Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:Since stew is usually made with the toughest cuts of meat, I like to add red wine. That softens the tissues right up and make the meat a lot more tender. If I have the time, I like to soak the stew meat in red wine.
When making stew, slow and easy does it: It should simmer, not boil.
At the other extreme, when you are really pressed for time, do like my hubby: Pressure cook the darned thing, then add your veggies.
Otherwise, yes, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and spices.
Something else that we don't often think of adding is parsnip.
Parsnips really sweeten the stew.
Came here to say parsnips. Complements carrots so well.
Sometimes when I want a really simple comfort food I use carrots, parsnips, cabbage, and potatoes with a broth base (whatever I have on hand) plus whatever seasonings the spirit moves me to grab that day. Served with a crusty bread or even cornbread.
@ Josh and John - sorry guys, I missed your question! Usually found on top of the fridge. Out of the bottle it interferes with my medication,
but it's fine once the alcohol has been reduced.
If the stew requires a rib-sticker, then add dumplings - plain version of the subject of the post by Ana Chorlito - Tallow soups in "food preservation". Just needs suet, grated, self-raising flour, salt and water. Cooked on top of the stew. Can also be cooked in water and then served with golden syrup or maple syrup or whatever sweet sauce takes the fancy. https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/traditional-british-suet-dumplings/#recipe
Life's too short, eat desert first! [Source of quote unknown]
You have to be warped to weave [ditto!]
Lots of good suggestions here. There is no definitive list for me; there are so many types of stews I like to make. One thing is that I often try to replace white potatoes with something more interesting. I might choose some combination of...
- Sweet potatoes
- Parsnips
- Rutabaga (I find they are milder and nicer in stews than turnips)
- Pumpkin chunks
- Mushrooms (when I have bunches coming out of my logs)
The quality of the stew broth is important. For one, I usually start with a homemade bone broth instead of water, but I also choose good traditional stewing cuts of meat, something with bones and lots of connective tissue, which adds a silky smooth quality to the broth when it breaks down after long slow cooking. Some more things that add to the broth...
- Throw in a boil bag with some bay leaves and lots of fresh rosemary and/or sage and/or oregano and/or parsley and/or whatever else might be in the garden. Except mint. Add also the carrot tops, celery tops, potato peelings, onion skins, mushroom stems, etc.
- I use homemade bone broth to boil pasta and beans and such. I keep the leftover broth in the freezer for re-use in soups and stews where the starch is welcome as a thickener.
- Add just a touch of molasses or other natural sweetener.
- Replace some of the salt with something more flavorful like Worcestershire and/or Marmite.
Rebecca Norman wrote:I like turnips better than potatoes, but I know it's unusual for people not to love potatoes. I just don't. I find turnips lighter an sweeter and more appealing to eat, especially when cooked with meat.
Stew or soup is always a great place to use dried vegetables if I have them.
I love them both together most (turnips AND potatoes)
"Also, just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them" (Luke 6:31)
Open a #10 can (100 fl oz) of stewed tomatoes if you don't have any of your own left, add a generous portion, and put the rest of the can in an oversized pickle jar, in the fridge and use it in the next week in more stews or freeze in baggies, keep the can (typical coffee can lids fit)
and/or keep for recycling candle wax -- have you noticed the price of candles has sky rocketed?? What's that all about??
(next time you want to play with hot coals after you've got that Dakota pit working just fine, use those tomato paste tall skinny cans that are about 2" diameter and about 4" high and add a decent quality weighted wick to the centre and pour in melted recycled candle wax)
Ra Kenworth
Posts: 659
Location: Iqaluit, Nunavut zone 0 / Mont Sainte-Marie, QC zone 4a
Rebecca, I have no potatoes in my 100 L / quarts of various stew, It's all baked.
Anyway it's not good for the dog, so I can't give him the middle bits, and small ones are not cheap unless they're your own, and I still can't grow good potatoes although I can grow roses from sticking the ends in the compost and cardboard berm that cradlies my red pine drip line, and leaving them for the north, in a drought and so I would say I still don't vegetable garden that well, but I have learned permaculture techniques to manage well anyway.
So when thinking about ingredients for a stew, I'm also thinking of my dog, who is like to be getting as much as I am, mixed with lentils, rice, limited fat...
I'm ready to do some mix and match.
Several stews
I also cooked up a few pounds of ground pork in the juice to finish up
A whole smallish chicken was boiled and separated from its bones and skin and the grissle I didn't eat
The boiled chicken meat at 25% less calories, will go particularly with the celery, parsley, onion mix today, or at least some of it will -- it's in a bag and sitting in a container in the fridge
So the juice got separated with a seive, and the non chunky stuff went in a jar in the fridge to let the fat rise. That's poor quality fat but it will save as a labeled chunk in the freezer door and will be turned into sewet for the birds this spring (they don't need to know it was chicken)
The broth will be good to drink
Edit: trying to attach file; switching to desktop view dida post, can't preview... Sorry
Attached is a picture of the dogs incidental stew while making the chicken for some stews
Edit trying to attach photo
My favorite ingredients are separated so the celery, broccoli stalks, parsley and onions doesn't go in the dog because of the onions, but the dog will love the pork bake which is still in the fridge in the covered pot, 36 hours, waiting for me to start mixing in a big aluminum corn pot then bagging, labeling with date, and freezing!
Then I'll be using the crock pot for warming up portions, probably outside
Stew base added to leftovers al-à-crockpot while semi camping, or just as is with a little water, juice, nettle tisane...
Yes the dog eats nettles too!
The last bake before the pork bake was diced small aubergine (2-3" egg plant balls) from Walmart at half the calories, I mean price, in essentially the juice of all the others, from carrots and sweet potatoes, to onion, celery and parsley, which is good because it does taste of much boiled on its own, but the whole 10 quarts cost me less than $10 CAD and it's healthy and good fibre, and the dog loves aubergine too!
PXL_20250206_160641171.jpg
#10 can of base chicken, fat and rice for dog ready to be mixed with aubergine and sweet potato and ground pork, kale mix, minced deer etc
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