Beef stew has been on my recipe list for a while. Now that the cooler weather is coming in, I can finally check it off.
I was craving a nice savory flavor with a little kick. This stew couldn’t have turned out any more delicious in my opinion. The best part is that it was all done in my Dutch oven. A slow cooker would work nicely for this stew as well.
First we’ll cover the meat. I had gotten a nice chunk of thinly sliced steak at my grocery store on sale. I forget what cut it was exactly. But it was around 2-3 pounds or so. I chose to give it a quick dry brine. I do that with all cuts of beef to help tenderize it.
To dry brine, simply season it generously with some sea salt and cracked black pepper. The pepper is optional, but the sea salt helps to break down even the tougher cuts of meat. Coat both sides and let it sit on a small wire rack on a plate (uncovered) in the fridge. You can let sit for at least an hour, or up to overnight. The longer, the better though. Since this was already sliced thin, I let it sit for about two hours while I prepared everything else. When you are ready for it, go ahead and chop it into smaller chunks.
You can cut up your meat and set it to the side while we get everything else going first.
Heat a large Dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat with a nice drizzle of olive oil.
Dice up one medium sweet onion, and two stalks of celery. Then mince up about four fresh cloves of garlic and dump it all into the Dutch oven. Sprinkle with some cracked black pepper and stir it all together, sauteing over medium heat. Back the heat off one notch once everything gets going nicely, and stir occasionally.
When it’s all starting to brown up, go ahead a pour in eight cups of water, and drop in eight beef bouillon cubes. Also add one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, one half cup of Carolina Treet, and one twelve ounce jar of Sofrito. Give it all another good stir.
Turn the heat up to medium high and bring the Dutch oven to a boil, stirring occasionally. While it is heating up, go ahead and chop up four medium carrots and about 2 pounds of red potatoes. I didn’t peel the potatoes. I like the flavor and color they add to the stew.
Add the meat, carrots, and potatoes to the boiling pot. Stir until everything is mixed evenly and let it boil uncovered for about thirty minutes. When everything is going nicely, reduce the heat to medium low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer gently for two hours or until the potatoes are tender. Depending on the size of your Dutch oven, you may have to adjust how much beef broth you use (water and bouillon cubes).
When doing a stew you don’t want it to boil like crazy the entire time. You want a nice low simmer to help bring out all those flavors while everything breaks down slowly. This is especially important when you have chunkier cuts of meat. If you boil it too fast, the meat will end up tougher. But low and slow will break everything down into a nice tender stew.
Now scoop yourself a nice bowl, kick back and enjoy!!!
For an added bonus, sprinkle generously with some shredded cheddar cheese!
Zesty Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 medium carrots chopped
- 2 lbs red potatoes chopped
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup Carolina Treet
- 12 oz. Sofrito
- 8 cups water
- 8 beef bouillon cubes
- 3 lbs tender cut of beef chopped
Instructions
- Chop the meat into smaller chunks and set to the side.
- Heat a large Dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat with a nice drizzle of olive oil. Dice up one medium sweet onion, and two stalks of celery. Then mince up about four fresh cloves of garlic and dump it all into the Dutch oven. Sprinkle with some cracked black pepper and stir it all together, sauteing over medium heat. Back the heat off one notch once everything gets going nicely, and stir occasionally.
- When it's all starting to brown up, go ahead a pour in eight cups of water, and drop in eight beef bouillon cubes. Also add one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, one half cup of Carolina Treet, and one twelve ounce jar of Sofrito. Give it all another good stir.
- Turn the heat up to medium high and bring the Dutch oven to a boil, stirring occasionally. While it is heating up, go ahead and chop up four medium carrots and about 2 pounds of red potatoes (unpeeled).
- Add the meat, carrots, and potatoes to the boiling pot. Stir until everything is mixed evenly and let it boil uncovered for about thirty minutes. When everything is going nicely, reduce the heat to medium low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer gently for two hours or until the potatoes are tender.
- Fix a bowl and enjoy!