May 04, 2014

Overnight Beef Stew


I have made beef stew several times with different beef cut and the beef always turned out dry. The only time it was good was using oxtail because it was so rich in gelatin and the meat came out tender and moist.

Sandy Yap shared her tips in Singapore Home Cooks and advised to cook this in a covered pot in the oven for 1 to 2 hours. Indeed, the meat turned out fork tender and not dry at all. I had left the covered cast iron pot in the oven at 180 degrees for an hour. The pot was left untouched in the oven overnight. The next morning, mushrooms and potatoes are added and simmered on stove until softened before serving with toast. If you don't mind this rustic way of cooking your beef stew, do give it a try.


Ingredients
300 gm beef shin with some fats marbling, cut into 1 inch chunks
500ml beef stock
2 large tomatoes, cut quarters
2 potatoes, cut chunks
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1 whole garlic, with skin on
1 large red onion, cut quarters
1 carrots, cut chunks
1 box of fresh button mushrooms
1 cup of water
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
1 dried bay leaf


Method
  1. Preheat your oven at 180 degrees.
  2. Using a cast iron pot, melt your butter.
  3. Fry the garlic and onions until fragrant.
  4. Push garlic and onions aside, brown your beef chunks.
  5. Coat the beef chunks with plain flour by sprinkling over them. Stir well.
  6. Add 1 cup of beef stock and scrap up the brown bits at the bottom of the pot.
  7. Add the rest of the beef stock and carrots. Add a few dashes of italian herbs and bay leaf.
  8. Bring to a simmer.
  9. Place cast iron pot in oven with lid on.
  10. Adjust timer to 1 hour and let it sit in the oven overnight.
  11. Next morning, add potatoes, mushrooms and additional water if necessary.
  12. Simmer until potatoes turned soft.
  13. Season with salt if necessary.
  14. Serve with some toast.

Note
280 gm of beef shin cost $9.20 from Cold Storage


Other attempt



Consumed this beef stew straight after one hour in the oven. No issue!
Served them with mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and mushrooms.


To prepare brussel sprouts, rinse and slice two handful of them into halves. Melt 50gm of butter. Add some salt and freshly grounded black pepper. Toss the brussel sprouts to coat them evenly with butter. Turn them with the core facing down onto the pan to brown them. It will takes about a total of 10 mins to cook them.

To prepare one punnet of fresh button mushrooms, simple wipe away dirt and remove stems. Sauté mushrooms with 50gm butter, salt and black pepper. Cook until softened.

To prepare mashed potatoes, cut three large potatoes into large chunks and boil until softened. Drained away water. Using a handheld blender, mashed potatoes with half cup of milk, 50gm butter and some salt.