Spiced doesn’t mean hot, it means with spices.
In the midst of a pandemic, summer heat and sometimes limited groceries, why I wanted a beef stew, I don’t know. My garage freezer is filled with meat, but it’s pork chops, salmon or halibut fillets, chicken breasts and thighs, and a few ribeye steaks. Nothing there that would make do as a stand-in for chuck roast. But, fortunately, my neighbor was going to Costco and found a huge package of chuck roasts (3 of them) and so I cut up one for stews, and the others are now vacuum sealed as roasts, for when the weather turns a bit cooler. As I’m writing this, it’s supposed to hit 100 today, or close to it. Fortunately, I made this a few days ago before this heat wave hit. But then, I live in the comfort of an air conditioned home – thank goodness!
This recipe came from a class I took with Phillis Carey 15 years ago. Before I started writing this blog, and so far as I know, I’ve never posted this recipe. It’s a good one. Ideally, it’s supposed to have red onions in it. Alas, I only had white ones and a half of a red one. And in the midst of this time, here in California, some onions produced in our central valley were contaminated with salmonella, so onions were in short supply. I had to throw out 6 very large yellow onions because they were from one of the contaminated farms.
What makes it “spiced” is the addition of allspice and cinnamon to the flour mixture you use to dredge the beef stew cubes. The other thing that’s different about this stew is the addition of dried cranberries. They add a sweetness to the stew you wouldn’t ordinary expect. But I like them in there. I use Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
You could probably make this stew in the instant pot (pressure), which would take much less time, but when doing a braised type of meat, I think the long, slow cooking (in this case 2 hours) adds more flavor to a dish. I made it one day, cooled and chilled it, then had some the following day. I made half of the below recipe, so had about 4 small servings. What I didn’t eat in the 2 meals went into ziploc bags and are now in the freezer. What it did do was satisfy my craving for a beef stew. This stew doesn’t use potatoes, although you could add them if you wanted to. I think it’d be terrific with mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes on the side. Some of that stew liquid spread into them would be delicious. You could even serve the stew in a bowl on TOP of mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes.
What’s GOOD: loved the flavor. Very tender beef after 2 hours of slow cooking. The mushrooms added tons of flavor, and the onions, of course. The carrots kind of lost their flavor (I think they gave up their flavor to the stew so there wasn’t much left for the carrots themselves). The juice/liquid is what tastes so good, plus the dried cranberries added in.
What’s NOT: nothing, really. A keeper. If encountering something sweet in a stew is not your thing, you might not like this version.
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Spiced Beef Stew with Red Onions, Dried Cranberries and Shiitake Mushrooms
Recipe By: Phillis Carey recipe, 2005
Serving Size: 6
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 pounds chuck roast — boneless, cut into 1″ cubes
5 tablespoons vegetable oil — divided use
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms — stems removed and quartered or sliced
1 cup white mushrooms — chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
3 cups carrots — julienned
3/4 cup dried cranberries — [I used unsweetened]
2 tablespoons sugar — or sugar substitute
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 cup red wine — Pinot Noir or Merlot
2 cups beef stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Italian Parsley for garnish (chopped)
1. Combine flour, salt, spices and pepper in a plastic bag. Shake or toss beef in the mixture, coating pieces evenly; reserve any extra flour for later use.
2. Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a third of the beef and cook until browned on all sides, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining meat in batches, adding another T. of oil to skillet with each batch. Transfer meat to the bowl after it’s browned.
3. Add another T. of oil to the skillet and add mushrooms plus a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms soften, about 4 minutes. Remove and add to beef in reserved bowl.
4. Add another T. of oil to a 5-quart Dutch oven. Add onions and cranberries. Cook until onions are soft and light brown, about 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Mix in sugar, vinegar and water. Increase heat to medium high and cook until onions brown, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
5. Add beef and mushrooms to onion mixture along with any remaining flour mixture. Mix in wine and stock; bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover stew during last 30 minutes of cooking if cooking liquid is too thin – or add a small amount of beef stock or red wine if stew is too dry. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately with Italian parsley on top. Can be made a day ahead and reheated. A side of riced cauliflower or mashed potatoes would go well with the stew liquid.
Per Serving: 633 Calories; 26g Fat (37.2% calories from fat); 56g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 153mg Cholesterol; 884mg Sodium; 27g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 96mg Calcium; 6mg Iron; 1502mg Potassium; 554mg Phosphorus.
hddonna
said on September 1st, 2020:
This is unusual for a beef stew. It’s quite appealing. I didn’t know you could buy dried cranberries without added sugar. The sugar is why I usually avoid them, so that’s good news. I’ll have to bookmark this recipe for the fall!
Yes, you can – I think they were on amazon. Big package, but then, they’ll last forever. Do note, I forgot to include the red onion in the list of ingredients – someone else caught it – have now added it in, so recipe is corrected. . . carolyn t
hddonna
said on September 2nd, 2020:
Thanks. I look forward to trying this one. Will have to order those cranberries.
There are several on amazon; including one or two that are sweetened with apple juice. I do plump these unsweetened ones in water, or wine as they’re pretty concentrated sour-ness to eat straight. But I like them nonetheless. . . carolyn t