Beef stew help

[tomchef]

flour your meat,brown it well
add guiness(maybe the irishman speaking) it adds colour and dept of flavour.
also dont be afraid to trow in spices and finsh with herbs just to liven it up.

[CharlieD]

Originally Posted by YT2095

Och Lad, ya dunee ken what`s gud fer ye < /Scottish accent>

Having Russian friends you should know better. The barley served in Russian/Soviet army every day. At least for one of the meals. 2 years X 365 days that's 730 helpings of barley. Try that my friend, then come back and tell me if you still want to have some barley.

[ErikC]

One thing I noticed is that not many people talk about how to brown the beef properly, so I will put my two-cents' worth in at this point (and with the Canadian dollar up recently, that's a bit more than it used to be ).

First, start with dry beef. Water will spatter, but worse, it will lower the cooking temperature because of evaporation. Boiling and browning are NOT the same cooking process. Adding a bit of salt to the meat will also help remove some of the moisture.

Next, use oil, not butter, as it will reach a higher temp than butter. Also, use a basic cooking oil instead of olive oil for the same reason. Get the pot nice and hot (medium-high), then add the oil and let it come up to temperature. Then add just a few beef cubes at a time. This is important, as you do not want to reduce the temperature of the pot or the oil. relatively high heat is what we need for good browning.

When you put the meat in at first it will stick to the bottom of the pot. This is fine, and it it is exactly what we want. Do NOT try to move the beef at this time, as you will only rip off the browned portion, and you don't want that. Just nudge the beef every few moments to see if it has released yet. Once it does, the browning is done for that side, and you can flip it over to do another side. When all sides are done, you can take those cubes out and replace with new ones.

When all the beef is browned and drying on some paper towel, drain the pot of the excess oil and put it back on the heat. Once it is back up to temperature, add a splash of wine or stock, and scrape up the little brown bits at the bottom of the pot. These are full of flavor and should not be wasted. If you are using a different pot for the stew, then pour this liquid into the stew pot.

Happy stewing!