Stew is a delicious dish that can decorate the table on holidays and weekdays. You can cook it together with a vegetable side dish or as an independent dish, with a side dish served separately.
Meat preparation
Most often, parts of the carcass are used for cooking stews that are not suitable for frying or minced meat. With proper processing, even rather tough pieces will become tender. It is better to stew meat in a thick-walled saucepan. You can use a gosper or cast iron. Some housewives prefer to stew meat in clay pots in the oven.
Often, to make the meat tender and juicy, it is pre-marinated. The easiest way is to soak the slices in milk for half an hour, and only then start frying. If you chop the meat for stewing finely, you can fry it along with the root vegetables.
When preparing meat for stewing, it is necessary to rinse it and separate it from the bones. If the meat is supposed to be stewed in large pieces, it is advisable to slightly beat them off. It is recommended to fry the meat in vegetable oil before stewing until the characteristic golden crust appears. Otherwise, the finished product will acquire a not very appetizing color. In addition, the crust formed on the surface of the pieces will not release juice from the meat.
How to stew meat correctly
The fried meat is transferred to a saucepan and poured with water so that it completely covers all the pieces. Heat the contents of the container to a boil over high heat. Then, spices, bay leaf and salt are added to the saucepan to taste, they continue to simmer the meat until cooked, reducing the heat. The container is tightly closed with a lid to prevent the broth from boiling over.
The broth in the saucepan should not boil during the entire cooking time. When stewing, meat is rather not boiled, but simmering over low heat. You can gradually add vegetables such as onions, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers to the stewpan.
Wine and fresh herbs, if used in a recipe, should be added about 15-20 minutes before the end of cooking. These ingredients will add flavor to the dish. The readiness of the meat is determined by the softness of the pieces.
The braising time varies greatly depending on the type of meat. For example, after boiling water, chicken is stewed for only 30-40 minutes. The beef will take much longer to cook, about 2 hours. If the meat is tough, it will take longer to cook a really tender dish.
Sometimes in the process of stewing meat, excess broth remains. It can be used to prepare first courses.
