I was on a quest for the best homemade beef stew recipe. In my mind, the best one would be inspired by Hungarian recipes, similar to the one I grew up with in my family. It had to capture the familiar flavours and aromas we loved, with its mix of pepper and paprika powder.
In the area of Transylvania and Hungary, the beef stew recipes do not differ much from each other. I will present my own recipe which is particularly tasty.
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The oldest recipes included finely chopped onion fried in pork lard, garlic, beef shin and some even red wine. They were cooked outside, in a special pot and on a wood fire.
If you've tried my lamb stew, let's show you my version of beef stew.
Ingredients
Because I will only cook for two people, I will use smaller quantities of ingredients.
We need about 500 g of beef, cut into cubes of 4-5 cm. It is advisable to use a shoulder of beef, it is the most suitable and tastiest for stew.
As well, I used the following vegetables: onion, garlic, carrot, sweet red pepper and tomatoes.
Preparing the Ingredients
In the beginning, I boned the beef, dried it on a paper towel and cut it into cubes. Then I rolled them over the wheat flour and shook them to remove the excess flour.
I cleaned the onion and the garlic and chopped them.
I cleaned the sweet red pepper and cut it into small cubes.
As well cleaned the carrot and cut it into small pieces.
I did not peel the tomatoes, but only washed them thoroughly and cut them.
If you do not have ripe and flavoured tomatoes, you can use canned tomatoes.
How to Make the Best Homemade Beef Stew Recipe?
In the beginning, we heat the oil in a saucepan. I like to use a cast iron stew pot or slow cooker.
For a better taste, instead of oil, you can put the pork or goose fat.
When the oil has warmed, I put the meat to fry.
Roast the meat for a few minutes until it becomes crusty and brown.
We remove the meat from the pan and set it aside.
In the same pot, then fry the chopped onion, and if necessary add a little more oil.
I fried the onion until it got a little colour, and then I added the garlic, pepper and carrot.
For added flavour As well put a bay leaf.
I left everything to fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally to not burn. After 4-5 minutes, I put the meat back in the pan.
I seasoned it with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. As well added tomato paste, sweet pepper paste, and sweet paprika powder.
We put the chopped tomatoes on top, mix everything, and let it boil for 5-6 minutes in its own juice.
Fill with water to cover the meat, and let it simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.
If the stew has fallen too much, fill it with water or red wine. I always checked the meat until I saw it became soft and I can be broken it with a spoon.
Now the best homemade beef stew recipe is ready and can be served.
Serving the Beef Stew
Beef stew can be served with different side dishes, such as rice, pasta, couscous or polenta.
I served it simply with mashed potatoes and it was especially delicious.
I wish you well, and I recommend you try this recipe.
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Best Homemade Beef Stew Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven pot
Ingredients
- 500 g beef meat diced
- 1 pc onion
- 1 pc carrot
- 1 pc bell pepper sweet
- 2 pcs tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 50 g flour
- 3 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 pc bay leaf
- 1 tbs sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon pepper paste
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- For the beginning, I boned the beef, dried it on a paper towel and cut it into cubes. Then I rolled them over the wheat flour and shook them to remove the excess flour.
- I cleaned the onion and the garlic and chopped them. I cleaned the sweet red pepper and cut it into small cubes. As well I cleaning the carrot and cut it into small pieces. I did not peel the tomatoes, but only washed them thoroughly and cut them.
- In the beginning, we heat the oil in a saucepan. When the oil has warmed, I put the meat to fry. Roast the meat for a few minutes until it becomes crusty and brown. We remove the meat from the pan and set it aside.
- In the same pot, then fry the chopped onion, and if necessary add a little more oil. I fried the onion until it got a little color, and then I added the garlic, pepper, and carrot. For added flavor As well put a bay leaf.
- I left everything to fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally to not burn. After 4-5 minutes, I put the meat back in the pan. I seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. As well I added tomato paste, sweet pepper paste, and sweet paprika powder.
- We put the chopped tomatoes on top, mix everything, and let it boil for 5-6 minutes in its own juice. Fill with water to cover the meat, and let it simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours. If the stew has fallen too much, fill with water or red wine. I always checked the meat until I saw it became soft and I can be broken with a spoon.
Dane says
Wow, I can already imagine making them for myself. I love making beef stew alot, its been one of my favorites for a long time now and it just keeps getting better, and I want to become a boss in making it as well. I'm glad ti have come across this really nice post on the recipe to be used in making this beef stew. I'll try out these recipe and hope to have a wonderful result.
Timea says
You will definitely get this recipe Dane, and you will see that it is very tasty.
Edward says
Thank you for another great article. It has been very interesting for me to read your website and learn about Transylvanian cooking. You combine different flavors that I had never thought of combining before. It's amazing that there is always something new to learn.
This beef stew sounds delicious. It sounds very savory and like it has a nice texture. I also appreciate your pictures where it looks very appetizing.
Timea says
Thanks Edward for your appreciation, I invite you to try this recipe and enjoy its taste.
Mattias says
And what better way to kick start a new week than to give a trial to the newly learnt homemade beef stew. Thanks for sharing out another great recipes. Everytime I visit your blog, I always find something worthwhile to learn about and that's very great. I have most of the ingredients at home but I will try to get the beef immediately I'm out. It should be worth giving my Sunday evening too.
Timea says
Thanks, Mattias, and the good appetite for beef stew.
Lee says
It looks so good. We used to cook our stew in a similar fashion but we use an instant pot. I like my meat to have a rich flavor but tender. I use miniature onions because the tend to soak in the stew and are delicious. I use the majority of your ingredients. I add celery to mine also.
Charles says
Thank you for this article, your step by step guide on how to prepare a homemade beef stew is spot on. I like the fact that you supported this whole process with pictures for better comprehension. I will follow your guidelines and make an homemade beef stew. I have almost all the needed ingredients already.
Bonnie says
First of all, I have to say I love the pictures. I could almost smell the stew just be looking at them. I'm really excited to give this a try because my family already loves stew, but this is a different take on it.
I have never used tomato in my stew, but this looks delicious. My grandmother was from Transylvania, so I bet she would have loved this! I'm curious, does it have an Italian-tomato taste to it? The beef stew I make is pretty basic, just the meat flavors spiced up with some pepper.
Looking forward to trying this recipe and I can't wait for another one from you! Thanks!!