The Secrets of A Delicious Stew

Making a savory tasting stew is the ultimate when it comes to true comfort food. This is not a new idea but one that began with the advent of fire and some form of pottery, pot, or vessel to retain and cook the contents.

Every culture has created some version of a stew. Different types of stews were based on the seasons and the availability of domesticated meats, wild game or birds, poultry, fish and vegetables either raised or hunted. The same traditions are carried on today with many ingredients more readily available on a year round basis.

I'm sure that in the beginning it was a simple process of putting everything in a pot with liquid and seasonings and simmering them over an open fire until the contents had reached the desired doneness. Now the process has taken on a new level of sophistication, even the making of a rustic farmhouse stew has reached a new plateau.

The cost of making stew can be as simple as going to the garden and harvesting the ingredients, hunting for your own meat, raising it or going to the sea and catching it. With the level of sophistication and exotic stews being created today, some ingredients can become quite costly.

Stewing Groups

Regardless of the country of origin or the infusion of cultural influences over the years, five basic stew groups stand out. They include the meat based stews like beef, pork, lamb, and veal. Poultry stews such as wild bird, plus a variety of chicken and domestically raised poultry are also popular. There are a variety of wild game stews. Seafood stews, vegetable stews and last but not least fruit stews.

A few Simple Rules

1. Use a large Dutch oven or large heavy pot. Usually a 6 to 8 quart size is best. Heavy stainless steel or a lined cast iron pot.
2. Be sure to use a good quality stock. (See )
3. Stews should be cooked in an oven not to exceed 250º. It's the slow simmering process that marries the proteins from the meat with the liquids, vegetables and seasonings into a hearty, intense flavor that makes it a comfort food.
4. Use the appropriate cuts of meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables for stewing.
5. Cut the various ingredients to a uniform size for more even cooking.
6. Use a quality wine, not expensive but of good drinkable quality. Try young fruity wines either reds or white. Trader Joe’s is a great place to purchase good inexpensive wines and the managers have vast stores of wine knowledge. Cabernets, Chianti, or Zinfandel all work well. (Please do not use cooking wine)
7. You can freeze leftovers of the meat, game, and poultry stews being sure to remove any potatoes before freezing. They will turn mushy. Just boil new potatoes when you reheat the frozen stew and add them.

Selecting the Proper Ingredients

1. Beef stews-You can use any cut from a chuck roast or rib eye steak to precut stew or kabob meat.  Be sure to purchase stew meat from a reputable market to ensure you are receiving quality cuts.  All meat should be  cut into 1 ½-inch cubes.
2. Lamb stews-Use lamb shoulder or shoulder chops and cut into 1 ½-inch cubes. If you purchase lamb stew meat, be sure it is cut from these parts.
3. Chicken and poultry stews-The preferred parts of the chicken are the thighs bone-in and skin-on for browning. If available older, mature hens or so called stewing hens can be used as they do better than young hens in the stewing process.

Final Secrets and Considerations

Browning the seasoned meat in a Dutch oven or pot on top of the stove will help bring out a deeper, richer flavor to the stew. De glazing the pot with a portion of the wine or stock after the browning process (scrapping to loosen the bits and pieces remaining in the pot) will help add to the flavor of the stew.  However, several excellent recipes can be found which call for marinating the meat in wine for 24-48 thereby eliminating the need for browning.

Saute onions and then garlic in the pot, this adds to the caramelizing and melding of the flavors before adding the additional ingredients. Vegetables like carrots and other root vegetables or potatoes should not be added to the stew until the meat has cooked for at least one hour. Other vegetables depending on their tenderness, like peas, should not be added until the last 5 to 10 minutes.

Please be sure to try our fabulous recipes.  Be sure to look for root crops from local farmers, the difference in the quality of your stew will be astounding.

We carry over beef, lamb and veal stew meat.  All our kabob and stew meats are carefully cut from roast and steak pieces for beef and veal and from the shoulder area for lamb stew meat.  

So, grab some meat, visit your local farmer for fresh veggies and get ready to dive into a bowl of comfort.