Beef and Beef Stew!

I just got back from my brother's Wedding Weekend Extravaganza. He's a chef, so of course the food was tasty. Best memory of the weekend was him seasoning, no lie, what looked like a quarter of a cow the night before the wedding to throw it in the big commercial oven overnight at 200 "Low and Slow!"

I had another encounter with beef earlier this week - Beef Stew of Awesome.

Get a package of stew chuck, about as much as you think will make a decent stew for you. Size and servings may vary. I also got a package of beef shanks (mmm beef marrow) to add to it.

Throw your stewpot on the stove and heat it up. Add some oil and herbs to get the fragrant goodness going (Sage, Thyme, ... uh Rosemary, not sure what else I used.) Add Shallots for extra awesome, and an onion or two won't hurt. (*warning, eyes may sting like mad).

Stir that around a bit with a wooden spoon. Once it looks good, put the meat in the pot to sear it. I always have trouble with this and end up cooking it the entire way through whilst searing. Feh.

Now that the meat is seared, pour a bottle of Shipyard Pumpkinhead into the pot. That might not cover everything though, so add some apple cider. Put everything on a slow low simmer, and WAIT. You can't rush tastiness like this. Gotta let that connective tissue relax into deliciousness.

Wait some more. Stir when it looks like it needs it. Resist the urge to bean your roommate with the spoon when he decides it needs stirring.

Alright. You have waited three hours or so, and things are looking good. What you want to do now is chop up some potatoes (I used Yukon Gold but I'm not a huge fan of how it turned out. I'll try creamer potatoes next time - more expensive but probably the texture I want) and some carrots, unless you're lazy like me and have the "baby carrots" on hand (which are NOT baby carrots, just broken ends that get tumbled into baby-ness. Sorry to ruin your illusions.)

Into the pot they go! And if you have anything else on hand that looks like it belongs in stew (frozen mixed vegetables that have stayed with you through 2 moves, for example), add those as well. If the level of liquid is looking low (this all needs to be simmered together), add some more cider and some chicken broth. Trust me on this.

Keep it cooking - low and slow - until the veggies are tender. If the potatoes are done but the carrots are still a bit crisp, don't worry - it'll be tasty.

I was too lazy to actually bake bread so I served these with some freezer rolls from Whole Paycheck, but there was some insanely good bread at the wedding, and I'll try to steal the recipe for it.