New stew recipe - could use some input

[xhtnlrcgfytn]

I merged two threads into one so that is why there are two questions from the OP in this thread - thought I would explain since it looks a little strange. xhtnlrcgfytn, you will get replies at one or the other, here they will be together.

Hello everyone, I just got an account here.

Does anyone have a simple stew (or something similar) recipe (beef, whatever) that meets these criteria:

No tomatoes,
no potatoes,
no msg.(that doesn't necessarily mean no broth, if it's chicken turkey or beef)
reasonably cheap

All it really has to have is a variety of veggies, and some meat.

Please don't just ask my why I'm excluding these things..... I just need a recipe.... Basically I don't like msg, and I have to avoid anything with solanine in it. I must admit I'm not a very good cook or I suppose I could invent something myself. I've searched the net, but almost all stew has one of these things in it.

 

[Andy M.]

Welcome to DC. We have a forum for Stews. Check it out for some recipes to try.

Actually, just about any recipe can work for you. You can omit any potatoes, or tomatoes in a recipe and continue on or substitute.

Starch subs for a potato can be turnips, pasta or barley. You can just omit any tomato. I don't think I've seen any recipes here that have MSG as an ingredient. Regardless, that is also easily ommited from any recipe leaving still worth cooking.

 

[TexanFrench]

Hi and welcome!

Stew is more of a technique than a recipe. You get a large, heavy pot, put a little grease in the bottom, brown a pound or so of beef chunks that are cut in about 1-2 inch squares, add enough liquid to cover the beef, toss in a large onion that you've peeled and sliced, plus 2 or 3 large carrots, washed and cut into rounds, and possibly some celery or other veggies that will not wilt into shapelessness, add a few herbs (bay leaf, thyme and rosemary are good), simmer for an hour, more or less, until the meat can be broken with a fork, add salt and pepper to taste, and there you are.

The ingredients will make their own broth as they cook in the liquid. On occasions when I've been penny-pinching, I've actually used plain water as the liquid. You could also use red wine, or water with vinegar or wine in it. The veggies can be whatever you want, though it's better if they can take the cooking time of the meat. Root veggies, like turnips, work well if you like them. Sometimes I throw in some frozen peas or corn towards the end.

The key is to keep the ingredients simmering--just under a boil--and to make sure the liquid doesn't dry up during cooking. If you need to add liquid during cooking, try to have it warm, or at least room-temperature. Some folks salt their meat during cooking; I prefer not to. Some folks skip the browning step at the beginning; I prefer to do it. Cooking goes better if all the meat chunks are about the same size, and all the pieces of carrot, onion, or whatever, match the other pieces of that same vegetable. That way, it's easier to tell when they are done (soft enough to chew without trouble!).

Hope this helps.

 

[xhtnlrcgfytn]

Invented stew recipe - could use some input

I was looking for a recipe that fits my picky dietary requirements and what ingredients I have, but then I came to the conclusion I'd pretty much have to make my own recipe. So I collected a bunch of recipes to get an idea of the usual spices amounts etc., then made up a first draft. (Thanks texanfrench for your post in another thread. Just the sort of thing I needed....)

I am trying to do without alcoholic beverages (which I didn't consider at first, but found many recipes include. I know the alchohol evaporates, but I'd still rather avoid them.) potatoes, tomatoes, and msg, which includes any storebought broth at my local supermarket.

I will try to make it in a couple hours, but I thought I'd post and see if anybody had any suggestions anyway.

You might notice it's a bit heavy on the barley and veggies.... I thought I'd cram as much in as I could, now what I'm trying to invent my own recipe anyway. Nutritionally, it basically comes out the same as eating bread with normal stew 'cept barley's 1$/kg.
I thought it might be to light on the spices, but I’d rather under do it than over do it, since I can add garlic powder etc. after cooking, then adjust the recipe.


1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat
1tbsp olive oil
4-6 cups water save 1 cup for cornstarch
3/4 teaspon garlic powder
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 to 3 tsp. dried thyme
507g barley
962g frozen vegetables mix, which includes green peas, lima beans, carrots, corn, and green beans
1.5 tsp dark sugar, maybe
4tbsp corn starch, mixed with water
7 tblspoons onion powder
salt and pepper and maybe cumin or paprika to taste if deemed suitable

1. Brown meat in olive oil.

2. Add garlic and brown sugar and onion powder. Stir and cook for two minutes.

3. Add other seasoning and vegetables and barley.

4. make a slurry with cornstarch and 1 cup water, and add after main mix heats up to 70 C or so again, stir.

5. Adding more water if barley soaks up too much, keeping track of how much water is added, simmer 1 hour or until done.



Any suggestions?

 

[ChefJune]

Onion powder will never give you the depth of flavor that real onions will. As well, I think it needs celery and carrots. The onions, celery and carrots are the foundation upon which you build your stew, just as you wouldn't build a house without a foundation....

just my 2-cents. Nobody's ever turned down a second helping of any of my stews.......

 

[TexanFrench]

Hi,

Frozen vegetables are already partially cooked (parboiled) and will probably turn into mush if you cook them for an hour. If you put them in at the end, and let the pot come back up to steaming again, they will probably be about right.

But fresh veggies, especially onions and carrots and celery, cooked with the meat will add a special flavor that you don't get with the frozen ones. Chef June is right--those 3 veggies are the most common in stews for a reason!

Onion and garlic powders are missing the full zing (and eye-irritating oils) of the originals, and won't stand up to long cooking as well. You'll actually get more flavor from them if you add them at the end of the cooking.

But the best way to learn is by experience--give it a go, and don't let the liquid dry up!

Good luck!

 

[Andy M.]

If you can use real onion and garlic, do so. If not, I think the quantity of onion powder is too much.

I don't know what part of the world you live in but there are packaged stocks/broths available without MSG.

Also, you may want to consider using wheat flour in place of the cornstarch as a thickener.

 

[Aurora]

I seriously doubt that you will need to thicken the stew with corn starch with all of the barley that you have in the mix. Barley creates it's own starchy thickening as it cooks. But, if you do need to thicken it I agree that a wheat thickener (if you can tolerate it) would be yield a better flavor and result especially for leftovers.

 

[Half Baked]

If you are omitting the onions, celery and carrots because you don't care for them, leave them whole and take them out before you serve. You still get a great flavor and all the vitamins.

 

[Constance]

Fresh onions would be nice, but the onion powder is Ok, especially if you don't want bits of onion in your soup. That's WAY too much, however. One or two teaspoons will be plenty.
I'm not familiar with grams, but that sounds way heavy on the barley, also. Barley really swells up and soaks up a lot of juice when you cook it. You probably don't need more than a couple handsfull.
As mentioned above, wait to put your frozen vegies in until the last 20 minutes or so, after meat is tender. Don't add your barley too soon, either. Check the package for cooking times...it won't take as long as the meat.
I like to add a small can of tomato sauce to my beef stew for richness. You might give it a try...it doesn't really make the stew taste tomatoey.

 

[jennyema]

Stew should generally be cooked for more than an hour.

Use fresh vegetables, esp. onion, carrot and some celery for depth of flavor.

Broth will also give you depth of flavor and most is made without msg. Unless you react badly to msg, you may want to consider using it, as it also gives a very savory flavor. So does soy sauce.

Not sure why you are adding brown sugar? I never add sugar to beef stew.

Sounds like a lot of barley ... and not enough water.

IMO cornstarch is a no no in stew. Potatoes help thicken and so will the barley, but I would recommend Wondra instant flour or regular AP flour and add it a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. 1/4 cup cornstarch would be a huge mistake, IMO.

 

[kitchenelf]

OP, don't make this too hard. Those things you don't like just leave out. Like others have said though if it's the onion pieces you don't want to taste then leave the onion whole and remove. If you just prefer the onion powder flavor then use it.

Find a recipe - follow the basic steps - put in it what you like. You are not going to find a recipe EXACTLY as you already want it - adjust it to meet your likes.

 

[xhtnlrcgfytn]

I tried making it 2 nights ago… I hope nobody minds me continuing this thread? I’m not begging for more replies, but if anybody cares to know what happened….
Also I can’t really answer everyone, or my post might be so long no one would want to read it. I still am not using any celery, I will try that sometime, I just don’t have any right now. Also I’m still not using any fresh veggies for the same reason.

I seriously doubt that you will need to thicken the stew with corn starch with all of the barley that you have in the mix. Barley creates it's own starchy thickening as it cooks.

Yep, you were right….. It’s more like a pudding after being in the fridge overnight, but still tastes okay. Are you supposed to rinse barley before you cook it? I am using goudas brand.

If you can use real onion and garlic, do so. If not, I think the quantity of onion powder is too much.

I don't know what part of the world you live in but there are packaged stocks/broths available without MSG.

I’ll probably be using real onions and garlic after I get past the experimental stage….
At my local supermarket (food basics) all the broths (and soups) contain msg, I checked them all. I bought some anyway, though, at least I can use it for experimenting. It seems to me it could really use some sort of stock, maybe turkey…. I tried adding beef stock and some water after cooking, in the quantities reccomended on the package. It didn’t seem to add anything, though (except salt).

I found
http://www.savorychoice.com/
but they don’t ship to Canada . If you’re in the US though you can ask for a free sample from www.savory-creations.com .

Fresh onions would be nice, but the onion powder is Ok, especially if you don't want bits of onion in your soup. That's WAY too much, however. One or two teaspoons will be plenty.

I changed it during cooking, I assumed it must have meant 7 tsp. I see now it was supposed to be 3 tbsp in my original shorthad version though, dunno what happened there.

I don’t really notice the onions a whole lot, but there’s lots of water diluting it now, I suppose that’s why…. Actually it’s kinda bland. The onion powder I’m using says 1 large onion is equivalent to 1 tablespoon.

I'm not familiar with grams, but that sounds way heavy on the barley, also. Barley really swells up and soaks up a lot of juice when you cook it.

I ended up adding 2.8 l of water, as much as the pot would hold leaving space for veg. The barley seems to soak up water till it’s as much as it can hold anyway once it’s in the frige for a while, though. Perhaps cooking it less would reduce how much it would end up absorbing in total? Maybe I’ll just have to try it.


Not sure why you are adding brown sugar? I never add sugar to beef stew.

I found it in one of the other recipes I collected…. And again on one of the threads aroud here somebody said it was good, so I thought I’d try it.

 

[xhtnlrcgfytn]

V.2

I am going to be trying again in about 13 hours from now…. This is the current plan, though I might update it a bit before. I’ve tried to include lessons learned and any suggestions. I might also try splitting it in 2 at some point and adding vinegar to one batch. The almond/peanut butter I tried adding to the completed batch after it was done, and it was good, so I’ll try adding some to this.

1.5 lb beef
2 L water or so,
1.5 tbsp olive oil maybe
0.75 teaspoon garlic powder
1.5 tbsp worcestershire sauce – or to taste
1.5 tsp thyme
1 or 2 bay leaf/s
253.5 g barley
211 g whole rice
0.5 - 1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
962 g frozen veg – could maybe have been cooked longer
1.5 tsp dark sugar
2.5 tbsp onion powder
100 g almond/peanut butter

try adding cumin paprika or chili

- rinse barley and rice
- lightly Cook meat in olive oil
- add sugar and cook for 2 more minutes on low
- add some water and cook for 20-40 minutes to tenderize meat (optional)
- add water, rice, barley and bay leaf and maybe thyme
- simmer for 10 -20 min. or until barley is cooked just right, last time around it seemed to taste best a bit “al dente” (whatever) as tasted during cooking. How long the barley gets cooked depends on how long I decide to cook things after adding other ingredients, it should cook for about 20 minutes total, or less.
- add worcestershire sauce and thyme if didn’t add before, and then garlic, onion, veg salt and butter
- return to boil,
boil for 5-10 minutes add almond/peanut butter 5 minutes before end

- remove from heat, divide into containers and cool before barley and rice absorb too much more water

 

[Andy M.]

There is still too much rice and barley for the amount of water in the recipe. Cooling it sooner will not change that. Also, you don't need both barley and rice. One or the other will do.

Once you add the veggies (last thing to go in) just cook the stew until the veggies are done to your liking.

 

[xhtnlrcgfytn]

There is still too much rice and barley for the amount of water in the recipe. Cooling it sooner will not change that. Also, you don't need both barley and rice. One or the other will do.

Once you add the veggies (last thing to go in) just cook the stew until the veggies are done to your liking.

Yeah, I was sort of thinking that, hence the range of cooking time allowed.
I'm substituting some rice for barley because I've don't have 500 g barley..... maybe I should wait and get some more.
I did an experiment and found barley doesn't seem to absorb much water overnight when placed in the fridge. (cooked some barley until about it was a bit chewy, then put in in a bowl of water overnight.... it was still about the same 13 hours later)
So I'd cook it then freeze it, I don't know how else I can get the barley/rice from turning to mush.

 

[Andy M.]

The amount of barley you have in the recipe, over a half pound, is too much on its own. If you're going to delay the stew until you can get more ingredients, focus on buying fresh vegetables rather than barley!

 

[boufa06]

xhtnlrcgfytn, looking at the ingredients in your recipe, I think 211gm rice which is equivalent to 1 cup of rice is too much as ordinarily this will serve 2 persons for a meal. Putting this much rice will absorb the liquid in your stew and making it rather heavy. If you still prefer to have rice in your stew, I would suggest adding only 70gm or 1/3 cup. Also 253.5gm of barley is far too much as it swells and thickens your stock.

I drink sweetened barley water on hot days as a refreshing drink. To do that, I boil them for about 10 minutes when the liquid is still clear and the barley 'al dente'. The cooked barley can then be used in bread or soups. However, if I want to eat the barley with the water, I will boil longer until it becomes soft and plumpish. The consistency in this case will be one that is slightly sticky but not gluey.

In essence, what I am trying to convey to you is that if you want to add both rice and barley in your stew, reduce the quantity and time it accordingly. Alternatively you might want to add just barley which in my opinion is a better choice.