Going to try to make stew for the first time tonight, with a very limited understanding of what making stew entails. Picked up some meat and a few veggies this morning; the rest is what I have lying around that seems potentially stewish. Wish I had beef stock, but oh well.
Here's what I'm thinking: cook the sausage, take out, toss in chopped jalapeno/garlic, flour and brown beef, add 50/50 amount of beer/chicken stock plus maybe some tequila and chipotle tabasco, let it chill for a bit, toss in chopped vegetables, let it chill more, add back in the sausage, season it, then wa-lah? Would that make stew? Do I need to add water at any time? Any critical errors in thought?
>>7267198
I'd put a bit of cook on the onions and carrots around the same time you do the jalapeno and add the garlic last. don't over do them, just let them heat through. Otherwise you'll end up with thick broth and no substance because it all cooked down into nothing. Ask me how I know. Stout and chicken stock would be an interesting combo, I would have went with beef stock, but I can't say you're wrong. It may be bretty good. The only other thing I might do in your situation is deglaze with the tequila, then add your other liquids, and veggies, let the alcohol mellow and the bay/thyme take hold a bit, then add the meat back in. Just simmer it until the beef is cooked through. It sucks eating stew with chewy meat imo. Good luck anon.
If I were you I would:
Flour and brown beef and set aside
Brown sausage and set aside
Put veg in pot and cook for a while til a bit softer/onion browned
Then add meat to pot again, cook for a few mins
Deglaze with beer
Add stock and herbs
Simmer or cook in the oven on low for as long as you have - preferably a few hours minimum
>>7267198
You should have purchased two six packs.
>>7267219
thanks m8, deglazing with tequila first sounds like a boss idea, god I love tequila
>>7267228
where would the taters fit into this? just treat em like veg? or wait till after so they don't get gross and overly mushy?
oh, how much beer btw? I only have about two cups of stock, so I was thinking just a single bottle, but I feel like that may not be enough
>>7267244
don't worry, I've got the tequila and rum if I run out
>>7267251
i usually do a 50/50 mix of beer to stock and it end up working perfectly. use about 800ml to a litre of liquid on total and cook for about 3 hours at least, 4 hours makes the meat melt but 5 hours makes everything too mushy
>>7267198
Do you have celery as well? Gonna need that for a good stew.
I like adding some lime for the sour kick.
>>7267374
nah, I was going to grab some at the store but they only had mondo "eat celery til you die then eat more celery" bags, and I didn't think it was worth the sadness of seeing them sprout in my fridge over the next few weeks
beef browning
beef done
>>7267563
Have you got any fresh citrus fruit?
>>7267547
For the future try to get larger pieces of meat and use a slightly higher heat to get a much deeper brown on them
Caramelized onions are the secret. They add both a sweetness and a richness that really give a stew some character. I like to start a stew with caramelized onions and then add some more large-cut onions not long before I add the rest of the ingredients so the caramelized ones melt into the stew and the fresher ones are floating in the final product for flavor and texture.
I'd skip the tequila and use beer or red wine instead.
MUSHROOMS. You want them in your fucking stew. Don't cut 'em, just put them in whole.
Brown the meat, and then you want to cook it long and slow. Bring it up to just a simmer and cook it for hours.
Potatoes are done long before the carrots are. Add those first and add the potatoes maybe 15-20 minutes before you're ready to serve.
Rosemary is a good complement to thyme.
I think chipotles do much better in beef stew and chili than jalapenos, but that's up to you. If you get it canned in adobo, that's even better. But the chipotle Tabasco will help.
>>7267597
forgot pic
>>7267598
good to note for next time around
sausage done(ish, figured will finish cooking in stew)
poor veggies don't know what I did to equally poor pot
>>7267429
Celery is a good, low-cal snack. I go through that shit real quick.
You can put blue cheese dressing and hot sauce on the celery as you eat it, gives a bit of a hot wing flavor (sans chicken). The dressing kind of kills the low-cal thing, but it's fucking delicious.
first drink of day while veggies do their thing
probably ruining it beyond salvation by putting lid on, lol
>>7267614
yeah I get that, I'm a skinny shit though so I try to pack in the calories when I can. been on a nut kick lately.
put the meat back in, veggies seemed ready to accept their new brethren
>>7267642
That tiny amount of food looks kind of sad in that gigantic pot.
>>7267624
cheers
>>7267658
I know
I only have two pots, most people don't even believe they're brothers
added tequila to deglaze (which smelled fucking awesome) and then the beer. adding the stock in a minute or two.
stock in, herbs in (really wish I had string for a less awkward bouquet). added another beer bottle full of water to get more liquid because I'm poor and gotta stretch this shit.
timer on for three hours, will add the potatoes then. in the meantime, got four beers left.
>>7267598
>MUSHROOMS. You want them in your fucking stew. Don't cut 'em, just put them in whole
Nah
Cut up and brown on a pan before adding them to your stew
you don't want them to be full of moisture and bland
desu the smell of mushrooms alone makes me want to vomit even before getting to the snail texture. feel like a ton of my ancestors must have died from mushroom poisoning for me to have such a natural disgust for them.
>>7267703
Looking good so far.
>>7267712
>desu
damn didn't know /ck/ had this "desu" filter shit too
>>7267708
>you don't want them to be full of moisture and bland
It's a stew, they're going to absorb moisture from the liquid and will end up as flavorful as the liquid they get cooked in.
But I do agree with the browning part first, just to get some color and additional flavor.
When I add mushrooms to stew, I usually halve or quarter them and brown them a bit before I add them to the pot.
>>7267703
When will you casuals learn? Next time take the pictures BEFORE STARTING THE THREAD.
>>7268010
but then I wouldn't be able to drag this out for maximum attention
just dropped the taters in, added some salt and more chipotle tobasco, beef still a bit tough. will check it in 45.
>>7267717
saying the thing that triggers the filter makes you look like a fucking retard, so consider it a push in the right direction
>>7268218
meh, really don't think there's anything wrong with "t b h," but to each his own
>>7267198
I have two questions:
1) Why does the Guinness say draught on it when it's in a bottle? (Also how much is a pint over there?)
2) Are cartons of chicken stock common over there in the states? Never seen it in the UK.
>>7268321
Our chicken stock comes in bags.
done, breddy good, bit one note though. some sort of acid/citrus would probably have helped.
>>7268432
Let's see a picture
>>7268443
shit forgot to attach image lol
>>7268449
looks under seasoned
>>7267608
>not cutting off the casing to make smaller bite size pieces that brown more evenly
rookie mistake senpai
>>7268470
nah was seasoned pretty heavily.
anyone have any advice for getting a thicker broth next time? considered just adding flour but didn't want to fuck things up the first go around.
>>7268449
I'd eat it. Definitely.
>>7268525
a few:
>add a roux- mix 1:1 flour/fat at approx 1TBSP per 4quarts volume
>just add flour a bit at a time until it thickens, use Wondra
>cook it down on high stirring every 2 minute so it's doesn't burn
>mash a few of the potatoes and beans against the side of the pot and stir until thickened
anyway good job cooking, a hearty stew is always a decent meal and you can make it out of almost anything as you learn how to balance the vegetables and flavors you like
>>7267198
>$10/lb
>>7267198
Hey mate tip here from a college fag, buy a can of dry stock. It costs about 6 bucks for roughly 25 or so servings (4 cups) of broth compared to the one serving you bought for 2 dollars. Saves money and tastes better imho.
>>7268678
Stew meat is discarded cuttings from other types of cuts. OP buy chuck roast and cut it yourself.
>>7268525
Prior to deglazing you could add some more flour, or for a last minute fix maybe a little cornflour. How it turned out looks pretty good to me though
>>7267429
You can always chop it then stick it in the freezer.
