This Beef Stew Recipe makes a rich and hearty beef stew. We love it for cool evenings – it is warming and very filling.
Ingredients: (Sorry, I lost the Photo)
1 lb beef stew meat – (we use very little meat in this recipe – If you want a traditionally proportioned beef stew use 2 lb)
2 Bay Leaves
½ teaspoon Garlic
Salt – about 2 teaspoons – taste and adjust
Pepper – about 1 teaspoon – taste and adjust
2 Onions
3-4 Stalks Celery
8 Carrots
8 Potatoes
¾ cup Flour
Step-by-Step Instructions and Photos:
Brown Beef cubes thoroughly and use water to deglaze the browning on the pan to enrich your broth.
Chop the Vegetables. I am usually middle of the road when it comes to the size of the chunks in my stews. One of my grandmothers left everything in huge chunks while the other chopped everything extremely fine, so I fall somewhere in the middle. It makes no difference at all, but be aware that smaller pieces will cook faster while large chunks will cook more slowly. Another option is to try to cut your vegetable chunks to be the same size as your beef pieces.
Add the Onions, Celery, Bay Leaf, Garlic, Salt, and Pepper and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Adding Beef or Vegetable Broth rather than Water would make a much richer stock to thicken at the end and would probably taste even better. Some members of my family have an allergic reaction to canned broths, so I do not use them. I use a sprinkling of paprika to darken the gravy.
Add Carrots, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add Potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Mix ¾ flour and 1 cup water and a dash of salt. Pour slowly into boiling stew to thicken broth (this will make thin gravy, if you want it very thick, add more flour to this mixture). Cook for about another 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. I thicken before the potatoes are completely cooked because if I wait until they are done, they tend to fall apart
