A stew is a culinary process of cooking a food, which is simmered in a closed container. The stew made using this culinary technique avoids evaporation, maintaining a large part of the initial juices and thus retaining the flavors and aromas of cooked food This is an ideal way to cook when the end goal is to make a soup or broth. The initial liquid volume in stews is much less than in cooked ones (cooked in an open container). This method is often confused with braising and has fundamental differences: Braising requires a previous preparation (for example: a marinade, or a marking) before being braised.
Learn how to make Scottish Beef Stew with this simple and easy recipe!
Scottish Beef Stew
6
servings45
minutes3
hours20
minutesTo make your Scottish Beef Stew, you will need the following ingredients from the list and follow the preparation instructions.
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 kg (2.2lb) Aberdeen Angus braising/stewing beef chopped into bite-size chunks
2 tbsp plain all purpose flour mixed with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper
2 large onions peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
2 tbsp red currant jelly or cranberry sauce
500 ml (2 cups + 1 tbsp) red wine
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
1/2 small swede peeled and chopped
700 ml (3 cups minus 1 tbsp) beef stock water plus 2 stock cubes is fine
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
2 tsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
Directions
- I’ve got my oven preheating to 160 °c or 325 F and I’m going to heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in an ovenproof pan over a medium heat.
- I’ve got a kilo or a little under two and a quarter pounds of Aberdeen Angus braising or chuck steak here that’s been diced into bite-sized pieces, we’re going to coat that with two tablespoons of plain all-purpose flour and a quarter teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
- Add the beef to the pan and fry off for seven to eight minutes until sealed.
- Now we’re going to add two large diced onions to the pan and cook for another five minutes until softened.
- Stir in three cloves of minced garlic and cook for another minute, next in goes two tablespoons of red currant or cranberry jelly and then we’ll add 500 mil which is about two cups in a tablespoon of red wine. I’m using Shiraz for this one but you can use any type of wine you like this is just the one where I had 500 mil left on the shelf.
- Give that a stir and be sure to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan and then let that simmer for five minutes to let the wine reduce slightly.
- Now we’ll add in two large or three medium carrots that have been peeled and chopped roughly we’ll also add in two medium potatoes and half a small swede again both peeled and chopped roughly, next in goes a tablespoon of Worcester sauce and two tablespoons of tomato puree.
- Now we’re going to add 700 mill which is about three cups of beef stock.
- Last in goes 4 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar and 3/4 of a teaspoon each of salt and pepper stir everything together and then bring it to the boil.
- Now we’re going to place a lid on the stew and transfer to the oven.
- That’s in the oven for three to four hours now until the beef is lovely and tender check on it a couple of times during cooking and give it a stir.
- Your Scottish Beef Stew is ready!
