My grandma was the best Hawaiian Beef Stew maker in the world. It always came out perfect. Although I'll always crave that woman's stew, this one is by far my favorite now! It's wonderful served with bread and butter, atop a scoop of white rice, or twice baked with a garlic mashed potato topping (Shepherd's Pie) - the latter being the way I serve it now.
LAMB & BEEF STEW
serves up to 6 people
ingredients:
2 lb lamb shoulder
2 lb chuck spare rib
bacon fat (or vegetable oil)
2 cans beef stock
10 peppercorns
1 large carrot (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
3 ribs celery (chopped)
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic (minced; I grate it, it's so simple)
large pinch salt
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 bottle red wine (I used Pinot Noir for this recipe)
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 container mushrooms (sliced)
4 tablespoons butter (do not replace with butter spread or margarine)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
method:
De-bone your lamb and beef, then cut into cubes. Dry off meat using a clean towel or napkins. This will allow to your meat to actually brown, and not steam. If you notice your meat is a bit grayish, and a lot of liquid accumulates at the bottom of the pot, it's because it wasn't dried properly. Brown in an oven-proof pot using bacon fat(or oil) on high heat.
Heat beef stock over medium high heat along with all the bones from the meat. Add the peppercorns, and a few chopped vegetables (carrot, onion, & celery). This will help flavor the stock. Boil until you have about 2 cups of stock left.
Add carrot, onion, celery, 2 cloves of garlic, and bay leaf. Turn your heat down to medium-high, and keep stirring until the onions start to become translucent. Add salt and pepper (adding this too early will draw the juices out of your meat, leaving it dry). Pour wine into the pot, and scrape the bottom to loosen any stuck-on pieces of meat. Once wine has come to a boil, remove your bones from your stock, and pour contents into your meat pot. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes, stirring often to avoid the bottom from getting burnt.
You can leave the bones if you'd like, or even strain it so the peppercorns and boiled vegetables don't make it in. I like scraping the meat off at the end, and removing it before serving. Plus, I enjoy the random peppercorn every couple of bites, and my friend's dog loves the bone once it's been completely cooked through.
Add thyme, oregano, and parsley, cover and place in a 350 degree oven for 2.5 hours.
In a frying pan or skillet, heat butter, oil, and remaining clove of garlic. Once butter has stopped foaming, add mushrooms. Cook until tender, and set aside (about 3-4 minutes). If you were to use margarine or a butter spread, the mushrooms will give off a "plastic" taste. Use real unsalted butter for this. Save the fake stuff for your toast. After 2.5 hours in the oven, taste gravy and adjust using water, wine, salt, or garlic. If you want the stew to be thicker, dissolve the cornstarch into some water first.
Add mushrooms to your stew, and continue in the oven for another 1/2 hour. Serve on rice, or with bread.
For Shepherd's Pie:
ingredients:
5 large potatoes (peeled)
2 tablespoons salt
2 cloves garlic(or one head garlic for Roasted Garlic)
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoon garlic salt
pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream or 1/2 cup milk
method:
While stew is in the oven, chop potatoes into 1-2" cubes and place in a pot with water. Add salt and bring pot to a boil. Let boil for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are nice and soft, and turn off heat. Drain potatoes and put back into the pot on the stove. The heat from the hot (but cooling) burner will help to dry the potato off. Mash with a fork until there are no large chunks of potato. Grate garlic into potatoes and add butter. Using a hand mixer (or continue with fork like I did), blend the potatoes as fine as you can. Stir in salt, pepper, and cream until you get the consistency and taste you desire.
For Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
Slice top third of garlic head off. Saturate in oil, and wrap in foil. Place in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cloves should be soft and moist. Squeeze entire head to release the cloves into potatoes.
Once stew is done, strain into a baking dish (if you don't do this, the sauce will bubble up and drown your potatoes). Using a pastry bag, pipe your potatoes on the stew, making sure to cover the entire surface (or you can spoon mounds of potato across surface). Place back in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the potatoes have browned nicely.
