Stew is a comforting, hearty meal, that you'll want to make on repeat when the temperature starts to dip. Different from a soup, which has more liquid, a stew is actually quite easy to make with a few simple ingredients. You can use a variety of vegetables in a stew, and tougher cuts of meat (read: cheaper ones!) that are suitable for slow-cooking. As the liquid in your stew turns into gravy, the smell of tonight's dinner will fill the house all day long.
Christopher Arturo, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education told TODAY Food that to get started on a stew, you can gather your choice of protein, some vegetables for the mirepoix, tomato paste and flour to make a roux. Wine or brandy are optional. "Look for off-cuts or butchers cuts," said Arturo about what type of meat to use. " You want a little sinew and a lot of collagen in the meat to help it absorb the flavorful cooking liquid."
Beef and lamb are two of the most popular bases for a stew. "To make a stew with lamb use lamb leg or shoulder cubed, turnips, potatoes, pearl onions, bacon and brandy," said Arturo. "To make a stew with beef look for the ox tail cut or short rib — ideally chuck flap — and add potato, white onion, carrot, red wine, bay leaf and thyme."
If you're not a meat-lover, you can still make an amazing vegetarian stew by using eggplant, potato and squash. " Cook them gently rather than searing," said Arturo. Add dried lentils and use vegetable stock or water. "When the lentils are cooked through, the stew is done. Finish with basil and mint."
Arturo's pro tips for stew perfection including making sure that you don't continuously boil the meat. "The meat will exude liquid and dry out," he said.
Also, pay attention to how much salt is in the stock you’re using. "If you cook the stew for a long time, it will get saltier," he said. "I recommend salting a little bit here and there during the cooking process."
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Arturo suggests using a Dutch oven, but if you don't have one, a heavy pot with a lid will suffice.
Step 1: Sear the meat
"Cube the proteins, which could be lamb, beef, chicken, or rabbit, and season with salt and pepper," said Arturo. "Then in a super-hot Dutch oven with neutral oil, sear the meat until it’s golden brown on all sides then remove from the pot."
Step 2: Build flavor
Next, cut the mirepoix (celery, onion and carrot) to the same size as the meat. "Caramelize the vegetables in the Dutch oven with the leftover fat in the pot," said Arturo. "Once you have good color on the vegetables, re-add the meat. Make a well in the center and add tomato paste and cook to caramelize, bringing out the sugar and depth of flavor." Now stir everything together.
Step 3: Thicken the liquid
Making a roux sounds like a fancy French technique but it's actually simple and will help thicken up your stew.
"Add a small dusting of all-purpose flour and mix that in to form a very loose roux," said Arturo. "This will pick up any excess fat that was left over from searing the proteins."
Over the course of the cooking, the starch will swell and slightly thicken to get the stew consistency. If desired, add wine or brandy and then add stock to cover completely.
"Here you could add other vegetables such as potatoes or carrots or bundles of herbs such as thyme or sage," said Arturo. "Bring everything up to a boil and then let it simmer until the protein is fork tender. At the end, season with salt and pepper."
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Step 4: Let it rest
Let it stew! "When the protein is fork tender, let the stew chill in the Dutch oven," said Arturo. "All stews taste better the next day as the flavors have more time to marry properly." The next day, reheat it and re-season as needed.
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