Old-fashioned beef stew

Beef stew is nothing but perfect when the weather gets cold. Apart from being fall and winter comfort food, beef stew is also a great source of protein and fiber. You only need one pot and not more than 20 minutes to prepare the dish, but keep in mind that you will need extra 2 hours for it to be fully cooked. As it doesn’t need much supervision, you can still go about your business while cooking the stew.

What is beef stew

Beef stew is a hot dish commonly served in autumn and winter. It is thicker than soup but more liquid than most meat dishes. The dish is very fragrant because of pre-fried meat, long simmering, and many spices that go well with it. 

How to make easy beef stew 

To make the cooking easier, buy beef broth and chopped stew meat. You don’t need much time to prepare all the ingredients, just make sure you can wait for the dish to be ready. You will need approximately 20 minutes for the preparation stage and 2 hours of cooking time. 

How to thicken beef stew

As traditional beef stew already contains fatty meat and starchy potatoes, there might be no need to thicken it. If still want to make it thicker, try adding mashed potatoes, flour, or corn starch. Make a slurry by mixing corn starch with warm water and gradually add the mixture to your stew. 

What goes in beef stew

You can buy already chopped stew meat or a piece of chuck. The old-fashioned beef stew contains flour and cornstarch so that it becomes really thick once it’s ready. Starchy vegetables such as white and sweet potatoes are a perfect choice for the dish. But you can also experiment with carrots, salary, mushrooms, spinach, kale, and countless seasonings. Don’t shy away from using spices and fried grees.