August Beef Stew

Posted on by


Here’s something you don’t normally see on an August supper table. Beef Stew.
This week we’ve been having daily tempteratures at sixty degrees with overcast most of the day and maybe some sun in the late afternoon followed by fog. The Bay Area’s typical summer. So why the hell not?
I cut up some Niman Beef into really small bits, bite size. Floured them with flour and heavy seasonings (paprika, onion powder, pepper, celery seed and a few other goodies) and browned in peanut oil. Tossed in an onion and 7 cloves of garlic to sweat.
And here’s how I handle the liquid, 1 part red wine, 1 part beef broff, 1 part water.
Then toss in a few carrots and celery stalks. Yum.
Ground black pepper to taste with a few turkish bay leaves.
This was a quick stew so I got it boiling on the stove top, then tossed it into a 350 oven for 45 minutes.
Uncovered it for another 45.
Made up a little corn starch and water and added it to a rolling bubbling liquid.
Simmer for another 15 on the stove top.
While that was going I made white rice and steamed some brocolli.
However the shot you see had leftover homemade mashed taters (My oldest sone doesn’t like rice).
ps. I’ve noticed that most blogs don’t have a lot of feedback from people who visit the sites. For the most part it is a one sided spew. Please if any of you visitors have any questions as to my cooking methods, grilling or otherwise please feel free to send me email at drbiggles@cyberbilly.com.

One thought on “August Beef Stew”

  1. I don’t know. I find myself craving beef stew even when the weather’s hot sometimes. And down here, the weather’s pretty much hot 8 months out of the year.
    Have you ever tried making a really quick beef stew with filet tips? I can usually buy the end of the beef filet at around 1/2 the price of the cuts they use to make steaks. What I do is to cube the beef, then season and flour it, then brown it quickly. I remove it from the pan, then add onion, garlic, and sometimes celery, carrot and potatoes to the pan. I saute that for a few minutes, then add beef stock, and return the beef to the pan. In 20 minutes, it’s done. And 20 minutes is exactly how long it takes me to make rice, so it tends to work out pretty well. If you cut your vegetables small enough, they’re also done in that amount of time.
    Hell, add some fresh herbseses, and it’s almost a springtime dish, or something.