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The Stew Thread™

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  • Benno 13 May 2010 19:28:27 8,391 posts
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    As if there isn't one already

    Everyone I talk to has a different stew recipe. As a student, I like making stews as I can make a big batch which will feed me about 8 times, and store it. Plus its real healthy. I have honed this recipe over many 'a year, but I am open to new suggestions, hence the thread.

    Here is my current stew design:

    steak mince
    onions
    chopped mushrooms
    carrots
    potatoes
    turnip
    brocolli
    colliflower
    parnsip
    leak
    cabbage

    add enough water to cover, heat to the boil then simmer

    add:
    bit of salt and pepper
    4 chicken oxo cubes
    some mixed herbs




    I hear news of guiness being added to stews, what of this?
  • stephenb 13 May 2010 19:33:39 2,423 posts
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    Thats some amount of different veg your throwing in there. You must be shitting through the eye of a needle with that lot!

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  • pinebear 13 May 2010 20:00:41 8,555 posts
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    Looking at that stew recipie is like looking at the Mediterranian Diet. Nice one.

    Guiness is a good suggestion, Benno. Have you tried red wine?
    I'd recommend bulgur wheat or couscous as well. Bit o' grains in there.

    ツ

  • elstoof 13 May 2010 20:06:45 4,403 posts
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    Diced beef or lamb goes nicely rather than mince, doesn't have to cost a bomb either. Cheaper cuts are perfect for a stew.
  • otto Moderator 13 May 2010 20:08:06 49,238 posts
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    My current favourite stew

    Cubed shoulder of lamb
    Two chopped onions
    Plenty chopped garlic
    Dried ginger, ground cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon stick
    Saffron
    Cup of water
    Olive oil
    Prunes, dried apricots, honey
    Whole blanched almonds

    Throw everything into a casserole together, make sure the lamb gets covered in the spices; season and put in a slow oven (130 or 140) for three or four hours.

    say no to Eurogamer sigs

  • Fizzog 13 May 2010 20:09:23 4,108 posts
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    Has anyone got any fish stew suggestions?
  • Benno 13 May 2010 20:23:23 8,391 posts
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    otto wrote:
    cumin
    tsk

    on a more serious note, a cubed lambs shoulder sounds unfriendly to the 'mash it up and throw it into the fridge' game plan

    going to try the almonds though, and the saffron - i think my mum uses that in her stooos

    next batch, I am defo going to try guiness. I love stews, and I love pints of guiness. What could possibly go wrong?
  • heyyo 13 May 2010 20:25:48 14,304 posts
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    Saffron will steal all of your money, and leave you in tears when you can barely detect it in the stew.
  • Benno 13 May 2010 20:27:14 8,391 posts
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    otto, take your upper class suggestions elsewhere :p
  • ronuds 13 May 2010 20:28:34 20,494 posts
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    I don't know how it was made, but my mother used to make the greatest stew I've ever had. It was all in the sauce! Ingredients seemed pretty basic: peas, carrots, taters, beef, etc. It was like a big family event whenever she decided to make it.

    Mmmmm... stew.
  • Fizzog 13 May 2010 20:41:32 4,108 posts
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    ronuds wrote:
    I don't know how it was made, but my mother used to make the greatest stew I've ever had. It was all in the sauce! Ingredients seemed pretty basic: peas, carrots, taters, beef, etc. It was like a big family event whenever she decided to make it.

    Mmmmm... stew.
    Maybe the secret ingredient was love.
  • mal 13 May 2010 20:47:00 20,466 posts
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    I try to make my own stock if I can. Proper stock > all

    My stew recipe is:
    Some meat
    Some stock
    Some water
    Any veg you've got
    Some potatoes

    Cook it low enough for long enough and it always tastes greeeeet.

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  • BinaryBob101 14 May 2010 00:24:31 21,066 posts
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    Nice recipe that otto.

    Benno, doesn't your cauliflower and broccoli go a bit mushy?

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  • TheRealBadabing 14 May 2010 00:28:27 1,053 posts
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    Irish stew >>>> all.

    A bit like Lancashire hotpot but with a subtly different bigotry.
  • mal 14 May 2010 00:34:46 20,466 posts
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    Oh, I forgot the crucial ingredient - bay leaf. Put it in before hand, remove it after - it's already done its work and is spent - you may as well bin it.

    Cubby didn't know how to turn off sigs!

  • BinaryBob101 14 May 2010 00:40:42 21,066 posts
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    Fizzog wrote:
    Has anyone got any fish stew suggestions?
    Fish stews need to cook for a much shorter time than meat stews, so you need to be a little careful. Also, you need to use a meaty style of fish like cod, or monkfish, or else it just falls apart and turns to mush.

    Try this out:

    I monkfish tail filleted and chopped into 1" cubes
    A couple of handfuls of mussels
    6 raw tiger prawns tails left on - de-shelled and with the stomach tube taken out
    Squid rings
    White wine
    One or two cloves of garlic - crushed
    Four Shallots fine diced
    Tin tomatoes
    I small red chilli - deseeded and fine chopped
    Cup of chicken stock
    Parsley
    Pinch of saffron
    Salt and Pepper

    Ok, so you make the stew sauce first. Fry off the garlic and shallots until translucent and soft, not browned add the chilli. Add a glass of white wine and the pinch of saffron and reduce by half. Add a tin of tomatoes, or in Summer use nice fresh chopped and deseeded vine tomatoes (roast 'em first of you want to add a new flavour).
    Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

    Then, add the monkfish, give it a couple of minutes to cook through. Follow with the squid, then the mussels and finally the prawns. Cover for two minutes, or until the mussels have opened up and the prawns are pink.

    Finish off with a squeeze of lemon and loads of parsley.

    Done.

    The whole thing should only take about 15 minutes from start of cooking. The fish should only take about five minutes, or it'll be overdone and the whole thing will be a bit of a waste.

    Great with garlic bread and a bit of salad. Eat outside.

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  • Fizzog 17 May 2010 02:21:55 4,108 posts
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    BinaryBob101 wrote:
    Fizzog wrote:
    Has anyone got any fish stew suggestions?
    Fish stews need to cook for a much shorter time than meat stews, so you need to be a little careful. Also, you need to use a meaty style of fish like cod, or monkfish, or else it just falls apart and turns to mush.

    Try this out:

    I monkfish tail filleted and chopped into 1" cubes
    A couple of handfuls of mussels
    6 raw tiger prawns tails left on - de-shelled and with the stomach tube taken out
    Squid rings
    White wine
    One or two cloves of garlic - crushed
    Four Shallots fine diced
    Tin tomatoes
    I small red chilli - deseeded and fine chopped
    Cup of chicken stock
    Parsley
    Pinch of saffron
    Salt and Pepper

    Ok, so you make the stew sauce first. Fry off the garlic and shallots until translucent and soft, not browned add the chilli. Add a glass of white wine and the pinch of saffron and reduce by half. Add a tin of tomatoes, or in Summer use nice fresh chopped and deseeded vine tomatoes (roast 'em first of you want to add a new flavour).
    Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

    Then, add the monkfish, give it a couple of minutes to cook through. Follow with the squid, then the mussels and finally the prawns. Cover for two minutes, or until the mussels have opened up and the prawns are pink.

    Finish off with a squeeze of lemon and loads of parsley.

    Done.

    The whole thing should only take about 15 minutes from start of cooking. The fish should only take about five minutes, or it'll be overdone and the whole thing will be a bit of a waste.

    Great with garlic bread and a bit of salad. Eat outside.
    Cheers BB!

    Sounds great, I'll definitely be trying it soon.
  • Charlie_Miso 17 May 2010 07:01:44 1,189 posts
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    I go a 'chickpea/pumpkin/other veggies of choice' stew with couscous.

    It's a great opportunity to say 'couscous' a lot.
  • smoothpete 17 May 2010 08:22:40 29,135 posts
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    Benno wrote:
    I hear news of guiness being added to stews, what of this?
    Yes, as follows

    500g chunks of beef shin
    2 onions, quartered, layers separated
    3 carrots, chopped into chunks
    a leek, chopped
    500ml Guinness. Or some kind of ale, either is good
    bay leaf
    2 big heaped tablespoons of flour
    3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
    salt & pepper

    In a large heavy saucepan, brown the beef in olive oil, in batches. Put to one side. In the same pan, fry the onion and leek in a bit of olive oil. When the edges start to go brown, remove from the heat and put the beef back in. Add the flour, give it a good mix around. Back onto a gentle heat, gradually add the Guinness or ale, stirring all the time. Add the rest of the ingredients. Get it up to a simmer, put the lid on, then into an oven at 150 degrees C. Leave it in there for an hour then give everything a stir, than back in the oven for another hour and a half. You can leave it in there for longer, it just gets better, but 2.5 hours is basically the minimum cooking time you can get away with.

    Note - when you first add the Guinness / ale, it won't look like enough liquid. IT IS ENOUGH. DO NOT ADD ADDITIONAL LIQUID.

    Edit - forgot the dumplings! Fuck! Just make packet ones and chuck them in half an hour before the cooking time is due to finish

    You can also swap the beef and Guinness with lamb and cider
  • mrpon 17 May 2010 08:24:58 23,980 posts
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    TheRealBadabing wrote:
    Irish stew
    In the name of the law?

    Give yourself ½ gig or a £, you're worth it.

  • Deleted user 17 May 2010 08:32:04
    Roughly diced lamb, browned on the hob first
    shallots
    garlic
    carrot
    the wily spud
    dumplings
    Chuck some water in, bit of seasoning
    In the oven on a low low low heat for hours and hours.

    Yummy.
  • paul_haine 17 May 2010 08:38:08 4,205 posts
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    Benno wrote:
    I hear news of guiness being added to stews, what of this?
    I use guiness when I'm making my chilli but I tried it in a beef stew and the whole thing came out incredibly bitter.
  • Load_2.0 17 May 2010 09:25:59 14,544 posts
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    My recipe is very similair to Smoothpetes however the only changes I make are that I use shallots and also add a good dollop of tomato paste mixed with half a cup of water.
  • Coxy117 17 May 2010 11:44:07 5 posts
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    This is an awesome Cuban stew called Picadillo de la baja. It's got mango and pineapple in which seems wierd but it works amazingly!

    450g/1lb braising steak, cubed
    225g/8oz pork fillet, cubed
    30ml/2 tablespoons corn oil
    1 onion, chopped
    1 clove garlic, crushed
    1 hot chilli pepper, seeded and chopped
    4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
    pinch each of ground cloves and cinnamon
    2.5ml/½ teaspoon paprika
    ½ red pepper, seeded and chopped
    ½ green pepper, seeded and chopped
    30ml/2 tablespoons raisins
    175g/6oz pineapple cubes
    1 mango, peeled and chopped
    slat and freshly ground black pepper

    Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the cubed meats and cook until lightly browned. Add the onion, garlic, and chilli and cook until the onion softens. Stir in the tomatoes, spices and 150ml/5floz water. Cover the pan and allow to simmer gently for 45 minutes, adding more water if the casserole becomes too dry. Add the peppers and cook for a further 10 minutes. Stir in the fruit and season if necessary, then cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes, by which time the tomatoes will have formed a thick sauce.

    Serve with boiled brown rice.... unless you're not a fucking hippy.
  • angeltreats 17 May 2010 11:53:57 2,486 posts
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    mal wrote:
    I try to make my own stock if I can. Proper stock > all
    This. There's far more flavour in a chicken bone than there is in a wee crumbly cube. I like to bore people about the benefits of making your own stock. It's also free, or very nearly free :)

    Re the Guinness, this is not exactly a stew recipe but braised beef in Guinness is fab. Ale works well too. Batter out slices of cheapo beef between a couple of bits of cling film using a rolling pin till it's about 5mm thick. Coat it in seasoned flour and fry on both sides for a minute or two just to seal in all the nice stuff. Slice an onion or two and sweat it in the same pan you seared the beef in. Dump beef and onion in a casserole, cover with about 3/4 of a can of guinness/whatever and a wee bit of beef stock, and stick in a lowish oven (about 160ºC) for a few hours. At the end you can pour off the juices and reduce them a bit in a saucepan, maybe with a bit of cornflour, to make a thicker gravy.

    Best served with mustard mash (made by boiling spuds and mashing them up with salt & pepper, a bit of cream and a load of wholegrain mustard).
  • Benno 17 May 2010 11:54:35 8,391 posts
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    some great contributions guys

    going to rustle up a stew up today, time to decide what i want to do with it!
  • angeltreats 17 May 2010 11:56:08 2,486 posts
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    paul_haine wrote:
    Benno wrote:
    I hear news of guiness being added to stews, what of this?
    I use guiness when I'm making my chilli but I tried it in a beef stew and the whole thing came out incredibly bitter.
    You could always add a wee bit of sugar to counteract any bitterness. If you sweat the onions in a bit of butter before adding them to the stew, they'll release lots of lovely sweet flavour that should also stop the guinness tasting too bitter.

    I have a nice recipe for chorizo and chickpea stew, is that too poncey for EG?
  • Benno 17 May 2010 11:57:49 8,391 posts
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    in the stew thread, we dont judge

    its a sharing community
  • X201 17 May 2010 11:58:04 12,943 posts
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    There's a distinct lack of Pearl Barley and lentils in this thread.

    See, deliberate suppression of Pearl Barley by burying the post at the foot of the previous page.

    It's a conspiracy!

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