Very often, the simplest dishes I prepare are the ones that receive the most comments. A friend dropped in the other day to retrieve her daughter from a play date. She sat down at the kitchen table and as we chattered away, I set a bowl of stew in front of her. She picked up her spoon and began to eat, and between mouthfuls, we talked about schedules, yoga, neighbors. Then the room fell silent.
“Are you all right? Is something wrong with the stew?” (I test a lot of recipes in my kitchen. Sometimes things don’t turn out so great…)
“This. Is. Amazing.”
“The stew?” Now, mind you, stew, in my house, is pretty ordinary fare. I make it when I know we’re going to be busy so that we can simply re-heat it for our meals.
“This isn’t just stew. This is….this is….an accomplishment. I cannot cook like this.”
“Sure you can.”
“You have to tell me what’s in here. There’s something extraordinary in here. Savory?”
“Nope.”
“Tarragon?”
“I’m out.”
“What is it?”
I could only come up with one single commonly overlooked ingredient that would make this stew taste exceptional: Time. One cannot be rushed when preparing a good stew. The steps do not require advanced culinary skills, nor are they labor intensive. But they do require a willingness to invest time in each of the three phases of preparation.
Phase I: Broth. Good broth takes time (but not labor), and the preparation of good broth should simply be part of the home cook’s weekly rhythm. If you eat meat, and if you eat vegetables, then there should be homemade broth in your kitchen at all times. It is a way of turning kitchen scraps into terrific, deeply nourishing meals without adding a cent to your food bill. Save up the bones from any meats you eat – rib bones from your pork chops, steaks and lamb chops; the carcass from your roasted chicken; leg bones from your roasts. Additionally, save up the skins and roots left over from your onions, the spines of your kale, the heels from your cabbages, stem tips from carrots, the stalks and leaves from your cauliflower and broccoli. All of this kitchen waste, when blended with water and time in a stockpot, will make the glorious base for any soup or stew. If you’ve never made your own broth before, this article will show you how.
Remember: the essential secret ingredient for amazing stew is time. So don’t start your broth the same day you plan to make your stew. Get it going about three days ahead. I store my leftover bones in my freezer and keep a bag of my vegetable scraps in the fridge and start a new pot of broth on the stove every 10 days, so there is always an abundant supply ready to go. If you are running shy of bones, I guarantee your local grassfed farmer will have a bountiful supply available at very little cost. Any bones will work – necks, marrow bones, knuckles, ribs. Any species will work, too. (As a farmer, one of my pet peeves is the customer who mistakenly insists marrow bones are the only suitable bones for stock. Argh! Philistines!)
Phase II: Browning the meat. Nothing will make a meat stew more forgettable than a failure to take time to brown the meat before adding the broth. Contrary to popular belief (which is rumored to have started with Aristotle), searing meat prior to cooking does not “seal in the juices.” Crusts that form on the surface of meat are not waterproof. But browned meat does taste better, as a result of the chemical reactions that take place during the process. To do it successfully, however, requires a commitment of (yes, here’s that wonderful ingredient again) time. Do not make the mistake of dumping all the stew meat into a hot pan, and expecting it to brown. With so many pieces close together, the meat will merely steam. Rather, be patient. Blot the meat dry. Heat your stew pot over a medium-high flame, then grease it with a piece of butter, tallow or a piece of rendered lamb fat (I prefer tallow or rendered lamb fat, as they are more saturated and will smoke less), then add just a few pieces of meat at a time. Make sure there is at least one inch of space around every piece of meat you put in the pot. This will minimize the steam and maximize the browning. Allow the meat to sear for a minimum of 2 minutes per side before turning it over. Once it is browned, remove it to a bowl while you brown the next batch. When all the meat is seared, put it all back into the stew pot, add your broth, and proceed with phase III.
Phase III: Cooking the stew. Do not make the common mistake of pouring in your broth, tossing in the vegetables at once and walking away. Respect the individuality your ingredients and allow each of them the proper cooking time to bring out their maximum flavor and ideal texture. Adding all the vegetables at once will result in mush. Added in the proper order, however, they’re individual flavors and textures will be more pronounced, resulting in a far more flavorful stew. Start by cooking your meat and broth together for a few hours, until the meat is mostly tender (not quite done). Then add the tomatoes and any root vegetables. After simmering for about 30 minutes, you can add the remaining vegetables. Simmer until they are just cooked through, and your stew will be ready to serve, full of fantastic flavor.
So there it is. The secret ingredient is time. Knowing how to use it in your favor in each of the three phases should enable you to make a stew with whatever ingredients you have in your kitchen, without adhering to any specific recipe. However, if having a recipe on hand boosts your confidence, here’s a basic one to get you started, borrowed from my newest (forthcoming) cookbook: Long Way on a Little: An Earth Lovers’ Companion for Enjoying Meat, Pinching Pennies and Living Deliciously (due out this September).
Stovetop Stew
Serves 8-10
3 pounds boneless beef, lamb, pork or goat stew meat
3 tablespoons coarse salt, or to taste
1½ tablespoons ground black pepper, or to taste
About 1 tablespoon lard, tallow or butter, or more as needed
2 cups water
2 quarts Meat Broth
2 cups chopped fresh (preferred) or canned tomatoes
6 medium carrots, cut into bite-size chunks
6 medium boiling potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
5 medium turnips or parsnips, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
3 ribs celery, chopped
3 medium onions, sliced into wedges
½ medium head cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups chopped green beans (or shredded green cabbage)
Dry the meat, arrange it on a large platter, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Heat a large, 8-quart soup pot over a medium-high flame. Add the fat and swirl to coat. Working in small batches so as not to crowd the meat (crowded meat tends to steam rather than brown), brown it on all sides, (about 2 minutes per side). Add more fat if needed (I prefer not to, as I think too much fat impedes the browning.).
Once all the meat has browned, return it all to the pot, add the water, and bring it to a simmer, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the seared-on bits of meat on the bottom of the pan. Once the bottom of the pan is clean and your water is a rich, dark pan juice, add the broth. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cook on very low heat for 2-3 hours, until the meat is mostly (but not entirely) tender. Add the tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and turnips and simmer for 30 minutes longer. By this point, the meat should be tender. If not, continue simmering until it the meat is fork-tender before proceeding to the final step.
Add the remaining vegetables and cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork and the cauliflower is cooked to your liking, about 20 minutes longer. If you prefer a thicker stew, simmer with the lid off to allow the liquid to cook down.
Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate and allow the flavors to meld for a day or two before feasting.