I'm making a stew

So far i've chucked 5 chopped onions, a whole garlic, two packs of mushrooms, 10 carrotts, half a swede, and a parsnip in a big pan with butter.

What should i do next (i reliase stage 1 may be wrong but hey ho)?

I've got £15 worth of steak and 4 kidneys to add at some stage

Some mixed herbs, knorr beef stock, plus other stuff in the cupboard if anyone has a suggestion.

Chuck in the steak and kidney (don't fry it first) cover with water, add 4 crumbled oxo cubes and 2 cans of tomato soup, bring to the boil then simmer for 3 hours. Enjoy.

Marmite

1/2 pint red wine, a bay leaf or 2

Is it for you dune ?? Or for an occasion or something

Don't forget the dumplings

Is it for you dune ?? Or for an occasion or something

It's just for 4 of us, but it'd probably feed 20, i hope it reduces a bit because theres hardly any room left for the liquid.

fao jill not added tomatoes because I can't stand them.

fao keith i forgot the bayleaf, will add now.

Along with the knorr stock i threw in some bovril and now it's a bit salty, would some sugar fix this?

I've got a bay thing in a ball outside the front door, is that the same as the dried bay leaves?

If its salty let it cook down a bit and bung a bit more water and give it a stir

Marmite

My mum used to put marmite in spaghetti bolognese.

A rabbits foot.

My mum used to put marmite in spaghetti bolognese.

Marmite brings the flavour out of everything.

Dune, if its salty just add a bit more water

It's just for 4 of us, but it'd probably feed 20, i hope it reduces a bit because theres hardly any room left for the liquid.

 

If there's far too much, then it's perfect fare for freezing the surplus for another time. Next time, get a bottle of stout/Guiness to cover the ingredients, or as Keith says, the red wine.

If its salty let it cook down a bit and bung a bit more water and give it a stir

good idea, i'll spoon a bit of the liquid off and add some water.

edit, i'll add some red wine.

Worcestershire Sauce.

Tomato soup I said, not tomatoes. Trust me it makes all the difference.

I made a banging Guinness & Chicken stew yesterday. I love being able to get sozzled just by eating dinner.

Damn, got loads of white wine, but no red so added a drop of sherry.

Pearl Barley. Put some f*cking pearl barley in it. Don't forget the c*nting dumplings either, next time use a b*stard cauldron.

A pheasant

Beer makes a good stock as well but cook it through properly to neutralise the alcohol, esp a brown or darker ale like Hobgoblin. You could always in corporate a French touch if you don't fancy dumplings and make large croutons from a French stick. Spread one side with Dijon Mustard and then put on top of your cooked stew and lightly grill to make the croutons crisp up and brown (but not burnt). Thyme - but not too much of it - can add refreshing lift to a stew.

Ferkin' stock cubes????? Don't fry the meat????? If you fry the meat all the crusty burnt bits left in the pan will make a better stock than any bloody cube, just add wine and water. Bloody kitchen numpties.

Potatoes and Pearl Barley.

The stew has miraculously turned out edible after slow cooking for 6 hours. I've now turned it off and will leave it covered in the saucepan overnight before thickening it.

Any tips on thickening?

Cornflour, obviously.

Marmite.

Cornflour, obviously.

This is what i had planned, but am toying with the pearl barley suggestion that would do the job i'd imagine?

Guinness.(sp)

The stew has miraculously turned out edible after slow cooking for 6 hours. I've now turned it off and will leave it covered in the saucepan overnight before thickening it.

 

Any tips on thickening?

A couple of skates, finely chopped of course, should do that.

Few squirts of ketchup won't hurt either.

A can of Special Brew

Dune if you pass on the dumplings you deserve to be shot

No dumplings = stew crime

Dune if you pass on the dumplings you deserve to be shot

 

No dumplings = stew crime

I quite agree. I have gone for a dumplig mix though, and not homemade. Was in tesco's and couldn't remember whether I required self raising or plain flour so asked a granny who said self raising, but i thought it was plain. For future can someone confirm that the granny was wrong and I was right.

Self raising, a bit of cheese and some leek

If you use plain they stay really hard and not fluffy basically.

Self raising, a bit of cheese and some leek

 

If you use plain they stay really hard and not fluffy basically.

Cheese in a stew, ffs.

Put a bucketful of cum in there

Cheese in a stew, ffs.

A little bit in the dumplings, and looking at the comments you have made on here i wouldn't be moaning about my kitchen prowess

i NEVER eat a stew on the same day that i cook it..you gotta let the meat tenderise for at least a day (2 if poss).....that way it also thickens in it's own juices as the veggies start to disintegrate! (which also means less chewing!)

and ALWAYS brown the meat first (sorry Jill) as it seals al the lovely juices inside!...MMMMM

i add loads of different things to mine ,baked beans, tomato ketchup, brown sauce, bayleaves,touch of curry powder,Oxo,Worcestershire Sauce,mustard.........tis bloomin LUVVELY!!!! (if i do say so myself!!)

A decent dollop of English Mustard in any stew or Casserole (Gino de Campo came up with that one) - it works

As others have said - a good helping of Worcestershire Sauce

And my favourite - a shake (two or three drops) of Tabasco

I add the last two to tinned tomaties when cooking as a side dish and also to Baked beans when making a Brunch - how I was ever able to eat beans without those two I'll never know.

But the Mustard trick in a stew oh yes

One other little trick we can do here is when Brown the meat in the pan quickly then before adding the rest give the pan a shot of Brandy and reduce it down for a minute or two, adds a nice body to the flavours. I accept you can't necessarily afford to do that over in Blighty, but down here we can buy Indian Brandy for about 1.50 pound a bottle (trust me cooking with it is fine but you'd NEVER want to drink it!)

Cooked my stew, first time i have done one.

It is quite watery, will it thicken naturally (i'm gonna leave it a day)

Or do i need to add some water and flour mix ? Or a roux ?

Cooked my stew, first time i have done one.

 

It is quite watery, will it thicken naturally (i'm gonna leave it a day)

 

Or do i need to add some water and flour mix ? Or a roux ?

Put some cornflour in a mixing bowl and add some of the liquid from the stew gradually, stirring continuously. Add it back to the stew, stirring while you bring it to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.

It'll thicken naturally, but when you're re-heating it you can always add in some cornflour if it's still too thin.

Cheers all

Strange, i have made loads of casseroles and they are always nice and thick

So far i've chucked 5 chopped onions, a whole garlic, two packs of mushrooms, 10 carrotts, half a swede, and a parsnip in a big pan with butter.

 

What should i do next (i reliase stage 1 may be wrong but hey ho)?

 

I've got £15 worth of steak and 4 kidneys to add at some stage

 

Some mixed herbs, knorr beef stock, plus other stuff in the cupboard if anyone has a suggestion.

stews are best in a slow cooker. Got to have dumplings too.

you did what in butter??

fook that!....large pan water to boil, add meat cook for half hour, add herbs and stock cubes leave for 10 mins, then continue to add veg in order of longest cooking time, so swede first stuff like brocolli (sp) last, leaving about 10-15 mins betwee each entry, leaving it covered all the time. once all in, leave about 1 hour on low heat before adding the dumplings.

oh and stew is always best on day 2