Yesterday, I did a post about prepping pearl onion, carrots, and ‘shrooms for use in today’s feature: beef stew. I split the posts up because, as I was looking over my notes, I added a lot of stuff to my stew as it was simmering.
I should note that this is not a complex recipe, but that there is a long list of ingredients that I used to build up to a stew I was well and truly pleased with.
Try it and see if you don’t agree.
INGREDIENTS
•4 cups cubed cooked roast beef
•2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•Caramelized pearl onions and carrots
•Sautéed ‘shrooms
•32 oz beef stock
•1/4 cup tomato puree
•2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
•1 bay leaf
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
•1 tbsp good sherry
•1 tbsp brandy
•1 tbsp Dijon mustard
•2 tbsp Steak and Chop Sauce, or your fave steak sauce
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce, or your fave hot sauce, to taste
•1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
•Black pepper
•1 tbsp sherry vinegar
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Cover the peeled and chunked potatoes with cold water and set aside to rest for a couple of minutes before draining and rinsing well.
Add the potatoes to a large pot along with your prepared pearl onions, carrots, and ‘shrooms.
Stir in the beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce. and the bay leaf (mine were small, so I used two), bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for one hour.
Taste, and correct the seasoning, if needed. I added 1/2 teaspoon each black pepper and sweet Hungarian paprika.
Stir in the beef and cook for another hour, giving the stew a taste after 30 minutes.
Here’s where I added the sherry (my current fave is Harvey’s Bristol Cream), brandy, Dijon mustard, Cajun Power Sauce, Steak and Chop Sauce, the Seasoned Salt and additional black pepper.
One last taste before serving, and then I stirred in the sherry vinegar.
Perfect!
Note: if you don’t have beef stock, go ahead and use chicken or even veggie stock; and, as always, feel free to change up the seasonings to suit your tastes and pantry.