Winter Beef Stew With Citrus And Porter
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds beef stew meat (I used chuck), preferably grass fed, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces (my children prefer the meat to be on the smaller side, feel free to cut larger pieces, keeping in mind that cook time will be longer)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 spice bundle with 1 star anise pod, 2 black cardamom pods, 1/2 t whole allspice placed in the center of a square piece of cheesecloth and tied with kitchen twine
- 6 med-large carrots, peeled, sliced on the bias (about 3 cups)
- 1 celery root (mine weighed just under a pound) thoroughly scrubbed, peeled, trimmed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled, trimmed, smashed with the flat side of a large knife
- 1 large juicy sweet orange (you'll use the zest and juice see below)
- 1 Meyer lemon (you'll use the zest)
- 1 cup porter beer (I used Sierra Nevada)
- 4 ounces kumquats, washed, quartered and seeded
- 12 shiitake mushrooms, washed, stemmed and sliced
- 1 t cornstarch + 3t water for slurry (if desired)
- Chopped cilantro for serving
- In a Dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Pat meat dry with a paper towel. Add meat to pot in a single layer, making sure not to crowd the pieces. Season meat with a sprinkle of salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, browning each side and turning, about 4 minutes. Transfer browned meat to a clean bowl. Repeat with remaining meat, about 4 minutes more, adding a bit more oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
- Once you have browned all the meat, add a bit more oil to pan, and then add the chopped onions. Cook onions until they are fragrant and start to become translucent. If you find that your onions start to burn, add a splash of chicken stock. Return meat to pan. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and spice bundle. Cover pot, bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Allow mixture to simmer for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 400u0b0F.
- When beef-spice mixture has simmered for 50 minutes, get your root vegetables roasting. Place carrots and celery root on a large rimmed half sheet pan. Zest orange and lemon over vegetables on pan and season mixture with salt and a few good glugs of olive oil, and then toss to combine. Add smashed garlic cloves to pan as well. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes, shaking pan and tossing vegetables with a wooden spoon half way through. Slice your zested orange in half-crosswise, and then cut each half in two.
- At 70 minutes, when your root vegetables are roasted, taste your meat; if you cut pieces into 1-inch cubes, they should be soft and tender. If they need a little more time, continue to simmer stew, checking after another 10. Once meat is tender, add roasted vegetables (be sure to scrape pan to get all the zest), porter, orange juice - squeeze the quarters right into the pot, prepared kumquats and shiitakes. Gently stir to combine. Cover pot, bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow stew to bubble away for 30-35 minutes more. Taste for salt and adjust as necessary. The stew will be on the thin side. If you prefer a thicker sauce, mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and then stir it into the bubbling stew. Remove spice bundle and discard. Serve stew over rice with cilantro on top if desired. This is delicious immediately, but also excellent the next day. Enjoy!
- Note: You can make the stew through step 2 one day ahead. Allow mixture to cool slightly before refrigerating overnight. When ready to make stew, skim top of any excess fat before proceeding with step 3.
extra virgin olive oil, beef stew meat, onion, kosher salt, black pepper, chicken stock, anise, carrots, celery root, garlic, juicy sweet orange, lemon, porter, kumquats, shiitake mushrooms, cornstarch , cilantro
Taken from food52.com/recipes/15740-winter-beef-stew-with-citrus-and-porter (may not work)