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Best Beef Stew Lee Bailey's Long Weekends Yield: serves 8 4 lbs. boneless sirloin, cut into 1 x 2-inch chunks 2 cups hearty red wine ½ lb. unsmoked slab bacon, cut into ¼-inch dice 2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 onions, thinly sliced 2 small carrots, scraped and thinly sliced ¼ cup unsalted butter ¼ cup all-purpose flour 3 cups chicken or veal stock, heated 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 tsp. tomato paste 1½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. black pepper Place the beef in a crockery bowl, add the wine, cover, and marinate, refrigerated, for 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 325o. Cover the bacon pieces with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and dry. Place olive oil in a Dutch oven and add bacon. Sauté until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon. Drain the sirloin, reserving the marinade. Dry the meat well and brown it in batches over high heat. Set aside. Add the onions and carrots to the Dutch oven and sauté until wilted and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Pour out any oil that may be in the Dutch oven. Melt butter over medium heat in the Dutch oven and stir in flour. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the roux turns a dark golden brown. Stir in the hot stock. This will foam up, so stand back. Simmer a minute or two, then stir in the garlic, tomato paste, and salt and pepper. Add the sautéed vegetables, meat, bacon, and reserved marinade. Bring to a boil quickly on top of the stove. Cover and bake until tender, about 2 hours. Allow to cool, then refrigerate over night. Remove the stew from the refrigerator an hour before reheating. Lift off the congealed fat and discard. Reheat in a preheated 325o oven until bubbly, about 45 minutes. If the sauce has reduced and is a bit too thick, thin it out with an extra cup of hot chicken stock. And for a complete change of pace: Aunt Gladys's Beef, Oven-Braised with Tomato Sauce and Garlic Gourmet Magazine Laurie Colwin 1 (28-oz.) can whole tomatoes, including juice 1 (3 - 3½ lb.) boneless chuck roast 1 head garlic, separated into cloves (unpeeled) Preheat the oven to 300o. Coarsely chop tomatoes with juice in a food processor. Put roast in an ovenproof 4 - 5-quart heat pot or a casserole, with a lid. Pour tomatoes over roast and scatter garlic around it. Season with salt and pepper. Braise in middle of oven, covered until very tender, 3 - 4 hours. Note: Laurie Colwin was a prolific writer who contributed to Gourmet Magazine, The New Yorker, Mademoiselle, and Playboy, among others. She also published at least ten books. Very sadly, she died of a heart attack when she was only 48. I've used this recipe over and over. It is always good. |
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