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Winter Cranberry Beef Stew
I’ve seen the cranberry sauces come along, each and every one of them. And even though I really do like cranberry sauce, there’s so much more you can do with these little red flavor bombs. How about incorporating some of them in a straightforward beef stew? This turned out to be an absolutely mind-blowing combination, all the flavors came together in a beautiful way. The sweetness of the cranberries is terrific with the beef and onions and the red wine definitely adds body to the stew.
Ingredients:
2 pounds fat-streaked stew beef
5 oz bacon
2 cups cranberries
2 large onions
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp molasses
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef bouillon
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp dried thyme
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Optional: garlic
This is a little over 2 pounds beef stew. Pat the beef cubes dry with a paper towel.
Combine 2 tbsp flour with 1/2 a tsp sweet paprika powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp salt.
Finely mince two large onions.
Lazy cook alert, I took a shortcut and bought cubed bacon.
Cook the bacon ‘til slightly brown but not crispy and remove it from the pan.
Heat 2 tbsp butter. I’m a Dutch girl so I use Croma, it’s the best butter there is! And the name of an Italian car.
Quickly brown the beef. I should have browned this in 2 or maybe even 3 batches, but I was somewhat in a hurry. Remove the beef from the casserole.
Sautee the onions in the bacon and beef grease for about 5 minutes. I was cooking for someone who hates garlic, but if you want to add some, this is your cue.
Throw the bacon and beef in with the onions and sprinkle the spiced up flour all over. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes over low heat. Stir in a heaping tbsp tomato paste and cook the tomato paste for about a minute.
Another big flavor maker is molasses. Add 2 tbsp. For the Dutchies among you, use appelstroop.
Pour in 1 cup red wine and 2 cups beef bouillon. Add 3 bay leaves and 1 tsp dried thyme. Bring to a boil.
Don’t mind me, just showing off the Le Creuset I won with one of my recipes. Pop the lid on and simmer the stew, over low heat, for an hour and a half.
You gotta peek now and then. This is 30 minutes into the cooking process and it’s starting to smell pretty darn good at this point.
After an hour and a half, add 2 cups (washed) cranberries. Pop the lid back on and give the stew another hour.
One hour later the cranberries will have blended in with the gravy. Oh boy, I love the sight and smell of a good beef stew. Check the seasoning and adjust when need be. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves.
Beef stew the way beef stew was meant to be. The meat melted on your tongue and the golden brown gravy was nothing short of a flavor bomb. Heavenly. You can serve this with steamed rice and green beans, tagliatelle and steamed broccoli or simply a big bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes.
Kay’s Recipe Card
Click here for printable size.
| Winter Cranberry Beef Stew | |
| Ingredients |
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| Directions |
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| copyright © kayotickitchen.com | |
That looks gorgeous and the flavours sound like they’d go brilliantly together. One question – fresh cranberries are almost impossible to find here (Tel Aviv) – any chance dried (unsweetened) would work as well?
@Yaara:
I have no idea if dried cranberries would work. When I can’t find fresh cranberries, I buy frozen ones.
This looks incredible!
I like the use of cranberries, will definitely give it a go!
Wow, looks delish!!
Zo he, dat ziet er even lekker uit. Erg leuk blog, mooie foto’s. Blij dat ik je gevonden heb!
I love your idea, it looks fabulous. I will certainly be trying it.
And I love your pan.
This stew looks so hearty and delicious! Yummy.
This looks delicious Kay. And yes I want one of those le creuset pots to, but boy they are expensive. Are they really that good as they say? And what recipe did you turn in to win this good looking pot ;)
@Arrisje:
I submitted my Delicioso Chorizo and won an entire Le Creuset set. The pan, an oven dish in the same color, a spatula and brush.
Oh yes. I had a Jamie Oliver pan, everything stuck to it, it started to chip weeks after I bought it, and I simply couldn’t regulate the heat with at all. This one is perfect.
Great use of cranberries! I love them, too, and always wish there was more I could do with them than relishes and breakfast breads. Now I simply must try this. Looks like beef stew will be on our table this weekend.
@KaY:
Congratulations girl! You deserve it. I am looking to buy one in Lime Green. Gotta save for it first……Now how long that will take I don’t know.
Off to set some venison stew meat out of the freezer right now! This looks so good.
Ok, nu wil ik dus echt wel een lekker koekje krijgen van Kay! Een virtueel koekje dan wel hé :)
Congratulations – you certainly deserve it! I jut found a Tramontina dutch oven on a clearance shelf, and I am enjoying making so many good meals/dishes with it.
I love cranberries, but would have never used them this way. I will now! Also, passing this along to a friend — who has been looking for good game meat recipes. I think this work splendidly!
Happy New Year… Amazing combination! I am looking forward to cooling weather and comfort food! This is on the top of the to make list!
Thank you for the great recipe. It’s ok to use pre cubed bacon as long as you get the bacon in there?
I think Le Creuset is the tops, particularly when cooking a stew.
@Brad
I’m all for lazy cooking :)
Hello Dutch girl :)
I just discovered your blog and it’s great! This recipe of yours looks delicious. I will definitely try it and let you know how it worked out.I have a question though. Where did you find the molasses in the Netherlands? I live in the Hague and can’t find any! Is appelstroop the same like you wrote?
I wish you a Happy New Year! All the best for you and your family.
Magda
@Magda
Happy new year to you and yours! I found it about a year ago in a webstore that I really wouldn’t recommend, high priced, shipping fees that are outrageous and terrible customer service. Appelstroop will give you the exact same effect!
@Magda: You might want to check your local Surinamese tokos for molasses. The
oops! Don’t know what happened. Anyway I was just going to say that our local toko has it. Good luck!
Kay, I made this last night with venison stew meat and it was Divine! Thanks.
@Mark:
Great! Thanks for the tip. I also didn’t know that. Shouldn’t be too hard to find a Surinamese toko in Rotterdam. Afraid I’ll buy way too much products, though, so I need to do some special postings soon like my Roti Chicken :)
This looks so very good. I think I might try to make it in my crockpot. My husband must be on a gluten free diet and I can make this for him but I will use cornstarch instead of flour. You can almost SMELL this from your great photo!