Stew beef is made the same way as stew chicken, with seasoned meat browned in sugar caramelised almost to black, but it needs a long, slow simmer to turn tender. Use a cut made for stewing, such as chuck, with some fat and connective tissue running through it.
Add water a little at a time as the beef cooks, rather than all at once. That keeps the gravy rich and lets you finish with exactly the thickness you want.
A pressure cooker shortens the simmer to about 40 minutes; see the substitutions.
The recipe
Stew Beef
Prep
20 min
Cook
2 hr 20 min
Seasoning the meat
1 hr
Total
3 hr 40 min
Serves
6
Times and quantities are our best estimates. This recipe is still being kitchen-tested, so trust your eyes and taste as you go.
Servings
Ingredient amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pot size may need adjusting too.
Ingredients
Tick items off as you gather them.
For the beef
For the pot
Method
Season the beef
Rinse the beef in cold water with the juice of the lime, then drain well.
Mix in the green seasoning, onion, garlic, tomato, salt, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Brown the beef
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the sugar and leave it to melt without stirring. When it bubbles and turns very dark amber, almost black at the edges, go straight to the next step. This takes 2 to 4 minutes; don't walk away.
Lift the beef out of its seasoning and add it to the pot carefully, as it will spit. Keep the seasoning in the bowl. Stir to coat every piece in the caramel.
Cook, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes until the beef is well browned.
Simmer until tender
Add the seasoning left in the bowl, the ketchup, 1 cup (240 ml) of the hot water and the whole pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat.
Cook for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring now and then and adding more hot water, about ½ cup (120 ml) at a time, whenever the gravy gets low.
If you are adding potatoes and carrots, put them in for the last 30 minutes.
The beef is ready when a piece breaks apart easily with a fork. Uncover and simmer for a few minutes if the gravy is thin.
Taste for salt, lift out the pepper without bursting it, and stir in the chadon beni.
Serve it with
Rice and peas or plain white rice
Provisions or ground provisions
A fresh salad
Substitutions
Pressure cooker: brown the beef in the cooker, add the seasoning, ketchup and 1½ cups (360 ml) water, and cook at high pressure for 35 to 40 minutes. Release, then simmer uncovered to thicken.
Browning sauce: 1 to 2 tbsp ready-made browning can replace the sugar step, with less caramel flavour.
Storing and reheating
Refrigerate in a covered container and eat within 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat covered with a splash of water until piping hot all the way through.
Cook's notes
Don't use a lean, quick-cooking cut: it turns dry and stringy in a long stew.
If the sugar burns black and smells acrid, start again; burnt browning makes the whole pot bitter.
