when i was in sziget i had several kinds of hungarian and serbian stews .. they were fucking delicious.
i decided that i should try and cook stew myself
i also figured some of you ppl would have interesting stew recipes i can use as a basis for my own experiments.
without even looking up a recipe for stew, this is my current guess as to how it's done (i never even tried or paid attention to any stew recipe, so this may be horribly wrong):
- stew meat, in cubes. this is reasonably priced cheapish meat because the part of the pig (or cow) it's from got loads of gristle (?), but that's okay because that's why you make stew, if you cook the meat slow enough long enough, the gristle will get soft. (at least this is what the molecular gastronomy book said, and the serbian stew confirms)
- stock? i think you need some stock.
- lotsa different vegetables. but the fun thing is you can use strange vegetables in stew, because you just throw them in
- potatoes. i think you also need potatoes.
- spices. i have no idea what kind of, but in this case you can use those spices that you just cook with the stuff and take out later, like rosemary sticks, madame jeanettes and those laurier leaves, or whatever they're called.
- onions are crucial.
- it's got to have something to make it saucy as well, possibly cream, milk or yoghurt
then you put it in a pan, on low fire and wait a few hours
anyone know if this is correct?
are there particular pitfalls to look out for?
does it need to boil all the time? simmer? or just be very hot?
how do you make sure it doesn't burn at the bottom?
can it go wrong? (would be kinda sad, because then you'd end up with a huge pot of failed food)
anybody got experience with stew?
My mom makes a good stew. It's simple.
Sautee some veggies. Carrots, etc.
Make some broth. Stock works, you can make your own or use some pre-made stuff. Better than bouillon (http://www.amazon.com/s?search-alias=gourmet-index&field-keywords=better%20than%20bouillon&lposid=u7-9297899-1,C,1664) is reasonably good stock and not overly expensive.
Yes. Potatoes.
Spices are good. This depends on how you want the stew to taste. I like a cinnamon stick and cardamon and paprika and chipotle powder and some chopped habanero peppers. But I like spicy food. I'd prefer Bhut Jolokia peppers, but I've not seen any at stores around here. :(
Onions are good.
Cream/Milk are not really necessary, you can have a soupy stew. If you're lactose intolerant, or cooking for someone who is, or just lazy, use some cornstarch.
Boil water in a pressure cooker. Add veggies. add stew meat. etc. put top on. When the little vent thing starts to jiggle (it's meant to) then turn the heat down until it is just barely jiggling. Leave it for about 20 minutes. Then take it off the heat, run cold water over the cooker, this lets you actually open it without it exploding. Open it. Stew, without the 4 hour wait. Pressure cooker FTW.
Stew is basically pretty easy.
one day i'll get myself a pressure cooker :)
for now i'll have to do with the 4h wait :)
A regular pot or crock pot works fine too, you just have to cook it longer.
1. Go to the grocery store
2. Pick up some Dinty Moore or Campbell's Beef Stew in a can.
3. Prepare as instructed.
German goulash:
the way they make it in Wiesbaden (where I'm from)
it may vary in different regions but this is the way I learned to make it.
1 lb of beef chuck cubes
2 green bell peppers
1 big fat onion (or 2, im a fan of onion)
2 carrots sliced into wheels
2 garlic cloves minced
red wine (one you would drink)
paprika
bay leaf
salt
pepper
flour
Method:
coat beef chunks in flour and paprika and brown in a skillet. Remove then add onion, carrot, pepper and saute till softened. Salt and pepper and garlic go in then deglaze the pan with your red wine and scrape up all the little stuck bits (thats flavor baby). Move all of your ingredients to a big pot or dutch oven (snicker). Add enough water to cover everything, your bay leaf (or two), more paprika and bring it all to a slow boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook on low for about a couple hours or until it's thick and the meat is tender. You can add thyme if you like (i do) and in about 2 hours serve this brown hot garbage over cooked egg noodles (the wide ones). It's teh freakin yum!
Slacker stew
1 pot or dutch oven (preffered) w/ 4 cups water or stock, bullion and spices
(Spices= adobo, garlic, tabasco, saffron, or whatever you have around)
turn heat on low-ish
add solid ingredients (lentils, beans)
add hard veggies (potatoes, turnip, carrot, or rice, if you're adding any)
as you go, add softer, faster cooking veggies and some gravy mix (to match any meat you're using, fool)
cook until thickened as desired
Stir every so often to avoid burning / sticking. Set yourself a timer if you're just kicking around doing other things (10 min. intervals, whatever, it's your house to burn down).
If using meat, brown it int he pan before adding stock, or broil, crop and put at the "softer veggies" stage.
Serve with bread and a sharp cheddar cheese.
Mistakes are still edible.
You can make the stock as you make the stew, you just need to add bones.
So: Cube meat.
Dust meat with flour.
Sear meat in pot, high heat.
Remove meat.
Sautee savory vegetables until soft.
Return meat.
add bones.
add beans (optional)
Add liquid to cover by about an inch, scraping up the brown stuff on the bottom of the pot.
Add herbs.
Barely simmer for several/many hours. Boiling will not render the gristele/collegen.
To sum up:
GENTLY COOK INGREDIENTS OVER LOW HEAT FOR A LONG TIME IN LIQUID.
I LOVE crock pots. They rock my world.
My friend and I have made some fantastic stews with a crock pot. We lightly cook some meat in a frying pan first, lightly sautee some veggies (carrots, red peppers, potatoes, onions, broccoli, asparagus, really just about anything), then toss it in the crock pot along with some beef stock and a little bit of corn starch (thicken it). Lots of minced up garlic, some spices (I like to use herbes de Provence), salt, and pepper. Then we leave it cooking all day. By the time we get home at night, we've got a freakin' tasty stew.
It's good comfort food, and great for rainy days.
Yup. My wife will get a chicken once in awhile, add some onions and a little thyme, throw it in the crock pot and out comes yummy deliciousness.
LMNO, the bones, do you need to take them out afterwards or do they sorta dissolve or go soft if you simmer it long enough?
thanks for the advices everybody (and keep em coming!) i'm probably gonna make this stew somewhere this week, and of course i'll provide pics
Oh. You'll need to take them out.
okay, figures :)
I also have recipes for Indian Dar lentil soup and an awesome chicken chili if you're interested.
You know..... just throwin it out there.
Sjaantze, Harbinger of Distraction and I make yummy stews and have found that with slightly more work, we can turn the yummy stew into Pie!
Lamb Pie, Chicken Pie, Turkey Pie, Goat Pie, Beef Pie, Pork Pie (with apples, raisins and cinnamon and brown sugar)
I'll include the recipes later this evening.
*interested*
The pork pie sounds pretty amazing, Rat.
This has made me want to hunt down a recipe for Shepherd's Pie. Mmm.
Payne knoas Shepherds Pie.
it's basically minced meat with herbs and veggies, topped with mashed potatoes, topped with grated cheese.
there should probably go cream in there somewhere as well.
Quote from: triple zero on August 21, 2007, 09:57:18 PM
Payne knoas Shepherds Pie.
it's basically minced meat with herbs and veggies, topped with mashed potatoes, topped with grated cheese.
there should probably go cream in there somewhere as well.
Well yeah, but my skills with improvising foods are limited. Where I have skills for improvisational cooking, I am damn good.
But Shepherd's Pie is not within the realms of my improvisational skills. Not unless I am depressed, cause I'm a mad good cook when feeling emo. :lol: But I'd rather not feel emo!
So, Payne, wanna share your Shepherd's Pie genius plz?
There is tons of stuff in the Joy of Cooking. I recommend the 1975 edition.
So now for some blatant copyright infringement! Hooray!
Beef Stew Gaston (4-6 servings)
Cook a day ahead.
Cut into small pieces and, if very salty, parblanch briefly:
1/2 lb salt pork.
Dry and saute the pork slowly in a large skillet.
Cut into pieces:
2 lb boneless stewing beef
Brown the beef in the hot drippings over high heat. Spoon off most of the accumulated fat.
Sprinkle the meat with:
seasoned flour.
Combine and heat until boiling:
1¬? cloves garlic, chopped
1 large chopped onion
1 cup bouillon
1 cup canned tomato sauce
12 peppercorns
3 whole cloves
¼ cup chopped parsley
1/3 bay leaf
Place the meat in a heavy saucepan. Pour above ingredients over it. Simmer covered 2-3 hours or intil meat can be easily pierced w/ a fork.
During the last hour of cooking add:
¬? cup dry white wine
Cook seperately until nearly tender:
6 medium-sized pared quartered potatoes
6 pared quartered carrots
1 rib of celery, chopped
Add above veggies to the stew in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
There are other recipes for various stews, of course.
Dar:
you will need:
3 cups water
1 cup green or yellow lentils
1 big fat onion
2 big tomatoes (i like to slice em into wedges, they hold up better)
1/2 tsp ginger
3 fat cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp caraway seeds
Put all this crap in a pot and cook it for an hour. a little less if you ike it soupier, longer if you like it pastier.
And by tsp, i mean small palmfull. No exact measurements needed for regular cooking.
Yum :D
Chicken chili:
bone in skinless chicken thighs (about 4 to 6)
can of cream of chicken soup
(dry and pre-boiled)white beans
a big onion
3 cloves garlic
sliced jalapeno
palmfull cumin
handful of cilantro
salt and pepper
can of green chilis
enough water to cover
Throw this in a crock pot and leave over night or all friggin day. Bones will slide out when done and meat will pull apart.
I'm hungry now.
Guess I'll just have some grapes :sad:
tonight i will have my first stab at making stew.
you all forgot the most important ingredient, by the way: sweet dark brown (belgian) beer
but i can understand how that is so obvious you might have simply overlooked it.
otherwise i got:
- pieces of pork meat (ham/bacon kind of stuff)
- green beans
- potatoes
- onion
- garlic
- leek
- milk
- bouillon/stock cubes
- and brown beer
rest of the spices and things i'm gonna make up while busy
time to go buy some brown beer!
Don't forget bay leaf :)
it's done. and it was freaking delicious!!
(i did forget the bay leaf though)
(http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/818/stewvm2.jpg)
sort-of recipe (serves 1.5 big americans or 2 dutch who will have a littlebit left over):
- cut the meat (about 600g) into small pieces
- melt some butter in your pan
- throw the meat in
- add some 5 or 6 cloves of garlic, cut into pieces
- some 5 or 6 big onions, quartered
- put on medium-low heat, let it cook, with the lid on (otherwise all that garlic smell will escape!)
- also add some pepper and caraway seeds
- peel, wash and cut your potatoes into small pieces (0.5 kg)
- when done, these go on top of the other stuff
- now you add one bottle (33cl) of brown beer
- bring to a boil
- now start preparing the other stuff, which will go in, in the order of what you think is best (most "fragile" stuff last): leek, green beans, moar onion, moar garlic, some complete rosemary and thyme stalks (i have growing on my balcony), cloves, nutmeg, salt, pepper, stock/bouillon powder, salt, white wine vinegar, paprika powder, bulgarian "mystery spice", moar butter, moar brown beer and milk
- let simmer until it has the right consistency and you are in agreement with the concoction.
- in the mean time, try to fish out as much of the herb stalks and cloves as possible
improvements will be, next time (when i'm gonna have to cook this for 15 people or so): slightly less cloves, (maybe) slightly less brown beer, and i need better quality white wine vinegar.
i think it has cooked about 2-2.5 hour from the time i threw the meat in until it was done. but the meat was really tender by then, and that's what counts :)
That sounds brilliant. I will have to try it sometime.
Also, I salute your compatriot with the striped socks. 8)
That was probably Mango .. :)
ANYWAYS
:sotw:
I was looking for LMNO's recipe for stock. I seem to remember LMNO explained about how you should save up the bones from any meat you eat in the freezer and then use those to cook stock later.
I have saved bones in my freezer. Porkchop and some coq-au-vin drumstick bones.
I also happened to find a 1.7lbs bag of frozen soup-veggies for a euro in the supermarket yesterday, so I think I pretty much have everything. Maybe even bay leaf. I always forget the bay leaf.
Anyway I can't find said Stock du LMNO recipe, anyone know where it went?
indeed. beer shall go into stew.
however, I want that info on making stock.
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=23441.0 (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=23441.0)
I make this a lot and the kids absolutely love it.
Your stew looked yum yum yum
Quote from: Triple Zero on February 19, 2010, 12:24:37 AM
indeed. beer shall go into stew.
however, I want that info on making stock.
All you really need for stock is bones (with or without meat, I like to use a whole chicken), some veg (celery, carrot, onion usually), some spice (rosemary, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, salt, bay leaf), and water.
Bring it all to a boil and let it roll for like 10 minutes then reduce to a rough simmer and let it go for an hour or two.
When it's all done strain it and use as you please.
Quote from: Turdley Burgleson on February 19, 2010, 04:10:00 PM
Quote from: Triple Zero on February 19, 2010, 12:24:37 AM
indeed. beer shall go into stew.
however, I want that info on making stock.
All you really need for stock is bones (with or without meat, I like to use a whole chicken), some veg (celery, carrot, onion usually), some spice (rosemary, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, salt, bay leaf), and water.
Bring it all to a boil and let it roll for like 10 minutes then reduce to a rough simmer and let it go for an hour or two.When it's all done strain it and use as you please.
Augh!
I hope you didn't do that.
The science of the thing is that the bones contain collagen, which is the stuff that thickens the liquid, which sort of lives in-between the hard calcium bits.
A low heat will sort of render the collagen out of the bones, but a high heat will preven a complete extraction.
So, the best thing to do is to bring it up to between a "gentle" and a "barely" simmer. You just want to get a little bit of movement on the surface. Let it go for as long as you can. If you have a slow cooker, you can let this go overnight, or even an entire day, if you want.
You're also not trying to reduce any of the liquid, so you can add water if the level starts to go down. Your goal is to get all the collagen out of the bones.
Also, while you can use any additional aromatics or flavors, I usually skip any kind of salt in my stocks. Since what ever recipe I'll be using the stock for will also be seasoned, added salt in the stock can mess up the balance, and can always be added to later-- you can't get the salt
out once it's in there.
Once it's strained, I let it sit, then use a fat separator to get a lot of the grease out. If you don't have one, you can let it rest in the fridge for a few hours, and then the fat will rise and congeal in a disc, allowing easy removal.
Man, I was wondering what I was doing wrong.
It always tasted like salt ass and shit bubbles. Damn.
Shoulda listened to Alton here-- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chicken-stock-recipe/index.html
but no, I just did it my way and fail fail fail.
:roll:
Ok, I may have over-reacted here.
Squid, sorry if you felt insulted. I'm only going with what I've learned. If you make an awesome stock with your recipe, I'll give it a shot.
Most Afhgan dishes end up being korma, or stews. I will ask my husband for a couple of them for you if you like. He makes this one with mung beans that I made him redo from his childhood b/c it was so fucking tasteless. Tasted like paste, now it has flavor. I'll bug him for this recipe (called shela, pronounced "shuh-lah") and maybe aush, which is actually lots of garlic, tomato sauce, salt, turmeric and spaghetti noodles.
Quote from: LMNO on February 23, 2010, 07:38:14 PM
Ok, I may have over-reacted here.
Squid, sorry if you felt insulted. I'm only going with what I've learned. If you make an awesome stock with your recipe, I'll give it a shot.
Naw, it's alright man.
I'm sure your way
is the right way. I'm just still learning all this cooking properly crap.
HOLD THE PHONE!
You say afhgan food?!?
Give up them recipes woman!!!
Will do yo.
ETA: I would try to just copy his recipe book, but damn the man writes it in FARSI! :argh!:
TERRORIST!
Quote from: LMNO on February 23, 2010, 03:54:13 PMlet it rest in the fridge for a few hours, and then the fat will rise and congeal in a disc, allowing easy removal.
Which is a delicasy on the island nation of Salazore.
Quote from: Hoopla on February 24, 2010, 08:01:53 PM
Quote from: LMNO on February 23, 2010, 03:54:13 PMlet it rest in the fridge for a few hours, and then the fat will rise and congeal in a disc, allowing easy removal.
Which is a delicasy on the island nation of Salazore.
Which is also known as "Harold".
Is that how its spelled? I've only heard it spoken... I thought it was 'herald'.
Live and learn.
terrorist with god damned good food
This is the recipe I use for Corn Chowder, I found it at Cook's Country! I actually find it works better with frozen corn, or, if you use fresh, blanch it first... It is really really good. I have added scallops to this and once added leftover crab which was delicious too. I can't afford lobster, but the first time I ever ate corn chowder it had lobster in it and oh wow yum!!!!
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/soup/corn-chowder-recipe.html (http://www.cooksrecipes.com/soup/corn-chowder-recipe.html)
Corn Chowder
6 slices smoked bacon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
3 large ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
5 cups chicken stock
2 cups diced red skin or new potatoes - I use yukon gold
6 cups fresh corn or three 10-ounce packages frozen corn, thawed
3/4 cup heavy cream (can substitute light cream or half-n-half if desired)
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Using a large soup pot fry bacon until crisp and remove from heat, patting excess fat off with paper toweling.
Add butter to the pan and melt with bacon drippings. Add onion and celery, carrot and jalapeno if using and cook until vegetables are just tender.
Add stock to soup pot and then potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Puree 4 cups of the corn in a blender adding a small amount of hot stock while blending. (Caution! Hot liquids create steam which will blow the top off the blender! Be sure to securely hold blender lid down!)
Add pureed corn, 2 cups remaining whole kernels, and cream. Add pinch of cayenne and adjust seasonings to taste.
To serve, garnish individual bowls with the cooked crumbled bacon.
that sounds awesome, but I have to take a second to correct your spelling.
there is no "R" in "chowdah".
SAY IT! SAY IT, FRENCHIE! CHOWDAH!
\
(http://ak2.static.dailymotion.com/static/video/360/908/12809063:jpeg_preview_medium.jpg)
Cool, perhaps I'll start it this weekend. Maybe I'll cut the simmering in two runs, cause I wanna be home while there's a fire under the pan, even if it's tiny.
Quote from: LMNO on February 24, 2010, 08:16:33 PM
Quote from: Hoopla on February 24, 2010, 08:01:53 PM
Quote from: LMNO on February 23, 2010, 03:54:13 PMlet it rest in the fridge for a few hours, and then the fat will rise and congeal in a disc, allowing easy removal.
Which is a delicasy on the island nation of Salazore.
Which is also known as "Harold".
Will the grease be that much? I mean, if it's just a little, you can leave it, right? I suppose it contains a lot of the flavours, too. Especially the aromatics that dissolve in polar solvents.
well, it will be the sum total of the fat content of whatever animal bits were put in there, so it can end up being quite a bit of grease. nothing wrong with saving it for other uses, but in general when I'm making something with stock I'm not going for a greasy mouthfeel.
greasy mouthfeel :lulz:
that made me think of like, buttered teeth.
Quick and Easy "Stoop" (not quite stew, but more than soup)
Large pot or slow cooker
Left over beef roast
Left over roasted vegetables (carrots, onions, potatoes, parsnips, etc)
Fresh vegetables (leeks, celery, peas, green beans, etc)
The brown/black scrapings from the roasting tin that you used to cook the roast and veg in
Boiled water (I use my electric kettle)
1-2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
Slice the roast beef into manageable chunks/slices. Put all the ingredients in the pot/slow cooker. Add enough of the boiled water to nearly cover the ingredients. Put a lid on the pot/slow cooker. Cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally until the beef is melt-in-your-mouth tender and the fresh vegetables are cooked. Serve with fresh homemade bread.
I did this the other night, and it resulted in a very tasty meal that required no seasoning/spices other than the stock cubes.
Right. ECH and Squid I see both your points :)
My favorite quick & easy recipe recently is really only quick & easy if it's summer and you have a garden, or if you can all your leftover green tomatoes and chilies at the end of the year. But I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.
One quart jar of home-canned green chili
or
About a pound of green tomatoes or tomatillos
1/2 an onion
a couple of cloves of garlic
a couple of Anaheim chilies
a couple of Jalapeno chilies
a pound or so of boneless pork chops
a couple of potatoes
a carrot or two
a cup of broth
salt to taste
Cut everything up, combine it and simmer for a couple of hours, until the pork is falling apart. Top with jack cheese, fresh green onions and cilantro, maybe a dab of sour cream, and tortilla chips or steamed tortillas.
::drool::
i love tomatillos. so much.
hey is it a terrible sin if I don't use bay leaf for my stock?
cause in the supermarket it was either 1 euro for 2 gram (3-4 leaves or so) or 2.80 euros for 20 gram. now the first is stupidly expensive, but I know from having had bay leaf in my kitchen for AGES (before the fire) that I hardly NEVER use it so either choice is kind of stupid.
I almost never use bay, even when I have it growing in my back yard. I'd say skip it; use sage or something cheap instead.
it isn't mandatory.
i use them in a lot of different things but they can surely be left out.
that is ridiculous expensive
If you find a place that sells it bulk, that might be a great way to get 1-2 leaves without having to pay the price of packaging, which is probably what the deal is with that.
But again, just not using it is fine.
I hardly use bay leaves myself, but when I do it's for soupstock or kheer. The latter sounds weird, but it has a nice fragrance that goes well with the cardamom.
Quote from: Calamity Nigel on February 28, 2010, 11:14:32 PM
If you find a place that sells it bulk, that might be a great way to get 1-2 leaves without having to pay the price of packaging, which is probably what the deal is with that.
Oh yeah absolutely. I'm pretty sure I can get it a lot cheaper at either the street market or one of the marrocan/turkish/indian/chinese/surinam/indonesian "toko"s, just not at the supermarket around the corner :-P
Since this is cooking and not baking, almost everything is "to taste".
Since the point of stock making is collagen extraction, everything else is personal preference.
You can experiment - throw in some dried ancho chilies.
Or chop up a handful of mushrooms.
Add seaweed - why not?
Throw a whole bunch of different bones - chicken, beef, lamb, pork... see what happens!
Once you have the basic technique down, the rest is up to your palate.