Beef Stew

Okay before I start I need to post a disclaimer - THIS IS NOT AN IRISH STEW RECIPE.

I'm not a big fan of lamb and most traditional Irish Stew recipes involve lamb. My family always made it with beef. It was simply lean stewing steak, potatoes, turnip and carrots, throw it all in the pot and a few hours later you have a yummy dinner. To be honest after I left home it was kind of a comfort food for me. A pot went along way when I was living on my own.

Beef Stew is one of my husbands favorite dishes and he likes it to have a good gravy, of course me being the potato crazy person I am would just load it up with spuds and let them cook down until it's a sloppy pureed mess and I'd be happy. So this recipe has been a work in progress and as I'm writing this I am getting delicious whiffs of it from the kitchen.

I'm doing it in the slow-cooker today but you can very easily do in less time on the stove, which when you forget to go to the store and get the meat the day before or take the meat out of the freezer (which both happen a lot around here) is a quick solution. I don't know if one method is necessarily better than the other, I guess it all comes down to taste.

This is one of my E.T.T. dishes (Eat Tonight and Tomorrow). I don't recommend freezing it because potatoes and freezers don't go well together, it makes them gritty. And gritty potatoes doesn't fair well to an Northern Irish palette, remember potatoes are almost sacred in Ireland that's why a bad potato crop nearly wiped out the whole island in the late 17th century.

For all you wives who, like me, are married to an avid hunter, you can easily substitute deer meat for beef. I don't do anything special to the deer meat when I cook it, I know some people say there's a 'wild' taste to it but I don't taste it. I think deer meat is a beautiful meat so lean and tender. Plus talk about organic!!!! I don't think you get more organic. If you do have a thing about the 'wild' taste I would recommend you do what you normally do to it.

So let's get started.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs lean stewing steak

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter (split)

Tony's Seasoning or other Cajun seasoning (I told you I can't get enough of the stuff!)

Mushrooms

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups beef stock

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 medium russet potatoes or red potatoes whatever your preference, cut into bite size cubes

2 large carrots sliced or 1 cup of baby carrots cut in half

1/2 cup frozen pearl onions

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Directions:

1. Season stewing steak with a little seasoning (do it to your taste, it you don't do spicy then just do some black pepper). Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in frying pan or skillet on medium high heat, add half the stewing steak and brown. Remove to a bowl and repeat with remaining meat.

2. Melt another T butter and add a little water to the pan to scrape the pan. Add the mushrooms and saute them.

 4. Turn the heat down to medium and add tomato paste and stir constantly until mixed in.

 5. In a measuring jug add the flour to 1 cup of beef stock and add to the skillet. Stir constantly as you bring it to the boil. 

6. Transfer to the crock pot and add the remaining beef stock and season with Tony's. Turn the crock pot on high and leave to cook for 1 hour.

7. Add the potatoes, carrots, pearl onions and Worcestershire sauce and allow to cook for 5 more hours.

Enjoy and Happy Home Cooking!