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Stewed Beef Steak
364. Fry a tender steak in the usual way, but lightly, with the onions, turnips, and carrots; then stew as above, and it will be better flavoured than when in a large mass. It may be done with or without the carrots and turnips. If without them, the gravy must be flavoured with Worcestershire sauce and anchovy, and thickened with a little flour or arrowroot.
A brief variation on the stewed beef that precedes it in the book, written for a cook who already knows the master method: sear, then braise low and slow in a covered pan. The instruction that matters is "lightly" — the frying is for colour only, and the tenderness comes from the stew.
- "Stew as above"The recipe depends on the preceding entry for liquid, vessel and time. In practice: brown the meat and vegetables, add stock or water barely to cover, and hold at a bare simmer, tightly covered, until the meat yields to a fork.
- Cut of meatThe recipe says "a tender steak", which in this period could cover a thick slice of rump or blade as readily as a grilling cut. For a stew of this length a cut with some connective tissue -- chuck, blade or thick flank, about 1 to 1.5 inches thick -- will hold up better than a modern sirloin or ribeye.
- TimingReckon on 1.5 to 2.5 hours at a simmer, depending on the cut and thickness. The meat is done when a fork slides in with no resistance, not when a clock says so.
- Fry lightly"Lightly" points to colour rather than a hard sear, the actual cooking being left to the stew. Medium-high heat, a couple of minutes a side, then into the liquid.
- The vegetable versionTurnips and carrots go in with the frying, so they will be very soft by the end. If you want them intact as a garnish, add a second batch in the last 30 minutes.
- Worcestershire and anchovyIn the no-vegetable version these supply the savoury depth the roots would have given. A teaspoon of Worcestershire and one or two anchovy fillets mashed into the gravy is about right for four servings; both are salty, so season at the end.
- ThickeningFlour needs a few minutes of simmering to lose its raw taste; arrowroot thickens on contact and breaks down if boiled hard or held long, so stir it in off the heat at the very end. Use roughly a tablespoon of flour or two teaspoons of arrowroot per pint of gravy.
- YieldNot stated. A steak of about 1.5 lb with the roots will serve three to four with potatoes or bread.