This stew is very good! I did make some changes based on the reviews: Here is what I did. in a bag I put 1/4 cup flour, teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder. 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Put the stew meat in, and shook it up baby! Then I cooked it up in my ( cast iron ) dutch oven and seared in those flavors. This really put some great flavor on that meat and the yummy bits stuck to the bottom of the cast iron pan easily came off during the deglazing with the liquids. I didn't cut back on any liquids..actually you will probably want to add more towards the middle-end of the cooking time. I used 1/2 cup of red wine during the deglazing with the other liquids. I thought it needed more vegetables since I made this recipe 2 weeks ago staying true to the recipe..but this time when I did it, I added an extra ( 1 more carrot, celery, potato ) I added 1/2 of an extra onion. I also took the advise of another reviewer and added 1 tblspn each of ketchup, A-1 sauce, and wistersire sauce that really gave it some full-bodied flavor...Wow!!
Served it up to my family with some home made southern style buttermilk biscuits...mmm, mmm, good delicious!! As my Dad also said.."There ought to be a law against cooking this good!"
This stew was excellent!!!! The flavor was so good and the meat was so tender. I followed the recipe except for a few things. I added a 1/2 cup of red wine in place of a 1/2 cup of water as another person suggested. I seasond my meat with pepper and garlic powder before I browned it. And I trippled the amount of cornstarch as other people suggested to make it thicker. One thing I did do that I wish I hadn't was add salt. The beef bouillon gives it plenty, so I recomend not adding any extra at all. I also stopped cooking it at least ten min. early because the meat was already as tender as could be.
BEST beef stew I've ever made! I added 3 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder to the flour mixture before browning the beef. I followed the recipe exactly as directed, except I used powdered beef base instead of the cubes and also one jumbo red chopped onion. Also, I made 5 times the cornstarch mixture as I prefer a thicker gravy. As a result, I had to add some salt as there wasn't as much salt in the powdered beef base. Also, if you add the 3 tsp of pepper to the beef before browning, watch how much pepper you put into the stew. Mine has a bit too much kick as a result but it's still excellent! Also, if you use red potatoes and not russet ones, your potatoes won't turn into mush no matter how long you cook them. I learned this from Alton Brown's show, "Good Eats". Russet potatoes will dissolve into mush unless you throw them in at the last minute. I cooked my red and yellow golden potatoes for over an hour in this stew and they didn't change shape. BEST STEW RECIPE ON THIS SITE!
I have to say that in my 30+ years of cooking I have never tasted a stew quite like this one. I did not use the Bouillon cubes as it called for as they tend to be to salty. I go for a less expensive way and get the 48 oz. can of Beef broth. I had 3 lbs. of beef stew chunks and followed the recipe almost exactly. I added more pepper for flavoring as we like it flavorful. I also added the salt just to taste so it would not be too salty. We have ours over rice. The beef was juicy and tender. I have made beef stew for over 15 years and it has never came out this good for me before. I was also surprised to find that when the cornstarch was added to the cool water it dissolved completely. I will use this trick from now on with any recipes requiring cornstarch. Thanks for such a great recipe Paula! A MUST TRY FOR ANYONE WHO LIKES HEARTY MEALS!!!!! I will definitely be making this one again.
this recipe is great as written. LADIES, NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR CHANGES, , rate the recipe as written, if you have to make changes, submit your own recipe, and let the rest of us form our own opinion.
The BEST stew (made from scratch & not leftover pot roast) that I have ever had. We ate it over the whole weekend -- first in the Italian Bread Bowls from this site & then in regular bowls with the leftover bread from the insides of the bowls used for dipping. I used the suggestion of substituting a sweet potato in place of one regular potato -- as it cooked I smashed it into the sides of the pot to help thicken the stew. The only other change I made was using about 5 times the amount of cornstarch -- we like our stew very thick. The rosemary definitely makes the flavor of this stew, & I don't normally cook with rosemary. We all loved it in this meal, though, & I won't change a thing next time I make it!
The ingredients didn't sound terribly exciting, and I was expecting a rather flat tasting stew, but wow! The first bite/slurp surprised me as being incredibly savory, even without large amounts of salt. I did add garlic to the meat as I browned it, and I added a bit of oregano, but otherwise I followed the recipe. I will definitely make this one again!
This was such a wonderful recipe! I have tried beef stew in the crock pot, but the meat just didn't come out tender enough. In this recipe the meat was melt in your mouth delicious! I added pearl onions which was just a nice other vegetable to throw in. I think you have found the secret to a great beef stew!!
Great recipe and good to freeze. I made changes based on other reviewers comments and my own tastes...I used 3lbs beef (my hubbie wanted more meat). Used 2 cans of beef broth over bouillon. Used 3 tbl starch/water. Coated the meat in a mixture of 7tbl flour, 2tsp garlic powder and 3tsp pepper. I omitted the celery and added 1 can peas and 1 can corn at the very end. Delicious.
I didn't like this recipe at all. Maybe I'm just not a stew eater, but I thought the gravy was too thin and the seasonings weren't hearty enough to bring out the flavor of the meats and vegetables. Celery in stew doesn't thrill me either.
