Impromptu Beef Stew

Beef Stew from leftover grilled steak tips.

This is one of those refrigerator party recipes.  We had had one of those mild December days which prompted me to thaw some marinated beef tips to grill.  We ate about half of what we grilled, and I needed to find a use for the leftovers. As you might expect, the mild weather didn’t last for more than a few hours.

 Normally, I would use leftover grilled tips or steak to make a steak salad with sweet onions and red wine Italian dressing, but that’s usually in the summer and when you can enjoy cold food, not in December.  December is stew season, so that’s where I headed on this rabbit hole trip.  I needed to change things up a bit since the beef was already cooked and I didn’t want leathery meat in my stew.  The challenge became how to get a nice rich beefy flavor when there was no beef to brown like when making stew from scratch with uncooked meat.

With a roux, some beef soup base, and a few of those pantry staple ingredients I listed in my Terms, Tips and Tools post I was able to create a rich stew base and then add the meat at the last minute to heat.

Before I get to the recipe, I want to share a beef tip marinating trick:

When I buy tips, it’s usually a family pack that I divide into portions to serve 2 to 4.   When I’m getting them ready to freeze, I make a favorite marinade or three (teriyaki, red wine, balsamic, etc.).  Then I package the portioned-out tips in separate zip freezer bags and add the marinade.  I carefully squeeze out most of the air and mark the bag with the date, cut of beef and flavor of marinate.  When grilling weather returns to Maine, I’ll post detailed instructions for the various marinades.  I feel like the process of freezing the meat while it’s floating in the marinade enhances how well it flavors and tenderizes the meat. Plus, when you get the urge for marinated tips, all you need to do is thaw and grill. (or stir-fry).

OK, back to the stew…..

SAute garlic in olive oil

Smash garlic once it's golden in color.

Add onion and butter after onion brownd a bit.

Add flour to mak a roux.

WHisk until the roux is golden in color.

COmbine liquids and beef base to yield 1 -1/2 cups.

Add liquid to roux and wiks to keep is from clumping.

Keep heat low and stir until it begins to thicken .

Add the meat.

Stir to coat the meat.

Add carrotsand celery.

Add mushrooms and stir to coat. Cover and let simmer on lowest possible heat.

When carrots are crisp-tender to your tase. you're just about there.

Sir in your desired cooked starch and serve.

THE RECIPE:

2-3T Olive Oil

3-4 Garlic cloves

1 medium onion diced

1T beef soup base

Any drippings from the beef, red wine, Worcestershire, and soy to equal 1-1/2 cps liquid

4T Butter

4T Flour

Leftover chunks of beef

1C Carrot sliced to 1/8”

1C Celery chopped

2C Mushrooms chunked

1C Cooked rice, barley, couscous or orzo

• Place the garlic and olive oil in a stock pot and slowly saute until the garlic is light to medium golden.

• Smash the garlic and add the dice onion and simmer until the onion just starts to turn golden

• While the onions are sauteing, combine any drippings you may have from the leftover beef, some red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce to get you 1-1/2 cups of liquid. Propositions here are to your taste, I go heavy on the wine and add the soy and Worcestershire to give it some depth.

• Dissolve the soup base into the liquid and set aside.

• Once the onion starts to turn golden, add the butter to melt it.

• Add flour to the mix and whisk until smooth.

• Continue whisking until the roux reaches a golden brown color. The darker you go, the richer and nuttier the flavor. BE CAREFUL not to burn it.

• Set heat to low and gradually stir in the wine mixture whisking to keep from clumping. If it seems to tick, you can add some water.

• On the lowest possible heat, add in the meat, then the carrots, and finally the celery and mushrooms. Basically, you’ll be steaming the veggies until the carrots are crisp-tender.

• Stir in a cup of your favorite starch, salt and pepper to taste and serve it up!

If you have other vegetables left over, feel free to clean out the fridge and throw them in at the last minute to heat.