This thick and hearty Beef Stew is a one-pot meal that is much more quick and easy than you might at first think. It only requires a few simple ingredients to prepare and although it has a lengthy cooking time, it’s a great way to cook up supper without a lot of fuss. Slowly simmered to bring out all the flavors, you can sit back and relax while this one cooks. Your family is gonna love it.
We’re about to wrap up winter here in the south so I wanted to get this recipe online during these last days of cool weather. OK, 80 degrees for the past several days…isn’t cool weather, but I think we’re still going to see a few more cooler days ahead before Spring actually arrives. The trees around where I live have already burst forth in full bloom and look like they are covered with snow. Just yesterday, I started seeing some green leaves appear as well.
I love spring, but over the past few years, I’ve been really hit hard with allergy problems. I never had it until about 2009 when I took up fishing and started spending lots of time outdoors. Problem is, it just seems to be getting worse each year since. Still, I love this time of year….don’t you?
Beef stew is not just a winter meal, don’t get that idea OK? It’s great any time of the year. Its just that this recipe is kind of thick and it makes a great meal all by itself on a cold winter day. The heartiness of the meat and potatoes alone, slow simmered in broth, will both fill you up and warm you up.
You would have normally found Beef Stew served up for Sunday dinner at my house. Mama would cook up a great big old pot full, about 3 times as much as this recipe will make. She would then let it slow simmer for hours on the stove until it was all just right. It was only later in life that she acquired a slow cooker – or – crockpot, so my memories are of that big old aluminum pot she liked to use. As I’ve mentioned in some of my other stories, we always had about 10-15 people at our house for Sunday dinners. It was a time when all the family got together and usually included our pastor and his family as well. My brother and sister were both married with new families of their own, and if they didn’t show up for Sunday dinner, Mama would call them to see if they were on the way….or why they weren’t….on the way. Gotta love it.
Being a widower now for going on 14 years, sitting at home with a table of one….just isn’t the same. I guess that’s why we look and refer to them as the “good old days” now. But, for me, cooking up these old favorites can bring back a full rush of happy days from years gone by. Days when I had my eye set on that one pastors daughter, just wanting to be around her and realizing that my whole reason for going to church was just for the chance to sit with her while her father preached down fire and brimstone. Days when I hoped mama was going to invite them home for Sunday dinner and maybe….just maybe…she and her brother would stay the afternoon while her mom and dad visited with some other members of our church. Of course, there are lots of other Sunday dinner memories in my head, but I’ll have to save those for later. For now, let’s get this pot on the stove and cook up some good old southern comfort food. If you’re ready…Let’s Get Cooking!
Beef Stew Recipe: You’ll need these ingredients.
We’ll start out by melting about two Tablespoons of Butter in a large pot set on medium heat.
While the butter is melting, slice up your onions.
Toss the beef cubes into the pot with the melted butter. The beef used here is boneless, pre-cut cubes that are easily found in your local grocery store. It’s usually chuck or round that has been cut into 3/4 to 1-1/2 inch cubes. If you can’t find them already cut, you can do it yourself very easily. Just select any chuck or round cut…except for top round…and just trim off the fat and cut it into bite sized pieces.
Brown the beef in the butter. Some recipes call for tossing the beef cubes in flour before you add them to the pot. I don’t think it matters all that much and just toss them into the butter. I’m going to let them cook a bit until they start to brown but not get a brown crust on them. Just stir them around every few minutes and let them cook. This will take about 6-10 minutes depending on how hot the pan is.
When the meat has browned, pour in 4 cups of warm water from the kitchen tap.
Add the teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce.
Toss in the sliced onions.
Add one teaspoon of salt.
Add one teaspoon of sugar. Mama used sugar in just about everything. I come by it naturally I guess.
Add one half teaspoon of Black Pepper.
Add one half teaspoon of Paprika and stir all the ingredients together.
Place a lid on the pot and let it simmer. I open the vent on the lid of the pot to let out steam as it cooks. You’ll want to lower the heat down to about half way between your low setting and your medium setting on your stove. You don’t want it to cook at a rolling boil, just a low and light simmer. It will cook this way for about an hour. Just check it about every 20 minutes or so and give it a stir at the same time.
While the meat is simmering, go ahead and wash up a couple of carrots for slicing.
Slice up the carrots in about 1/2 inch rounds. You want good bite sized pieces here. Baby carrots would also work, but I even slice those up smaller whenever I use them in this type of recipe.
Scrub down the potatoes and prepare them for cutting.
Quarter and dice the potatoes. Try to cut them into uniform sized pieces so they will all cook up about the same.
When the meat has simmered down, it’s time to start adding the other ingredients.
Add in the sliced carrots.
Toss in the diced potatoes.
Add in the Tomato Paste….then stir it all up real good.
Add in the Beef Bouillion Granules. I like using the granules because they are much easier to work with as opposed to those cube things. The cubes take a long time to dissolve in my opinion. Seems like no matter how much I stir, sooner or later, I’ll see a piece of one of the cubes floating around in the pot. Of course, beef broth would also work very nicely, especially if you have home made. We added 4 cups of water in the beginning so according to my jar, I need 4 teaspoons of Granules to make 4 cups of broth.
Give it all a good stir.
Cover the pot once again and let it all continue to simmer over that medium-low heat.
Check on your stew about every 20 minutes or so. It will take about 30-45 minutes for the potatoes and carrots to cook until tender. I like mine with just a little bit of a “bite’ left in them. The longer it cooks, the more mushy the potatoes will become. You’ll just want to keep a close check on it after you add the carrots and potatoes and cook it to your personal liking.
This is a great meal to prepare ahead of time, warm up and serve later. If you’re doing that, don’t overcook the vegetables because they will cook even more once you warm the stew back up before serving.
Serve and Enjoy!
Serving Suggestion: Beef Stew is certainly a meal you can serve all by itself, but I really like it along side some cooked white rice and a piece or two of homemade corn bread. It just doesn’t stay beside the rice for long. I stir it all up together and eat it that way. If you wanted to stretch the meal, either stir in some cooked rice or just let the rice cook during the last 15-20 minutes or so while you’re simmering the stew.
You’ll find lots of variations of Beef Stew here on the internet. Some add green peas, celery, string beans, tomatoes, or even mushrooms. I’ll just save all that stuff for the homemade vegetable soup. Give me this basic meat and potatoes version any old time. I do hope you’ll give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
