Hearty Beef Stew

In last week’s Fundamentals class, we made a delicious beef stew from a chuck roast that we trimmed and cut. The recipe has two very unusual additions ~ anchovies and gelatin. Curious? One adds flavor, the other adds a gelatinous texture to the stew.

Tips for Beef Stew

Purchase a roast, steaks, or chops and cut your own stew meat. Don’t use packaged stew meat.

• The best cuts of meat for stews come from the shoulder.

• Trim away hard fat and silver skin.
• Cut meat into evenly shaped chunks.
• Heat oil in Dutch oven until just smoking.
• Blot the meat dry and season before searing.
• Brown the meat in batches to develop flavor.
• Sauté the aromatic vegetables to enhance their flavor.
• Add flour to the sautéed aromatic vegetables.
• Deglaze the pot with cooking liquid.
• Add browned meat and accumulated juices back to pot.
• Add vegetables according to their cooking times.
• Simmer stew in a 300-degree oven.