Braised Beef And Root Vegetables

I had been thinking of something different for a St. Patrick’s Day meal than our usual corned beef and cabbage and when I read a recent blog post for a delicious looking Irish Beef Stew I thought it might be the answer until I noticed it contained beer and I knew there was no way to slip that by Bev.  But I still liked the idea of stew and in looking at various recipes I discovered that Irish stew is pretty basic stew often using lamb – another Bev no-go – and beer.  So I recalled a dish we made a while back and has often has crossed my mind.  I did a little blog research and discovered that is was way back in 2010 when we made it and we said we loved it so I decided it was a go – subject to the bosses approval.

Since most of you were not readers then, I decided to post the recipe and new pictures for this meal and note the changes we made based upon last time.

Braised Beef Short Ribs And Root Vegetables – Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

2¾ lbs round roast and arm roast, cut into bite sized pieces (4 to 5 pounds beef short ribs last time)

2 tbsp Emeril’s Essence

¼ cup vegetable oil

1½ cups chopped yellow onions

1 stalk celery, trimmed and chopped

1 ea carrot, peeled and chopped

1½ tbsp minced garlic

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 ea bay leaves

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves (2/3 tsp dried)

2 sprigs fresh thyme (1 tsp dried)

½ cup ruby port (down from 1 cup)

2½ cups dry red wine (up from 2 cups)

4 cups beef stock

1 pound butternut or acorn squash, peeled, fibers removed, and cubed

2 ea parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 ea carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

12 ounces egg noodles, cooked al dente, accompaniment

¼ cup chopped green onions, garnish

¼ cup chopped parsley, garnish

Directions:

1. Season the meat with the Essence on all sides.

2. In a Dutch oven or large, heavy covered pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

3. Add the meat in batches to prevent crowding and sear on all sides. Remove with tongs to a plate.

4. Add the diced onions, celery and carrots to the fat remaining in the pan, and cook, stirring, until soft and starting to caramelize, about 7 minutes.

5. Add the garlic, salt, red pepper, and black pepper, and cook for 30 seconds.

6. Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme, and cook for 2 minutes.

7. Add the Port and red wine, bring to a boil, stirring to deglaze the pan and cook until reduced by 1/2.

8. Add the meat and stock and return to a boil.

9. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (During cooking, make sure that there is at least 1-inch of liquid in the pot; add more stock or water as necessary to cover.)

10. Add the root vegetables and cook until they are tender, another 40 minutes to 1 hour.

11. Remove from the heat. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

12. Skim any fat from the surface.

13. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves.

(I forgot do the above three steps, so we added some cornstarch to thicken after our initial dish of it).

14. To serve, arrange the egg noodles in the middle of a large platter (individual dish for us) and top with the stew.

As last time, it was very good and for storage we mixed in the noodles to get this for leftovers.  I preferred the reduced amount of Port as it was less sweet and suited my taste better but if you enjoy the sweetness just stay with the original amounts.

While not an Irish Stew, it was still a good way to celebrate the part of me with Irish heritage.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/15/18 Meal Date