Beef Stew

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 lb Beef Stew Meat
1 Beef Bone
1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion
2 Cups Baby Carrots
2 Cups Yukon Gold Potatoes-cubed
1 Cup Celery
1 pinch Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms

Instruction:

Take soup bone and boil in a med kettle 4 hours adding in 2 small bay leafs, a pinch of Thyme, 10 cranks on the pepper and salt mills. Chop yellow onion and 2 cloves of garlic and place in a skillet on medium high heat until the onions just starting to turn brown add 2 good shakes of teriyaki sauce and allow it to cook for 5 more minutes. With a slotted spoon move the onions into the beef broth-DO NOT RINSE SKILLET! We will have further use for it later…

Allow beef and onion broth to cook for a good 2 hours uncovered. In the skillet you cooked the onions in, sauté the beef tips and mushrooms (I use baby portabellas) in the same skillet. (You may have to add some oil). Then put them in the pot, deglaze the skillet with some of the beef broth and add it into the pot. About an hour and a half before serving add the baby carrots and the Yukon gold potatoes. After about a half hour reduce to simmer until carrots and potatoes soften. Serve with a hearty bread-I like Italian sweet bread, but that’s just me.

Discussion: This recipe takes a while. But after you get the beef broth going it does not bear a lot of watching. Do not good wild with the thyme or it will be too strong. Makes sure the onions are well on their way before you introduce the teriyaki. You want the onions to give up their complex sugars on their own. Teriyaki is a blend of soy sauce and a sweet Japanese wine called Merrin. After you ladle out the onions you want that flavor for the meat and mushrooms. I like portabellas because they have good mushroom flavor for the savory part of the dish.

I also like to give the potatoes a quick fry in the skillet as well. I use Yukon gold because they are pretty waxy and I want my broth thick and rich. I like to slice them in quarters.


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