Stewed Beef / Beef Tips (5 ways)
Scrap Beef - A couple pounds, cut into chunks
Mirepoix - Carrot/ Celery/ Onion, roughly chopped
Garlic - A few cloves, chopped, minced, or crushed
Dry Red Wine - About half a bottle, or whatever is left over
Mushrooms if you’ve got ‘em (I don’t today. Boo.) - Whole or sliced
Beef Stock or Bouillon & splash of water
Rosemary - lots, diced fine
Olive Oil
Salt
This is essentially just boiling super cheap tough gristly beef in wine (and a few flavor additives, like sweet from carrots and onions, herbaceous from rosemary, etc.) until it’s luscious.
I have a girlfriend who make a spicy version of stewed beef with adobo sauce (& beef stock to thin it out) instead of wine, chipotle peppers instead of mirepoix, and cumin instead of rosemary... and then serves it on top of bacon cheddar grits... that is gorgeous. Both the girlfriend and the food ;) (since my antecedents got a bit dicey there, felt I should qualify). And, quite frankly, the grape jelly & chilli sauce meatball recipe so beloved of the Midwest? Also works great with this if you’re wanting something on the sweeter more berry but zippy side (or am NOT going to be rolling and browning stupid meatballs today, ain’t gonna happen, huh-uh, no way. But are still craving the suckers). Or tomato/green bell pepper/ onions (cheat, that’s S&W stewed tomatoes. Just tip a couple cans in). Or a vinegar based BBQ sauce with a bit of water to thin it (add brown sugar if your heart is in Kansas City, but you really do need the vinegar, so may as well go with a sauce that’s balanced with it as it’s base to begin with, rather than f*cking up a perfect KC sauce with vinegar, is my way of thinking. Then add KC sauce over the top once it’s drained & done). They’re all working on the same principle... acids + heat = melt in your mouth tough meats.
In theory, you could just wing (any of these) into your slow cooker. Or braise it in a Dutch oven inside your actual oven (I’d set it to 400F/200C for a couple hours, but I cook things hot. My mom would do 275F/135C for several hours. Anything in between would undoubtedly work. There’s a lot of wiggle room in “cook the f*ck out of it” dishes like this one.) I don’t have a slow cooker right now, or an oven, so I’m simmering it on the camp stove. (For about 15 min on, 30 min off, 15 on, etc.)
Soooooo... Cook the f*ck out of it for a couple/few hours ;)
Remove from braising liquid.
Serve over mashed potatoes, corn grits, noodles, or rice.
Or freeze it (freezes a dream) and toss into quick soups, sandwiches/rolls/pita, eat by itself, etc.
