Baked Beef Stew

Most Helpful Positive Review

Good base recipe, you can definitely make your own modifications. I add about half a cup of dry red wine. I also boil my water first and then add about four beef bullion cubes (instead of granules), get a broth going, and then stir in a few tablespoons of cold water whisked with a few tablespoons of cornstarch (instead of tapioca). This mixture gives me a nice gravy base to start off with. In the meantime I brown my beef (tossed with flour, garlic and onion powders, salt, and pepper) in a large saucepan (pot). Once it has browned I pour a little more red wine in the pot to loosen up the brown bits on the bottom (that's where the good flavor comes from), and then toss in my 'gravy' mixture and the canned tomatoes. I actually drain about half the liquid out because I add more water later. I then add all my vegetables...potatoes, celery, carrots, onions, peas...and then I add some addtional salt, garlic and onion powder, and some a few teaspoons of minced garlic (I looooove garlic) and just a pinch of sugar. I then add just enough water to cover the food, stir it up, bring to a slow boil, and then reduce heat to a nice simmer. I leave it on the stove for about an hour and then transfer to the oven for about another hour, or until the meat is tender. It's important to have enough liquid to cover your entire dish or it will come out dry and your meat will not be very tender.

This is a great recipe! However I did use some of the suggestions of the other reviewers. Definitely use a few tablespoons of cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cold water instead of the tapioca. I've used tapioca in the past (because that was what my mom used), but the stew gravy always seemed to have little geletin like dots in it--corn starch leaves it nice and creamy. I dredged my meat in flour, garlic and onion powders, pepper, and salt by combining all ingredients in a plastic bag with the meat and shaking it. Then I browned the meat in a cast iron pot, took out and set aside. Added about 4 cups of water with 4 bullion cubes and brought to a boil. Added can of diced tomatoes, garlic powder, 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic, a little salt, sugar, corn starch and cold water mixture, and made my gravy being sure to dredge up the bits and pieces left over from the meat in the bottom of the pan. Then I returned the meat to the pot and added the vegetables (which I chopped up while the meat was browning). After adding everything, I noticed that I needed more liquid to cover everything up. I used about 1/2 box of beef broth (the kind that you can store in your fridge and use as needed instead of being stuck with 1/2 a can), but you should use just enough to cover up all your meat and veggies. Then I put into the oven for 3 hours at 325 degrees, and it was just perfect yummy.

Wow! This stew had a wonderful flavor. It was a big hit with my family. I did make a couple of substitutions: flour instead of tapioca, and onion soup mix instead of chopped onion. It was delicious. I will definitely make this again. From now on, however, I will leave out the cubed bread. I didn't care for the texture of it when cooked. Otherwise, it was excellent.