Beef Stew

Try oxtail: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000035oxtail_stew.php

Elise has a lot of good stew recipes on that site.

To get a good beef stew, you have to use the right meat. I like to cut up a cross rib roast…it’s a VERY flavorful cut of meat, has less fat and grissel than chuck, and shrinks less when you brown it.

Cut roast up into chunks…and shake them in a flour mix containing salt and pepper (you can use garlic salt, if you like garlic)…

Brown meat in in oil on medium heat…it doesn’t have to be cooked through, but you do want to brown it good.

Add water (or beef broth)…3 stalks celery and an onion, and simmer for 2 hours or so. Add sliced carrots (or those baby carrots that are already peeled)…cook for another 45 minutes…then add chunks of peeled potato. (Potatoes don’t take all that long to cook…maybe another 30 minutes).

To thicken it before serving…use left over flour mixture, and make thickening by adding water to it (I put it into a jar, add water, then shake it, to get lumps out)…add to your cooked stew…it will thicken in 10 minutes or so.

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