Very Meaty Beef Stew

Printer friendly version

The weather here started to cool off and you can feel the change in the air. I started to crave a home-made beef stew like my grandmother used to make. I decided to try to make this stew very meaty. Since my kids are picky about what goes into the stew, for instance, no green beans, no peas, no mushrooms, no this – no that, I had trouble deciding what to put into the stew besides the meat. I came up with beans, poblano peppers, potatoes, and carrots. They said this is the best stew that I have ever made. If you tried my butternut squash stew recipe and didn't like it, you will probably like this recipe. There isn't any funky new taste - just good ole' homemade stew - like Grandma used to make.

Ingredients

3 lbs chuck roast cut into bite size pieces
2-3 Tbsp cooking oil (olive, or canola, etc)
3 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 tsp minced garlic
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2-3 cups beef broth
2/3 – ¾ cup chopped carrots
2 medium-large russet potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
2 chopped roasted poblano peppers
1 can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)
½-1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil

Chop up your meat. Coat your meat with the flour and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Prepare a stock pot by drizzling a little oil in the bottom preferably olive or canola, or I, myself use Smart Balance which is a blend of oils (it is delicious and my B/P and cholesterol have never been better) and let this warm up before adding the meat. Add the meat and let the meat brown on all sides at a Medium to Medium high setting. Don’t be tempted to stir it a lot either, leave it alone and let it brown real good, then stir it. You don’t want it to burn, but the longer you leave it the better. After the meat is browned all over, take 2 Tbsp of tomato paste and blend it into the meat. Now add 2-3 cups of beef broth. Adjust the heat so that when you put a lid on – the meat is simmering. I usually have mine at Medium High, then Medium and then between Medium and Medium low. Stir every now and then to get everything off the bottom of the pan. Let the meat cook like this for a good while. Say about an hour or so. The potatoes and carrots need to go in after an hour. You can use more potatoes and carrots, but I wanted this to be a meaty stew. After you put the potatoes and carrots in, you can prepare the poblano peppers while the stew continues to cook.

How to prepare the poblano peppers:

Turn your oven to broil. Place 2 poblano peppers on a cookie sheet. Let the peppers broil for 2-4 minutes per side. When they start to turn black, take a pair of tongs and turn them over. After they have blackened in the oven, place them in a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Place in the frig or freezer for a couple of minutes til they cool down. Using your knife, cut around the pepper below the stem in a complete circle (horizontally) and remove the top as if it were a cap – usually most of the seeds will come off in this manner. Then cut a slit all the way down the side (vertically) and lay the pepper open. Then remove the skins which should peel off easily rinse them and discard any seeds and skin. Then chop them into small pieces.

Add the chopped poblano, peppers and the beans, last but not least, season your stew with the oregano and basil. Add any salt or pepper if needed. Now enjoy!

Note – I didn’t need to add any additional water to my stew, but if you feel it is too thick, then add more broth or water to the stew.