Ria’s Beef Stew

One of the things that made be weep and bleed during my Basic Skills Course at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies was Beef Stew which we made on Day 12 Beef Fabrication Day. It was the first time I spent hours just cooking.

I volunteered to make the Beef Stew because I was a big fan of beef stew. And my cousins? They looove beef stew. Boy, did I both love and hate the cooking process. Mise en place was a bitch. I had 28 ingredients to prepare. And the cooking part was just pure torture. HOURS and I literally mean HOURS in front of the stove, watching the pot, stirring to make sure the stew didn’t dry out and burn.

But I LOVED the Beef Stew. I LOVED IT! So when my boss asked me to cook something for the VIP Players, I cooked beef stew.

When Julie & Julia came out, I looked for Julia Child’s Beouf Bourguinon recipe and I cooked it. And live blogged about it.

When my cousins and aunts asked me to cook for Sunday lunch, I cooked beef stew. When my Daddy had a birthday dinner, I cooked beef stew. When my Daddy had guests, I cooked beef stew. But I still love cooking and eating it.

I could almost cook it with my eyes closed. So when my cousin was planning to come home, she asked me what I could cook for her. I told her I’d cook beef stew. Yes, I love beef stew.

But this time, I made it a bit differently. It was the recipe I had in my head, composed from the many times I cooked beef stew, taking in the best things about the many beef stew recipes I found online, and putting in some of my own touches. And it was my best beef stew yet.

Here it is…

Ria’s Beef Stew

Good for 10 – 15 persons

Ingredients:

• 250 g bacon, cut into 2 inch strips
• 1.5 kilos beef cubes*, short ribs, or neck meat (or a combination of the three), cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 medium white onions, finely chopped
• 1 head large garlic, finely chopped
• 3 pieces small carrots (or 2 medium-sized), finely chopped
• 5 stalks medium celery, diced
• 5 tablespoons AP flour
• 1 bottle red wine**
• 150 g tomato paste
• 2 pieces bay leaf
• 3 cups beef broth (1 beef broth cube for every cup water)
• 2 large carrots, cubed or cut into rondelles (circles)
• 1 large zucchini, cubed
• 12 pieces baby potatoes or 3 large potatoes, cubed
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 can button mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• cumin powder
• rosemary
• thyme
• cayenne pepper powder
• all spice

*For a leaner meat option, use tenderloin (but it’s more expensive).
**Don’t be intimidated. You can use any wine you can find in the market. I recommended Semi-Dry Sweet Red Wine.

Procedure:
Note: Use a heavy bottomed pot or a non-stick pot for this.

1. Simmer the bacon in about 2 – 3 cups water. Just enough to cover it. Let the oil from the bacon render. When the water has evaporated and only the bacon and oil are left, let the bacon brown a bit. Remove and drain. Set aside.


Simmering the Bacon

2. Season the beef with salt and pepper, cumin, rosemary, and thyme.


Thyme and Rosemary

3. Add the 1/2 cup olive oil and the 1/4 cup butter to the bacon oil. Heat. Once the oil is hot, add the beef, seal, and brown it. To seal the beef, do not put all the beef at once. Put just enough to cover the surface of the pot. Around 4 – 8 pieces at a time. Make sure all the sides of the beef are brown. Set aside the beef.
4. On the same pot, add the finely chopped garlic, onions, carrots, and the diced celery. Add the flour.
5. Add 1/2 of the bottle of red wine.
6. Add the beef. Add the tomato paste and 2 pieces bay leaf. Mix all the ingredients. Add around 2 cups of the beef broth. Enough to cover the beef.
7. Season with salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, all spice, rosemary and thyme. Boil.


Spices

8. Stir the stew every 10 minutes to make sure the bottom does not burn.
9. If the liquid is below the level of the beef, add more wine and beef broth. Use a fork to check if the beef is ready. This will take around 1 to 3 hours depending on the quality of your beef. Make sure to check and mix the stew every 10 or 15 minutes. If the taste is too bland, add more spices according to your taste. I usually add more salt and pepper, cumin, rosemary, and thyme.


Stew is Boiling

10. While the stew is boiling, prepare the mushrooms. In a sauce pan (or frying pan), heat the 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.


Sauteeing the Mushrooms

11. Use a fork to check if the beef is tender. You must be able to pierce through the beef with ease. When the beef is tender, lower the heat a bit, add the vegetables including the mushrooms. Add the bacon. Add the remaining wine, and enough broth to cover the beef and vegetables. Let it simmer***.


STIR!

12. Use a fork to check if the potatoes are cooked. The carrots and zuchini cook before the potatoes. The fork must be able to pierce through the potatoes. Once the potatoes are cooked and the sauce of the stew is thick enough, your stew is ready.

***To simmer is to heat the stew or dish at just below boiling point. The bubbles formed should be smaller and less frequent.

Tips and Notes:
Before using and adding an herb or spice, make sure to try it out first to see if it suits your taste. Some people don’t like adding cayenne pepper or cumin. But personally, I’d recommend that you use both rosemary and thyme as these two are the most used herbs for French and Western dishes. Some people add a bit or nutmeg or cinnamon to their stew.

If there is too much oil or fat on top of the stew, you can skim it off. But that’s where the flavor is. So to bind the oil with the sauce better, prepare some roux and add it to the stew before taking it off the heat. To prepare roux, heat 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons flour. Do not add all of it to the stew at once. Add some and check if there is still too much oil not mixed in with the sauce.

This beef stew is best served with steaming hot rice, baguette, or garlic bread. YUMMY!

To balance out the richness of the beef stew, serve with fresh greens salad, a light fish dish, and some light dessert such as fresh fruits or sorbet.

This beef stew takes a lot of patience and hardwork to make, so I suggest allotting around 3 – 5 hours to cook it. If you’ve tried this at home, do tell me about it.

PS Don’t get confused with the photos. Those were taken at different occasions of me cooking beef stew.