How about that weather last week, eh?
The “eh” was for the Canadians out there, for whom above-zero temps have been a luxury recently.
I really don’t know how you guys do it. As soon as the mercury dipped into the upper 20’s, this southern girl locked herself indoors with homemade biscuits and this old fashioned beef stew to wait things out!
But enough with the weather – let’s eat!
Simple, Healthy Beef Stew
This stew is every bit as good as grandma’s, only healthier. Made with grass fed beef and extra vegetables, it’s comfort food you can feel good about.
Some time between the time my grandmothers were children, and the time they were raising children, food became an industry, and we’ve been suffering the consequences ever since. I love that so many of us today are putting our foot down, returning to our roots, and discovering true health is found when we acknowledge and honor the way God created our bodies as well as the land and animals He gave us as food.
Or, as Joel Salatin would say, we’re returning to “knowing our food, knowing our farmers, and knowing our kitchens.”
I’m so thankful that farm families around the country are willing to do the hard work of raising crops and livestock with traditional methods so city girls like me can feed good, wholesome food to their families. (Thank you, Kramer family!)
I digress…the beef stew.
Old Fashioned Beef Stew
Made with grass fed beef and extra vegetables, this is old fashioned comfort food you can feel good about.
- 3 Tbsp home-rendered lard or pastured ghee
- 2 large cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
- 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
- 2 pounds grass fed beef stew meat (Cut into bite-sized cubes if pieces are too large)
- Flour (sea salt, and pepper for coating beef)
- 2 Tbsp red wine (optional)
- 4 cups beef stock (homemade if you have it!)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (homemade is best, but I only had store-bought on hand)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3 large carrots (peeled and sliced)
- 3 ribs celery (sliced)
- 2 large baking potatoes (quartered and sliced)
- 2 cups green beans (cut into 1 " slices)
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
- Melt the lard/ghee in a large cooking pot. Add garlic and onions, stirring occasionally, allowing them to become transparent.
- Meanwhile, place some flour in a gallon size zipper storage bag or large paper sack with a few generous pinches of sea salt and pepper.
- Drop in the stew meat, a handful at a time, into the bag of flour and give it a good shake until well coated. Transfer the floured meat to the cooking pot and repeat until all the beef is coated and in the pot. Discard the remainder of the bag of seasoned flour.
- Turn the meat often until evenly browned on all sides.
- While the meat is browning, begin chopping the celery and carrots and set aside.
- Once the beef has browned, add the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, to release browned flour as best you can (Mine never fully deglazes but that’s fine.)
- Add the beef stock, Worcestershire, bay leaves, salt, pepper, paprika, carrots, celery, and potatoes, stirring to mix. Cover and simmer until vegetables are fork tender, but not too soft (15-20 minutes).
- While soup is simmering, chop the green beans. Add them to the pot once the other vegetables are fork tender. Cover and simmer another 10-15 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft.
- Season with additional salt and pepper as needed, then top with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
This stew is even better the next day and goes perfectly with my Easy Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits!
Don’t forget the biscuits!
Easy Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits
Your turn – what comforting soups and stews are you enjoying this winter?
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