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My humble attempt at a cooking blog. Email me any great recipes you have. I'll try them out and if I like them, I'll post them here. Proper credit given, of course. angelasangle@gmail.com |
Second Chance Beef Stew
This originally started as a roast. It had all the fixings, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, gravy to pour over everything… and then I cut into the roast and it was like cutting into stone. It was so tough! The vegetables weren’t tender, either. I apparently did not let it cook long enough (I thought 2 hours was sufficient) or maybe the temp was wrong… I just don’t know! Anywho, I knew I was never going to eat it like that, no matter how much yummy gravy was on it. And then my brilliance kicked in and I realized I had a second chance. So, the next day I threw everything (meat, veggies, gravy, everything) into the crock pot, then added a little more liquid, some tomato paste, and green beans. Viola! Beef stew. And because it was cooking all day, the meat broke up on its own and was extremely tender. Now, you may say “I don’t want to make a roast and vegetables I can’t eat one night just to have beef stew the next day.” And even though this stew would be (and was) worth it, I have managed to adjust the recipe so you can do it your first time around. Though, remember, you can always use leftover, good the first time roast to make a pot of beef stew, too. Let’s hear it for re-purposing!
Rub roast with salt and pepper, brown on all sides and place in the crock pot. Put vegetables in with roast. Set aside. Melt butter in sauce pan, add cornstarch, let cook for about a minute. Add 2c of the beef broth*, whisking until cornstarch is combined. Cook until gravy becomes thick and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over meat and vegetables. In a bowl (or your large measuring cup) combine remaining beef broth, garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, and onion powder. Stir until paste has thickened the liquid. Pour over entire contents of the crock pot. Add a little salt and pepper, stir gently. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low temp. (I don’t recommend high temp/less cooking time because allowing the meat to get very tender is key.) Serve with your favorite bread and enjoy!
*A note about adding broth to a roux. Never add cold broth or it won’t completely dissolve the thickening agent (i.e. cornstarch or flour). If you are using a can or boxed broth, make sure it comes up to room temperature. If you are making your own (from scratch or a powder) warm the liquid up before adding it.
