat; Soup
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as a concept can be observed far back into the far past, in truth as far as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. Having said that, generally, these ancient cookbooks were just primitive hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for meal preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to historians is a collection of ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel exhilarated. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we find two interesting cookery books which date from the 14th Century : one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Perhaps surprisingly, these two books have no connection with the indian food that we all know today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals on the tables of the rich people of that time. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new foods and spices led to an outbreak in recipe publications, the majority of which are now in academic collections. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the families of Europe tried to lay on the most exotic meals, and because of this the best cooks and their collection of recipes were greatly in demand. Nevertheless, it was during the 1800s that haute cuisine and cookery books became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, verifying, and publishing the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. When we get to the twentieth century, cookbooks were increasing in popularity mostly due to higher levels of literacy, people having more leisure time and having more money. The TV revolution gave us celebrity chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Basic Beef Stew recipe.
