Beef Stew Variations

[CraigC]

My grandmother made beef stew using stewing beef (scraps and trimmings) with carrots, onions and baking potatoes. She made the "gravy" with ketchup, water and seasonings. The thickener was a flour and water slurry.

It wasn't until I was on my own that I discovered parsnips, turnips rutabagas and mushrooms can add a different flavor profile to my grandmother's basic recipe. I also discovered that changing the spices, herbs and liquid used made additional changes to the flavor.

If you make a family beef stew recipe, do you or have you made any variations to that recipe to make a completely different flavor profile?

 

[Yorky]

If you make a family beef stew recipe, do you or have you made any variations to that recipe to make a completely different flavor profile?

I cannot say that I've made hardly any variations to my dear old mum's beef stew recipe. Maybe add a little garlic and a teaspoon of tomato puree but that's about it. However, I have varied it but under different names, viz, "boeuf bourguignon" (which I made for the first time last year) and "Hungarian goulash". I think that my mum's stew recipe should stay as it is and any variation be given another/different name.

 

[medtran49]

I cannot say that I've made hardly any variations to my dear old mum's beef stew recipe. Maybe add a little garlic and a teaspoon of tomato puree but that's about it. However, I have varied it but under different names, viz, "boeuf bourguignon" (which I made for the first time last year) and "Hungarian goulash". I think that my mum's stew recipe should stay as it is and any variation be given another/different name.

Me too, except for a slight change with the times. When I was a kid, she used canned mushrooms because fresh mushrooms weren't always available and were pretty pricey when you did find them, a fairly small city, sort of in the middle of U.S. Now, I don't use anything but fresh mushrooms when I cook.

 

[Morning Glory]

I'm not sure I've ever made the same one twice! I sort of improvise beef stew I suppose. But like @Yorky, I cooked a Goulash and Boeuf Bourguignon for two of the Cookalongs using traditional recipes as a starting point.

I'm inclined to use carrots, thyme, bay, garlic and whole shallots in beef stew quite a lot... and dumplings on top!

 

[CraigC]

I'm not sure I've ever made the same one twice! I sort of improvise beef stew I suppose. But like @Yorky, I cooked a Goulash and Boeuf Bourguignon for two of the Cookalongs using traditional recipes as a starting point.

I'm inclined to use carrots, thyme, bay, garlic and whole shallots in beef stew quite a lot... and dumplings on top!

We often make corn cakes for stew and chili. Mine have chopped fresh jalapenos in the batter.

 

[Yorky]

..... and dumplings on top!

Mandatory!

 

[GadgetGuy]

The thickener that I mainly use is a roux - flour browned in oil.

 

[CraigC]

I'm not suggesting that you nix the family recipe, but have you created a new dish by switching things up?.

 

[Elawin]

I no longer eat meat so often as I used to, but I do love a decent beef stew, be it a curry, a chilli, a gulasch, or just a normal one - by normal, I mean one with very little seasoning, but a good mix of any root vegetables I have to hand and plenty of potatoes and onions. I always cook stews made with supermarket meat in my slow cooker - their meat doesn't seem to have the flavour or texture I like otherwise - but find that fresh meat from the butchers cooks just as well in a saucepan for about a quarter of the time and tastes much better.