1976_Child Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Time was, one could nip down to the Co-op with a tenner in one's pocket and purchase all the ingredients necessary to make a good beef stew for two. I've just eaten nearly 20 quids worth of stew in one sitting. 500g of chopped beef, handful of carrots, one parsnip, half a swede, one onion, half a box of shrooms, stock and a nice butter/flour roux. And a half bottle of cheap red. I don't think I am fat, nor a sloppy cook so food inflation must be going through the roof. Would have been cheaper to get a pizza..
Fowllyd Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Time was, one could nip down to the Co-op with a tenner in one's pocket and purchase all the ingredients necessary to make a good beef stew for two. I've just eaten nearly 20 quids worth of stew in one sitting. 500g of chopped beef, handful of carrots, one parsnip, half a swede, one onion, half a box of shrooms, stock and a nice butter/flour roux. And a half bottle of cheap red. I don't think I am fat, nor a sloppy cook so food inflation must be going through the roof. Would have been cheaper to get a pizza.. What the hell cut of beef did you use - fillet steak? Or Kobe beef perhaps? I can't see how you've managed to spend £20 on what you've listed there. And you may not be fat now, but carry on eating more than a pound of meat at a sitting and see where it gets you.
saint lard Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 What the hell cut of beef did you use - fillet steak? Or Kobe beef perhaps? I can't see how you've managed to spend £20 on what you've listed there. And you may not be fat now, but carry on eating more than a pound of meat at a sitting and see where it gets you. High blood pressure and cholestrol and a regular intake of Statins and Losartin. Costs me a fortune in perscriptions.
Fowllyd Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 High blood pressure and cholestrol and a regular intake of Statins and Losartin. Costs me a fortune in perscriptions. I'm starting to see why you chose that user name...
Guan 2.0 Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Time was, one could nip down to the Co-op with a tenner in one's pocket and purchase all the ingredients necessary to make a good beef stew for two. I've just eaten nearly 20 quids worth of stew in one sitting. 500g of chopped beef, handful of carrots, one parsnip, half a swede, one onion, half a box of shrooms, stock and a nice butter/flour roux. And a half bottle of cheap red. I don't think I am fat, nor a sloppy cook so food inflation must be going through the roof. Would have been cheaper to get a pizza.. All you need is leftover chicken thigh, drop the bone in some broth, and Baby, you got youself a stew going!
hamster Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Made a.beaut of a drew last week. 500g STEWING STEAK (clue) cost less than four quid, couple of rough cut carrots, spuds, onion, butternut squash and home made dumplings in beg stock. You must seal that meat quickly, that is the key otherwise the flavours meld too much imo. 45 minutes simmering then dump the dumplings in and fifteen minutes later add some cornfliur mixed with cold water and the secret ingredient (worcestershire sauce) fo4 the final 5 mins. That's a stew and less than a tenner, maybe you pay too much for your wine 1976 child?
1976_Child Posted 17 July, 2011 Author Posted 17 July, 2011 to be fair, I just found £8 in my trouser pocket so the ingredients can't have been 20 quid. Did use co-op finest beef - all they had. didn't do dumplings this time round. Forgot. Didn't have any crusty bread either so had extra helping of stew to make up for it. And i didn't eat on Friday so was starving. Still, one can't beat a stew. I'm not too bothered about sealing the meat first. I do mine in a slow cooker and like the beef to really cook through so it just falls apart in the mouth. The key to a great stew is the roux. So many people use granules etc to thicken but nothing beats a proper roux. (although it is rare that I bother to clarify the butter first.)
1976_Child Posted 17 July, 2011 Author Posted 17 July, 2011 what's roux? Dont you mean rouge? ;-) No I mean roux! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roux
Smirking_Saint Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 No I mean roux! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roux ???
Jonnyboy Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 she could thicken my stew any time! I'm hungry now.
hamster Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Stew, no dumplings! It's not a stew then is it you fool. Slow cooker! Lol, so you can't actually say that YOU cooked it either mate. Bet you bought prepeeled spuds too?
1976_Child Posted 17 July, 2011 Author Posted 17 July, 2011 Stew, no dumplings! It's not a stew then is it you fool. Slow cooker! Lol, so you can't actually say that YOU cooked it either mate. Bet you bought prepeeled spuds too? nonsense! utter nonsense! Slow cooking is the best way to cook a stew. The longer the better. I forgot the dumplings. Usually do have them. And didn't use spuds this time, swede and snips
hamster Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 5o cook something in my opinion requires the skill to control the heat, not the skill to flick a switch. No wonder you don't seal your meat, it'd take about two days in your slow cooker.
Jonnyboy Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 What is "sealing your meat" if that's not personal a question?
1976_Child Posted 17 July, 2011 Author Posted 17 July, 2011 5o cook something in my opinion requires the skill to control the heat, not the skill to flick a switch. No wonder you don't seal your meat, it'd take about two days in your slow cooker. 5 hours actually. Slow cooking rocks. I've even done a really successful stew in a solar oven. Using nothing but the rays of the wintry sun to cook the food. check it out here: http://solarcookers.org/
1976_Child Posted 17 July, 2011 Author Posted 17 July, 2011 What is "sealing your meat" if that's not personal a question? give it a blast in a frying pan first before adding to the pot. The meat isn't cooked through but the outside is braised so as to keep the juices in. Definitely do it for cooking a good roast beef but imho for stews it is overkill.
Mao Cap Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Nothing like shoving all the stuff in the pot before you go to work, then coming back in the evening to find it all ready for you
hamster Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 It's.a stew yes but you are not doing any cooking per se.
sambosa75 Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Sealing meat does not keep juices in. It's a fallacy. What it does is caramelises the natural sugars on the meat which gives a different flavour to the end product. In a stew, dust the meat with flour, salt and pepper and then seal it before taking the meat out and putting the onions in. Because of the flour, small pieces of meat will catch to the bottom of the pan so be sure to scrape them all up with a wooden spoon. This creates a much deeper flavour in my opinion.
hamster Posted 17 July, 2011 Posted 17 July, 2011 Very.scientific sambosa, and just reading that had me salivating. Of course that also supports my argument against a slow cookery. Don't get me wrong, I have one myself, I told Mrs h to have dinner on the table at 2 and it wasn't ready until half 3, she is a very slow cooker indeed.
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