Mama Miller's Beef Stew

Submitted by Julie in TX

"This is basically the way my grandmother made beef stew. It's not a fancy stew....it's just plain country cooking. If she added more vegetables to the recipe, she called it soup. My grandmother made a roux to thicken her stew. I have changed the recipe to include the addition of a can of beef gravy instead of the roux. The beef gravy acts as a thickening agent and gives the stew a really rich brown color. I serve it with cabbage & apple salad & cornbread. I don't advise freezing this stew because I have found that the potatoes tend to get mushy. The prep time & cook times listed are approximate."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs stew meat
• 1⁄3 cup flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup onion, coarsley chopped
• 1 (29 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups celery, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups carrots, cut into medium sized chunks
• 6 cups potatoes, cut into medium sized chunks
• 1 (10 1/4 ounce) can beef gravy
• water, to cover
• vegetable oil

directions

1. Put flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt& 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a zip lock bag.
2. Put the stew meat into the bag with the flour mixture.
3. Zip the bag shut and shake until the meat is lightly coated with the flour mixture.
4. Pour vegetable oil 1/4 inch deep into a large pot.
5. Heat over medium heat.
6. Brown the beef in the hot oil.
7. Remove the beef from the pan.
8. Discard the oil.
9. Put the beef back into the pan and add the canned tomatoes, onion, celery& carrots.
10. Add enough water to completely cover the meat& vegetables.
11. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat.
12. Simmer until the meat is tender.
13. Add boiling water during cooking period if necessary.
14. When in the meat is tender, add the potatoes.
15. Make sure all the ingredients are covered with liquid.
16. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
17. When the potatoes are tender, add the beef gravy and bring back to a boil.
18. Remove the stew from the heat and serve.

Reviews

[mama smurf]

Made this for dinner the other night and served it with french bread and a small side salad. I followed the recipe exactly (well almost...I did add 2 cloves of minced garlic). It was a delicious stew and one I will make again! Made for Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup Game (July-Dec. 2009).

 

[Dorel]

I made this yesterday and halved everything for the 2 of us. It was delicious. I did thicken the juices up with about 2 tablespoons corn starch. DH and I both enjoyed this. Thanks for posting Mama Miller's stew.