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| Joined: | Sat Mar 24th, 2007 |
| Location: | Bonn, Germany |
| Posts: | 508 |
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The "Rindsgulasch" (beef stew) is a traditional autumn dish which takes its unique taste from a long braising time (between 2 and 4 hours) at low temperatures. It is a dish that tastes best when prepared in large quantities. The beef cuts used for this dish are usually leeser-grade cuts like shoulder. The long cooking time helps to soften the tendons contained in these cuts, and in exchange the collagen that is released from the beef fibers makes for a wonderful binding of the sauce/gravy. A good stew is no fast food, every hour put into the braising process results in a more tender meat and a tastier gravy.
Common side dishes are potatoes (which also can be cooked in the stew itself) or pasta of choice. The stew can be enriched with carrots, bell peppers, zucchini and/or red wine, to name just a few. Every hearty vegetable makes a fine addition to this stew, which gains in taste when re-heated the next day.
The ingredients for four persons are:
- 600 grams (1.5lb) cubed beef,
- 500ml (17flOz) water,
- 2-3 onions,
- 2-3 bay leaves,
- 2-3 bell peppers,
- 1tbs concentrated tomato puree,
- 1 tsp paprika powder,
- salt and pepper,
- side dish of choice.
First, wash the beef cubes under cold water and dry them with a kitchen towel:
Now heat a large pot (preferably cast iron) to max, add some oil and fry the beef cubes in two or three sessions; remove the browned cubes from the pot before adding the next portion. Add the rough-cut onions in the process:
When the last portion is browned, put the beef back in the pot and add half of the water, the bay leaves and some salt/pepper. when the water is cooking, reduce the heat to 1/3 so that the stew will braise lightly. Put a lid on it and let the stew braise for about 30 minutes before adding the remaining water:
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Check occasionally and refill some water if the stew tends to "dry out":
After at least two hours, think about the veggies that you wish to add. We chose some red bell peppers. Remove the seeds and cut them in fork-worthy chunks and add them to the stew:
Now add the tomato puree as well as the paprika powder and let stew cook for another 20-30 minutes without the lid:
Finish Line:
Prepare the side dish of choice (we had some pasta):
DONE!
Serve right out of the pot and have a hearty feast:
Enjoy!
Comments and feedback are appreciated.