Waking up this morning I was greeted by a gleaming white wonderland outside. It had snowed nearly a foot overnight, and the city looked bright and shiny with it's newly minted facade. Being a relative newbie to the whole concept of snow, I was excited to go romp around the neighborhood and decided to head out to the New Amsterdam Wintermarket, despite L's wise urgings to the contrary.
Indeed, with 2 foot snow drifts, lakes of grey slush and snow plows jettisoning brake dust Slurpees off the FDR onto the unsuspecting pedestrians below, I was wholly unprepared for the perils I'd be facing when I left the apartment this afternoon. After being nearly impaled by a two foot long icicle coming off a building I walked past, and narrowly escaping the aforementioned frozen shower off the FDR, I made it to the outdoor Wintermarket; and what a glorious place it was.
Situated right under the FDR near South Street Seaport, this open-air market has run monthly for the past 3 months in an effort to raise money to find a permanent home for the market. Vendors are organized by breads, dairy, meats, produce and prepared food and you can get everything from a plate of shucked oysters, to foraged roots, to a cheese and duck confit hot pocket with cran-apple mostarda. Best of all, the vendors are friendly and cheap. Case in point, I bagged a whole side of hot smoked bluefish from Acme Smoked Fish for $10, and Fleisher's Grass-fed Organic Meats gave me a over a pound of pork belly for free!
Loot in hand, I prepared for my trek back home, pondering what I was going to do with my bags of protein. I'm quite certain that some of you are going to accuse me of being sexist for what I'm about to say (and others may simply write this off as some sort of Napoleon complex), but as I headed home toting a few pounds of beef chuck, and a man sized appetite, I said to myself, "I need a manly beef stew"
I'm talking about the kind of stew that a fella wearing red plaid flannel with a sun grisled face would chow on, the kind of solitary bad-ass that would sport a week of coarse stubble, not because it's hip, but because he forgot to sharpen his bowie knife.
Manly man in mind, I started thinking about what would make a stew manly. The stew couldn't be fussy (cause honestly, what man would be bothered with making a roux while in the prairie driving cattle), it needed to have manly ingredients (I figured beef, beer and bourbon was a good start), but most importantly, it had to be good eatin'
The stew I came up with in a simple affair, made with a set it and forget it mindset. It benefits from a few hours of simmering, but beyond some chopping and browning, it's the kind of stew that someone without much of a culinary disposition can make without much difficulty... perfect for a man.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 1 ½ inch cube salted pork fat (a.k.a. fatback)
- 2 pounds beef chuck
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose
- 2 small onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- ¼ cup bourbon
- ½ can beer (chug the other half)
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (or ketchup)
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 juniper berries
- 2 large russet potatoes cut into large chunks
- 2 large carrots cut into large chunks
- 1 cups frozen green peas
Instructions
- Cut the pork fat into ¼" cubes and add them to a large enameled cast iron pot. Put the pot over medium heat and let the fat render out.
- While that's doing its thing, dry off any extra moisture on the beef. Toss the meat with the salt and pepper, then dust it with the flour, tossing to coat evenly
- When most of the fat has rendered out of the pork, add 1 layer of beef to the pot. Let this fry for about 4 5 minutes or until you get a nice crispy brown coating on the beef. This brown stuff is where all the flavor is, so more brown = better. Flip and brown the other side. Transfer the cooked beef back to the plate your uncooked beef is on (don't worry it's all going to get cooked more later) and repeat with the rest of the beef.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pot and fry until soft and very brown (10-15 minutes). Again, brown = better.
- Turn up the heat to high and add the bourbon (you can light it with a match to satisfy the pyromaniac in you, but it's not necessary). Add the beer and stock and bring to a boil. At this point you could skim off the fat and scum that floats up, but I didn't have much, and it didn't seem very manly to think about my waistline, so I let it be. Add the tomato paste, bay leaf and juniper berries and salt to taste. Partially cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 1 hour
- Return the beef to the pot. Add the beer and stock and bring to a boil. At this point you could skim off the fat and scum that floats up, but I didn't have much, and it didn't seem very manly to think about my waistline, so I let it be.
- Add the tomato paste, bay leaf and juniper berries and salt to taste. Partially cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 1 hour
- Add the vegetable and continue cooking for about another hour or until the meat and vegetable are tender.
- Add the peas, heat through and serve with a crusty heel of bread
Daniel says
What a cheerful stew to stir the winter slumber. I am glad I found our page.
Daniel says
What a cheerful stew to stir the winter slumber. I am glad I found our page.
joni says
Meeaaattt!! Mmmm... yummy, yummy! I love beef! *giggles
joni says
Meeaaattt!! Mmmm... yummy, yummy! I love beef! *giggles
The Duo Dishes says
This is one recipe that must be tried. Nothing beats a hearty stew, especially with the flavors of beer and bourbon.
The Duo Dishes says
This is one recipe that must be tried. Nothing beats a hearty stew, especially with the flavors of beer and bourbon.
beefarino says
yummy yummy yes, but have you tried it?
joni says
Umm no... But it's beef! And it looks good!!
jzlandau says
Tomorrow's dish for the week.
jzlandau says
Tomorrow's dish for the week.
me0611 says
What kind of beer do you suggest?
Marc Matsumoto says
What ever is on hand works great, but if you're going shopping, try getting
a stout.
neenz says
Hi marc! where can i find salted pork fat and juniper berries? can you also recommend some viable substitutes for both just in case i don't find them? i'm making this dish this weekend and i'm so excited!! thank you for a great recipe! 🙂
neenz says
Hi marc! where can i find salted pork fat and juniper berries? can you also recommend some viable substitutes for both just in case i don't find them? i'm making this dish this weekend and i'm so excited!! thank you for a great recipe! 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
Salted pork fat (a.k.a. fatback) is used in southern cooking and can often be found with cured meats (like bacon and ham) at the grocery store. If they don't have it you can substitute bacon. As for the Juniper Berries, they're sold with spices. If your local grocery store doesn't have it, there isn't a really good substitute, but just add herbs or spices that you like (sage or thyme would be good options.
JACK says
Stew sounds tasty. Recipe amounts would make how many servings?
Marc Matsumoto says
It depends on the appetite of your diners, but it should comfortably feed 4, and as many as 6.
Kimberlee says
When is the meat added back into the pot?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kimberlee, sorry about that. This is a very old recipe (posted back in 2009) and it appears some things got scrambled during one of the moves this site has undergone over the years. I've added the missing instructions back in.
Kimberlee says
I got an email that you had added the place to add the meat back in but I can’t seem to find it
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kimberlee, please try and refresh the page. If it still doesn't show up you may need to clear your browser's cache. The beef gets added in with the beer and stock.
Kimberlee says
Thank you