I love it when dishes have secret ingredients. It makes me feel like part of a secret foodie club, kind of like an epicurean version of the
Stone Cutters. And the only way to learn about the secret ingredient is to get the secret password from someone who's tried it, vouched for it, and passed it along. So consider this blog entry a secret handshake that
opens the door to the best beef (or buffalo) stew you've ever had.
And what exactly is the secret ingredient? The brined green peppercorn. I know! I had never heard of it either! But in the pack of my mind, I knew I had seen it at my tiny little neighborhood grocery store near the capers and other various pickled things. If you can't find them in the store, there is always the
interwebs.
Porter beef (or buffalo) stew,
adapted from Gourmet, October 2004
Serves 3
1 lb. beef or buffalo stew meat, cut into small (1-inch or smaller) bites (I used buffalo)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon flour
salt and papper
vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. shitake or crimini mushrooms, stems discarded and the heads chopped
3 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 cup beef broth
1 cup porter beer (I used
Rogues Mocha Porter)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or a teaspoon or dried
1/3 sheet puff pastry, taken out of the freezer when you put the stew in the oven (even when its frozen, you can break off one of the folds, which is 1/3 sheet)
1/2 tablespoon melted butter
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the meat dry, season with salt and pepper, and dust with flour. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil over medium high heat in a heavy ovenproof pot, and brown the meat on all sides. You may have to do this in a couple of batches, depending on the size of your pot and how much meat you are using. Don't crowd the pot. Remove the browned meat to a bowl.
Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and water to the pot, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the onions and mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mustard, stirring for another minute. Add the meat with any accumulated juices, broth, beer, Worcestershire, peppercorns (
yes, the secret ingredient!!) and thyme. Let it come to a bubble, then transfer to the oven to cook for about 75-90 minutes, until the sauce is nice and thick and the meat is very tender. This is a good time to drink the rest of the beer that didn't make it into the stew.
Right before you take the stew out of the oven, roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured board, until its about half as thin. Cut it into however many pieces you need (I just did two, but you could easily get three pieces per 1/3 sheet.) Brush both sides of the pastry with butter, and place on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. When you take the stew out of the oven, raise the heat to 400 degrees, then put the puff pastry in the oven for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Ladle the stew into bowls, then top with a puff pastry "cracker."
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