Author Notes
My unadventurous mother passed this recipe along as one that was "never-fail", and I believe she may have gotten it from that good old standby The Joy of Cooking, but of that I'm not sure as I only have the stained and well-worn index card she passed along. We've been cooking it in our family for over three generations and think it's the tastiest stew around. The peppercorns and cloves bring an unusually satisfying flavor to the gravy. —Seaward
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Ingredients
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2 tablespoons
Olive oil
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1 tablespoon
Butter
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2 pounds
Beef, cut into pieces for stewing
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1 tablespoon
All-Purpose flour
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1 teaspoon
Kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon
Freshly groung pepper
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1 1/2
Cloves of garlic, chopped
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1
Large onion, chopped
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1
Bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup of hot water
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8 ounces
Canned tomato sauce
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12
Pepper corns
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3
Whole cloves
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1/4 cup
Parsley, chopped
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1/2
Bay leaf
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1/2 cup
Sherry or white wine
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6
Medium-size potatoes, peeled and quartered
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6-8
Carrots, peeled and quartered
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1
Stalk of celery, chopped
Directions
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Heat the oil and butter together in a large dutch oven. Brown the meat in the oil/butter over a hot fire.
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Sprinkle the meat with the flour, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the meat well.
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In a separate saucepan, combine and heat until boiling: garlic, onions, bouillon, tomato sauce, pepper corns, cloves, parsley, and the bay leaf. Add to the meat in the dutch oven, mix well.
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Simmer the meat/sauce mixture for about 4 hours. After 3 hours add the sherry/white wine.
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Cook the potatoes and carrots separately until tender but not overdone. Add the vegetables for the last 15 minutes of cooking.
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As with so many stews, this can be and often is better "the next day" although it's tasty any time. If you need to add fluid when reheating, add beef stock.
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Serve with crusty toasted bread, to soak up the sauce/gravy.
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