Best beef stew? Here is some wisdom
Beef stew may be considered old-fashioned, but it remains one of the world’s great dishes, and one of the easiest. Since realizing that I could call it “wine-braised short ribs” and serve it at a dinner party, I have made beef stew in whatever form I find it: rendang and chili, stracotto and birria, daube and galbijjim.
For all of their differences, each of these versions from around the globe perform the same feat, spinning a small amount of meat into a complex, flavorful one-pot wonder. Making, and eating, them again and again has helped me appreciate the wisdom they contain about what works best.
It turns out that a few basic decisions can generate a nearly foolproof formula for beef stew. Is stock better than water? ( No; meat makes its own stock.) Cook covered or uncovered? (Covered, but use less water.)
Is a stew different from a braise, a soup or a pot roast? (Not meaningfully.) Which meats, seasoning and methods generate the kind of dish that you can’t stop eating? (Read on.)
Start with leaner meat
For a rich, succulent stew, resist the instinct to buy the gorgeously marbled piece of meat you would want for a steak or roast. Look instead for cuts with cartilage, tendons and (at least a few) bones: Chuck, brisket, oxtails, cheeks and shin are ideal. A classic Cantonese stew, such as braised beef with radish, is often made with “rough flank,” untrimmed flank with lots of connective tissue. (American butchers trim the same cut to produce flank steak.). The collagen and gelatin these cuts yield as they simmer will lend body to the stew; fat just floats. (If your finished stew has a puddle of oil on
top, strain off all the liquid and chill it. The hardened fat on top will lift off easily.) What grocery stores label as “stew beef” is less succulent but perfectly fine, especially in large pieces like 2-inch chunks; with smaller pieces, keep the heat especially gentle to prevent them from drying out.
Don’t forget the alliums
Beef always gets along with alliums: scallions and leeks, garlic and onions. The last two are nearly the only seasonings in the Jewish American pot roast at the beginning of my beefstew journey, from former New York Times restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton. Her recipe, published in her memoir- cookbook “From My Mother’s Kitchen,” is as compact and straightforward as she is, and I followed it religiously for a time. Eventually I got brave and added carrots, which threw open the doors to other changes.
A recipe from Manhattan cookbook- store owner Nach Waxman introduced the heretical idea of tomato paste, and writer Laurie Colwin threw in a hot green pepper; both flavors add notes that make the base of meat and onions sing. Eventually I stopped investing in brisket and switched to chuck roast, cut into large chunks that demand less searing, thanks to unstinting research by Times cooking columnist J. Kenji LopezAlt.
Add brightness and depth
Beef stew can take nearly any seasoning you throw at it, but the most delicious ones have lots of fresh aromatics and spices that balance out the heaviness of meat. For one of New York’s hottest restaurant dishes of the moment, the pastrami Wagyu suya at Tatiana in Lincoln Center, chef Kwame Onwuachi brines short ribs with coriander and mustard seeds, juniper and garlic, then braises them with ginger, paprika and grains of paradise, and finally dusts them with a Nigerian spice mix of ginger, garlic, cayenne and paprika. “We hold nothing back in our braises,” he said. (Jamaican oxtail stew is also on the menu.)
When trying a new recipe, I lean toward ingredients like tomato paste, which adds sweet and tart flavors. Just as Hungarian goulash is transformed by paprika, Italian brasatos benefit from the rasp of red wine, and some Southeast Asian and Caribbean stews are lifted by the bittersweet edge of caramelized brown sugar. Some Canadian cooks add pickled cocktail onions. Also look for ingredients that layer extra umami underneath the beef’s natural savor, like dried mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce or the dark soy sauces and doubanjiang in Taiwanese beef stew.
Don’t feel you have to brown
Browning the meat is entirely optional and far from universally practiced. Browning does generate caramelized f lavors, but that’s not a priority for everyone. Boiling produces a richer cooking liquid, eliminating the need for stock or bouillon cubes, Mexican food writer and historian Pati Jinich said. She added that in Mexico, as in most countries, the meat in beef stew is traditionally from older animals and off- cuts, and therefore not the focus of the dish. “In Mexico, the best sauce is more important than making the best piece of meat,” she said. “Cook it hard, until it has no choice and falls apart.”
Consider adding pork
Beef stews in Mexico, like those in other places where pork is a staple, often include a pork rib or two. When beef stew is made mainly from older animals, pork is added to carry flavor and lend richness. (Pork fat tastes neutral, while beef fat can have a distinct taste of tallow.) Since I lack the patience to peel pearl onions, I make a streamlined version of boeuf bourguignon, the French classic anchored by lardons, saltcured pork belly. Many Italian stracottos and brasatos begin with pancetta. And salt pork features in a remarkable 1866 recipe for “Boeuf a la Mode” by Malinda Russell, a renowned cook who was the first Black person to publish a cookbook in the United States. Russell, whose mother had been enslaved in Virginia, f led to Michigan during the Civil War, established a successful pastry shop and self-published “A Domestic Cookbook.” She begins her stew by poking “a great many holes” in the meat, then filling them with salt pork seasoned with thyme, salt, pepper and cloves. The result is stewed for five hours in onions, milk and butter until soft.
Give it time
“Nihari is the only reason I’m not a vegetarian,” said chef Anita Jaisinghani when I called to talk about the bone-rich, lavishly spiced stew popular for breakfast in northern Indian cities like Jaipur, Lucknow and New Delhi. Scented with clove, ginger and cardamom, nihari is enriched with ghee and bone marrow, then cooked overnight and often eaten to break the fast during Ramadan. The legend of nihari is that its deep flavor comes from saving some of every batch to begin the next, like sourdough starter, in an unbroken chain called taar that some vendors say reaches back hundreds of years. Jaisinghani uses oxtail or short ribs for the nihari at her Houston restaurant, Pondicheri, where — like many chefs — she serves the stew a day or two after cooking. “The flavors in a stew are all dissimilar and fight for attention,” she said. “They need to hang out for a bit to get along.”
Baking can be better
Ever since I discovered Amanda Hesser’s recipe for Roman oxtails, I have baked all my stews in a covered pot instead of simmering them uncovered on the stove. The heat comes from all directions, instead of just the bottom, which eliminates the need for frequent stirring. And moving that big pot to the oven frees up space on your stovetop and in your mind for other things.
In an oven set at 250 or 275 degrees, a heavy pot behaves like a slow cooker. But the oven’s concentrated, dry heat works even better than the machine, coaxing sinews into submission, transforming water into sauce and adding roasted flavors. ( That said, any of these stews can be adapted for a slow cooker.)
When the pot is covered, your ingredients should not be swimming in liquid but wading, waist deep. I am suspicious of stew rec
ipes that confidently call for more than two quarts of water, because the amount of liquid depends very much on the size and shape of your pot. A good rule is to cover the aromatics and vegetables, but leave an inch of meat sticking out above the surface.
Mind the meld
No cook was more entranced by stew’s mysterious power to fuse flavors than New York chef Floyd Cardoz, who died of COVID early in the pandemic. Growing up in Goa, a state in southern India where the cuisine was influenced by Portuguese colonizers and Malay spice traders, he ate complex stews like vindaloo and sorpotel (meat braised with vinegar, chiles, liver, garlic, clove and cinnamon).
At his Manhattan restaurant Tabla, Cardoz became a master of the meld, known for bringing ingredients and techniques from around the world to a single dish. His wife, Barkha Cardoz, told me he was always inventing stews at home as well. After having a Filipino karekare at his restaurant’s staff meal, he created a haunting, savory recipe for short ribs with peanuts and anchovies, tasting of neither, that bears the hallmark of a great stew: many flavors, distinct but indivisible, in one bowl.
“You’ll know you’ve gotten it just right when they can’t quite put their finger on what the combination of flavors is, or why they feel they must take another bite ... and another,” he wrote in his 2016 cookbook, “Flavorwalla.” “That’s the sign of perfectly balanced elements.”
Jewish American Pot Roast
Brisket is now a luxurious, festive dish for Hanukkah and Passover, but it was originally an inexpensive cut considered too tough for roasting. This brisket recipe came from Mimi Sheraton, the New York Times’ first restaurant critic and author of a memoir-cookbook,
“From My Mother’s Kitchen: Recipes and Reminiscences” (Harpercollins, 1979), about growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s. It demands minimal preparation and limited ingredients — little more than onions and garlic — but the low-and-slow cooking make it extraordinarily complex and delicious. Although the brisket (breast) is traditional, the same recipe works beautifully with any stew cut, such as chuck, oxtail or short ribs. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles, or with boiled potatoes, sprinkled with parsley. -- Julia Moskin
Yield: 6 to 8 servings. Total time: 3 1/2 hours.
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or chicken, duck or goose fat), plus more as needed 4 pounds beef chuck or brisket, in one piece (or use 4 pounds stew meat, like boneless chuck, or boneless short ribs, or cheeks, cut into 2-inch chunks)
2 large onions, coarsely chopped or thinly sliced Kosher salt and black pepper 6 garlic cloves, chopped 2 teaspoons sweet paprika 1 tablespoon tomato paste (or 1 additional teaspoon paprika) 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices or chunks
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 bay leaf
Mashed potatoes, cooked egg noodles or halved boiled potatoes, sprinkled with parsley, for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Pat meat dry and brown on both sides, leaving it untouched until a crust forms on the bottom. Adjust the heat so that the meat sizzles enthusiastically but does not pop or scorch. When browned, remove it to a large plate.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot.
Add onions, sprinkle with salt and cook over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan. Adjust the heat and stir often, so the onions soften but do not brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mixture forms a soft, pale brown mass, 5 minutes more.
4. Raise heat to mediumhigh, add paprika and cook, stirring, until the mixture sizzles. Push onions aside and add tomato paste to the center of the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until it’s sizzling, then stir it into the onion mixture.
5. Return meat and its juices to the pot. Add carrots, thyme and enough hot water to cover the carrots and onions (do not cover the meat).
Cover tightly and bake until completely fork-tender, about 3 hours, turning the meat halfway through cooking.
6. Remove pot from the oven. Remove the meat and carrots from the pot and set aside; discard the bay leaf, if using. Using a hand blender, puree the contents of the pot into a smooth gravy (or strain, then push the vegetables through a sieve and combine with the liquid). Heat the gravy through and, if necessary, simmer until thickened. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
7. If using a single piece of meat, slice the meat across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Return meat and carrots to the pot, nestling them into the gravy. Cover and heat through over very low heat. Serve immediately, or, for the best flavor, refrigerate overnight and reheat before serving.
Mole de Olla (Beef Stew With Chiles)
Mexico has innumerable beef stews: puchero, birria, puntas al albanil — but the most universal, according to writer Pati Jinich, is mole de olla, a true one-pot dish, often made for family gatherings, with vegetables like corn, zucchini, cactus and chayote added at the last minute. If the name seems surprising, Jinich said, the word mole doesn’t refer just to the famous thickened sauces of Puebla and Oaxaca,
but any kind of “saucy thing.” What makes mole de olla a stew and not a soup is the rich puree of roasted dried chiles that both thickens and seasons it. -- Recipe from Pati Jinich, adapted by Julia Moskin
Yield: 6 to 8 servings. Total time: 2 1/4 hours.
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds beef stew meat or beef shank meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch- to 2-inch chunks, with any bones added to the pot
1/2 white onion, plus 3/4 cup finely chopped onion for garnish
1 large sprig fresh mint (10 to 12 leaves), or 2 sprigs fresh epazote or 1 tablespoon dried epazote
3 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves
Kosher salt or coarse sea salt 3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 pound (about 4) ripe tomatoes, preferably Roma tomatoes
1/4 pound tomatillo (1 large), husked (see Tip) 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 chayote squash, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
3 ears fresh corn, husked and cut crosswise into thirds 1 large zucchini, cubed (about 3 cups)
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into about 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups) 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
3 to 4 limes, quartered, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large heavy-bottomed casserole or pot, place the meat, onion half, mint, garlic, bay leaves and about 1 tablespoon salt. Cover with 8 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface, then reduce the heat to low or mediumlow; cover and simmer for 1 hour.
2. While the mixture simmers, place the ancho and pasilla chiles in a medium bowl, cover with boiling water and let them rehydrate for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Place the tomatoes and tomatillo in a baking dish under the broiler and cook until they are completely charred and mushy, 10 to 20 minutes.
4. In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirring constantly, anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes, until they start to become golden brown.
5. In a blender, place the soaked chiles and 1/4 cup of their soaking liquid, plus the broiled tomatoes and tomatillos, and the toasted sesame seeds; puree until completely smooth.
6. Remove the cooked onion, mint and garlic cloves from the large casserole or pot
(if some remain, it is totally fine). Pour the chile mixture in with the meat. Stir, cover again and cook for another 30 minutes.
7. Remove the lid, raise heat to medium, add the cubed chayote squash and the corn and cook, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Add the zucchini and green beans and cook, partially covered, for another 10 minutes; season to taste with salt.
8. Serve in bowls, making sure that each bowl has a serving of meat, corn, chayote, green beans and zucchini. Serve with the finely chopped white onion, cilantro and quartered limes to dress at the table.
Tip: Traditionally, this recipe uses xoconostles, which can be hard to find. Instead, tomatillos have a similar tart flavor.
Nihari (Spiced Oxtail Stew)
Nihari, a deeply spiced beef stew from the Indian Muslim tradition, is traditionally simmered overnight, enriched with bones, and served with marrow to make it an extra-filling breakfast. In her book, “Masala: Recipes From India, the Land of Spices” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), chef Anita Jaisinghani, who grew up in Gujarat and opened Pondicheri in Houston in 2011, adapted the recipe for oxtail. She roasts it until caramelized, then braises it until tender in a mixture thickened by chickpea flour toasted in ghee. Tradition holds that the rich flavors of nihari come from saving a bit of each day’s stew and adding it to the next, like sourdough starter, in “an unbroken string of flavor over decades.” -- Adapted by Julia Moskin
Yield: 4 to 6 servings. Total time: About 6 hours, plus cooling and chilling.
INGREDIENTS
4 pounds oxtail 3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup ghee
1 tablespoon finely grated garlic
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium white onion, halved and sliced
3 ounces fresh ginger, plus julienned ginger for garnish 8 to 10 whole cloves, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon green cardamom seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 cup chickpea flour 1 tablespoon red chile powder, such as deggi mirch or cayenne
1 tablespoon toasted ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon garam masala Torn or chopped fresh cilantro and/or mint, for garnish Naan plus yogurt seasoned with toasted cumin and salt, for serving (all optional) DIRECTIONS
1. HEAT THE OVEN TO 400 DEGREES.
2. In a large, deep roasting pan, drizzle the oxtail with 1 tablespoon ghee, then sprinkle with the garlic, plus 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Massage the meat until evenly coated and then spread it out in an even layer. Roast for 45 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
3. While the oxtail roasts, prepare the onion puree: In a small Dutch oven or pot, heat 2 tablespoons ghee over medium-high. Add the onion slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to show a light brown color, about 8 minutes. Lower the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown, soft and considerably reduced in volume, about 30 minutes.
(If they appear to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a few tablespoons of water as needed to deglaze the pan.) Set the onion aside to cool for a few minutes, then pulse in a blender until smooth, stirring as needed. Set puree aside. (You should have about 1/2 cup.)
4. Prepare the ginger puree: Coarsely chop the 3 ounces ginger into 1/2-inch pieces. (If any of the skin appears tough, slice it off and discard it, but otherwise leave the peel on.) Pour 3 tablespoons water
into the blender, then add the chopped ginger. Blend in short intervals, turning the mixture around with a spatula to get all of it, until pureed. (You should have about 1/3 cup.)
5. Wipe out the Dutch oven, then heat the remaining 1/4 cup ghee over high heat. Add the cloves, cardamom seeds and chickpea flour and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture darkens and bubbles and a fragrant, nutty aroma emits. Quickly stir in the onion puree, ginger puree, red chile powder, cumin, turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt, then gradually stir in 5 cups water and bring to a boil.
6. After the oxtail has been roasted, pour the mixture over it, seal it tightly with foil and place it back in the oven for 4 to 6 hours. The meat should be falling off the bone.
7. Once the meat is cooked, stir in the garam masala, then let the stew rest on the counter until cooled to the touch. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight before serving. Reheat gently to serve. Garnish with julienned ginger and fresh herbs; serve with naan and seasoned yogurt, if desired.
Braised Short Ribs With Peanuts and Anchovies
This is an adaptation of the tangy, rich Filipino meat stew kare-kare, which itself is adapted from the Indianinfluenced massaman curries of Southeast Asia. Indian American chef Floyd Cardoz brought it full circle when he recreated it for American home cooks in his 2016 book “Floyd Cardoz: Flavorwalla” (Artisan). It’s an excellent illustration of how a great stew can fuse flavors that might seem incompatible. -
Adapted by Julia Moskin Yield: 4 to 6 servings. Total time: About 3 1/2 hours.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, cut into 2-inch cubes, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds bone-in ribs
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons canola oil 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns 1 dried chipotle chile, broken in half
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
4 garlic cloves, smashed 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin coins
1 small head savoy cabbage 1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
4 anchovy fillets, minced Steamed rice (optional), for serving
INGREDIENTS
1. Season the beef with salt; set aside at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
2. In a large stew pot, heat the oil over medium until it shimmers. Add the peppercorns, chile and bay leaves and cook, stirring, until they are fragrant and little bubbles form around the spices, about 1 minute. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the seasoned short ribs, plus 5 cups water and a pinch of salt (don’t add too much here). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
4. While the short ribs simmer, separate the cabbage leaves and cut the ribs out of each one. Stack the leaves a few at a time and cut into 2-inch pieces. Set aside 4 cups of chopped cabbage for this dish, reserving the remainder for another use.
5. Place the peanuts in a blender with 1 1/2 cups water; puree.
6. Once the meat has simmered until tender, add the anchovies to the pot, along with the 4 cups chopped cabbage and the peanut puree. Bring to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
7. Remove and discard the bay leaves and chipotle halves, if desired. Serve in shallow bowls, with rice if you like.