Beef and Blewit Stew

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Beef and Blewit Stew

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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:18 pm Post subject: Beef and Blewit Stew

Just picked up an eigth of a Gloucester bullock, which we're splitting with some friends. First time we've dealt with this farmer, and we've been delighted with both the husbandry and the sheer enthusiastic craziness of the farmer. This one hasn't been cut up -quite- how we would have chosen, but hey-ho, that's not a problem next time we'll plan further ahead and be way more specific.

Looking through bags of beef last night, I picked out two pounds of neck beef for a stew (yes, I know, I could have gone for a bit of fillet or a bit of sirloin, but I'm a sucker for a good stew). So our dinner was:

2lb 'stewing' beef
3/4lb field blewits (a common late autumn and winter mushroom, VERY tasty and aromatic)
Stock vegetables
Stock
Red Wine
Herbs (bay, thyme and parsley; the Holy Trinity, in my opinion).
Salt and pepper.

I guess it goes without saying, but we chopped and browned the stock veg (carrot, onion, celery) and added the beef, in turn browning that before de-glazing the pan with wine, to half cover the meat. Added stock to cover the meat up to two-thirds, then added the blewits (safe in the knowledge that water coming out of them would make enough fluid). Added the herbs, bunged in the oven (170ish) for two hours.

Poured off a little of the sauce, tasted it, and thickened it with flour and butter before adding it back in to make the whole thing nice and thick. Asjusted the seasoning and put it back in for another hour.

Served with carrots (steamed through in the oven with a little butter and ginger) and fresh bread out of the machine.

Blewits make this dish quite extremely aromatic, they have a superb flavour quite unlike most other mushrooms. Next time I do this I'll be adding some junper berries too, they go with blewits very nicely.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:23 pm Post subject:
I'm still fasting you know :tongue hanging out icon:

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:26 pm Post subject:
That sounds lovely, I'm picking up my lamb tonight and negotiating over an organic aberdeen angus that is hanging. �100 for 15kg of assorted cuts (no fillet) sounds Ok to me. With the Blewitts do they need that long in or could you pop them in nearer the end of cooking?

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28238
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:27 pm Post subject:

Tahir wrote:

I'm still fasting you know :tongue hanging out icon:

How long to go?

jema

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:31 pm Post subject:
I think it's 16:50ish today

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28238
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:34 pm Post subject:
I actually meant in days! But I guess you are more concerned about more immediate food jema

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 3:36 pm Post subject:
Around 9 days to go

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 4:34 pm Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

�100 for 15kg of assorted cuts (no fillet) sounds Ok to me.

Not too bad. I think we paid 120quid for something in the region of 30kg.

Quote:

With the Blewitts do they need that long in or could you pop them in nearer the end of cooking?

You probably want to give them at least half an hour to be sure they're cooked, butto be honest they add so much flvour to the stew if you give them longer, while still maintaining some body and texture of their own (I merely cut them in two before adding them to make sure there aren't many maggots).

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 4:36 pm Post subject:

Tahir wrote:

I'm still fasting you know :tongue hanging out icon:

Can I console you with the knowledge that it isn't halal, so you wouldn't be able to eat it anyway? Or is that just rubbing salt into the wound?

More seriously, some of the middle eastern treats eaten during Ramadan are just brilliant. We used to have a house mate who observed Ramadan, and I used to look forward to scrounging (if not to his variable mood after a days fasting).

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