Anyone Have A Good Beef Stew Recipe?

I really like the Dinty Moore brand of beef stew that I eat sometimes; it tastes so homemade! I am always eager to try different things, by the way, so I was wondering if anyone has a recipe for making beef stew as good as Dinty Moore's or even better. If you do, please let me know. I would really greatly appriciate those recipes that call for homemade beef stew Thanks so much in advance to everyone who responds to this topic!

[Angel]

Guinness Beef Stew

2 lb. rump steak
2½ tablespoons dripping -- divided
2 large brown onions -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- crushed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock
1 cup Guinness
2 large carrots -- sliced
2 bay leaves
1 fresh sprig thyme
black pepper -- freshly ground
½ cup prunes -- halved and pitted, (optional)
chopped parsley -- for ganish


Remove any fat from the meat and cut into 1" cubes.

Heat 1 tablespoon dripping in a pan and cook onions until pale golden. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Remove from pan and drain on absorbent paper.

Heat the remaining dripping in a larger pan, add meat and cook quickly to brown on all sides. Reduce heat, stir in flour until all meat is coated.

Blend through stock to form a thick, smooth sauce. Add Guinness and stir until the mixture comes to simmering point. Add onions and garlic, carrots, herbs and pepper, stir until combined.

Simmer gently for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally to prevent catching.

Cook uncovered so that the sauce can reduce and thicken.

Serve garnished with the chopped parsley.

If using prunes, add to pan in the final 30 minutes of cooking. The addition of prunes to this dish adds sweetness and balances the distinctive bitterness of the Guinness.

[ March 25, 2001: Message edited by: Angel ]

[Pooh]

Madeleine Kamman has a great Boeuf Bourguignon.

So does Julia Child <in Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home>. It's an easier recipe if you don't want to fuss too much and I omit the tomato (following Kamman's teaching on the subject).

[ March 26, 2001: Message edited by: pooh ]

I'll second Pooh's comments. I haven't tried Madeline Kamman's recipe, but Julia's Boeuf Bourgignon is a long-time favorite.

Hey Afra - you're goofin' on us about the Dinty's, aren'tcha?

[Pooh]

Dick:

Do you put tomatoes in yours?

Madeleine K. says it's a no-no! I'll have to read her again though 'cause I don't remember why? I just remembered that she disapproves, strongly!

No, Dick, I was serious about what I said about the Dinty's beef stew. I eat it quite a lot. The reason why I asked about homemade beef stew is because I am tired of buying canned food all the time at the grocery store; every time I do, they never last long enough . I want to make beef stew at home that will last quite a while . Besides, I live on Food Stamps and thats what frustrates me about grocery shopping because I only get $130.00 in them every month and it goes down so fast! I just wish it would last longer; I am in the process of trying to get a job again and the employers are still cold about my situation; I have a hearing problem and they refuse to hire me. I'm tired of this nonsense.

[Pooh]

Afra,

There's wine in this recipe. I suggest you use half the wine called for and get the best Californian equivalent you can if you're on a budget.

Pooh - I'm on another one of my interminable business trips and don't have access to the recipe. I can't say I remember using tomatoes, but neither do I remember changing the recipe, so maybe when I get home and look at it again it'll remind me whether I do or don't and I'll report back.

Afra - As with just about any prepared food, you'll have no problem making better beef stew for less money if you do it yourself. Once you do, you'll swear off Dinty's forever. You're definitely on the right track, too, as stews and braises were designed to make the tougher, therefore cheaper, parts of the animal into tasty dishes. I can honestly sympathize with the need to economize - been there, done that.

pooh - I finally remembered that I was supposed to look at Julia's recipe - in Vol. 1 of "Mastering" she does indeed call for one tablespoon of tomato paste (not tomatoes). The couple of Kamman books that I have don't have her recipe, so I wasn't able to read her comments on tomatoes, but I did check other recipes that I have from Pierre Franey, Paul Bocuse, and Roger Verge and none of them call for tomatoes of any kind, so I'd assume that Kamman is correct. That doesn't make Julia's recipe taste any less wonderful, of course.

[Spoons]

I use a recipe from "American Bistro" by Diane Rossen Worthington

Ragout of beef w/ sun-dried tomatoes & winter vegetables. (Butternut squash,parnips,herbs,red wine,balsamic vinegar,etc..)

Best Beef Stew I have ever made.