Saturday, February 28, 2009

How to Make the Best Tasting Stew Recipes

By KC Kudra

Stews are very popular, especially when the weather is cool, and you want something warming and tasty. A stew is a combination of solid foods, usually meat, or fish with vegetables that have been simmered or cooked slowly in a liquid sauce to allow the flavors to combine well. The sauce is served as well as its contents.

Common stew ingredients include meat, chicken, seafood, fish, potatoes, carrots, beans, and fruit. Wine, water, beer, or bouillons are commonly used as the stew liquid and seasonings help to add more flavor.

What is the Difference between Stew and Soup?

Stewing is a good cooking method to use on tough cuts of meat because stewing is the only way to tenderize them. Stews contain large pieces of meat or fish and vegetables. Soups contain smaller pieces, if any.

Stew is served as a main dish rather than as an appetizer and always contains chunky ingredients. Soup can be served as pureed liquid only without any bits in and is always served in a bowl or deep dish. A chunky stew can be served on a plate.

Making Your Stew Rich and Flavorful

Combining meat, vegetables and water will make a stew but not a very interesting one! There are a few things to know if you want to make your stews tasty.

You can use different combinations of meat; fish, herbs, vegetables, and spices in stew recipes because the dish is so versatile. It is a good idea to season the meat with salt and pepper and sear it in a hot pan before adding it to the liquid.

You might want to roll the meat in flour to thicken up the stew. Meat chunks should be browned all over before you add them to the liquid. This means they will not dry out. This applies whichever type of meat you are using - chicken, beef, pork, or something else.

The next step in making an exciting stew is to saut some vegetables in the pan, then add water, wine, juice, broth or whichever liquid you are using and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate any stuck on bits into the liquid. Put the meat back into the pan and cook slowly.

You should check the pan periodically to see if you need to add more liquid or seasoning or give it a stir. When the stew is done, you might want to throw in some cider, lemon juice, crispy crumbled bacon or parsley to brighten up the overall flavor. You can serve it in big bowls accompanied by warm bread to mop up the juices.

It is easy and fun to make stew. Whether you want to make a Jamaican brown stew chicken or an Irish stew, using the above tips will ensure your stew recipe comes out perfectly.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment