Meat is of no small importance in human nutrition, as it contains high-value proteins, a number of vitamins, micro and macro elements. Many people like meat dishes. Someone prefers to cook or fry it. But the most delicious, juicy, saturated, soft and healthy meat is obtained in the process of stewing.
Beef, lamb, pork, any bird (turkey, chicken) cooked in this way turns into an amazingly tasty and fragrant dish. In some recipes, the meat is slightly pre-fried and simmered for a long time in water or in a rich broth along with potatoes, sweet pepper, cabbage or other vegetables. The result is a great dinner for the family or a delicious treat for the festive table.
In addition, all kinds of sauces are often used for stew dishes: tomato, cream, soy and others. To give a more harmonious taste, do not forget about fresh herbs and spices. They are ideal companions for meat dishes. The meat can be stewed in small, large or portioned slices.
How to stew
The range of stew dishes is quite large. This includes meat from the oven, beef in sweet and sour sauce, stew, home-made roast, goulash, pilaf, etc. Lamb and beef are most often prepared in large pieces. To extinguish beef, the outer and lateral part of the hind leg, edge, shoulder or shoulder parts of the shoulder blades are mainly used. From veal, pork, goat and lamb for stewing, choose a shoulder blade or brisket.
Before stewing meat, large pieces of it are initially fried on all sides until a crispy crust appears. Then they are placed in a deeper bowl, then half-filled with any broth or water. After that, bring to a boil, close the lid and simmer, not giving much boil. To improve the taste and aroma of stew during cooking, chopped and fried onions, carrots, celery, parsley, parsnips, bay leaves, spices and peppers, peas, etc. are often added to it. In some recipes, stew dishes citric acid, grape wine, kvass are added. It must be borne in mind that herbs, spices and wine should be put in about 15-20 minutes before the end of the stew. Tomato is added to some dishes.
When stewing meat, cut into small pieces, it is placed in a bowl with the onion fried until golden and poured with broth or boiling water.
It is impossible to allow a strong boil during cooking, since the meat will turn out not so juicy, soft and aromatic.
Large pieces of meat when stewing need to be turned over several times. So they will reach readiness evenly. Typically, stewing lasts about two hours, depending on the size of the pieces and the type of meat itself.
The broth left after stewing dishes is excellent for preparing various sauces. Only it is necessary to first strain and remove fat.
The range of stew dishes is quite large. The best recipes we will consider later in the article.
Meat Stewing Methods
Stew dishes are usually prepared in two main ways:
- The meat is stewed with a side dish, with which they serve it to the table. A dish prepared in this way is even more aromatic and juicier. It turns out especially tasty if you cook it in clay pots.
- The meat is stewed without a side dish. It is prepared separately.
Stewed and Baked Meat Dishes
For baking, products are pre-cooked, cooked, stewed or fried until cooked, and then baked with a side dish, sauce or without it. To do this, use portioned pans or baking sheets. Temperature 220-280 ° C. Duration of baking in a pan at a temperature of 220-250 ° C - up to 30 minutes, on a baking sheet at a temperature of 250-280 ° C - about one hour.
The readiness of an oven-baked dish is determined by the formation on the surface of a fried beautiful crust, which is obtained by lubricating the top of the meat with sour cream or sprinkling it with grated cheese and crackers.
Roasting is carried out immediately before serving. It is undesirable to store the finished dish, because its organoleptic characteristics deteriorate. Served in a bowl where the product was baked, or laid out on portioned plates.
Sweet and Sour Beef Stew
There are many recipes for all kinds of dishes from stew and baked meat. One of them is beef in sweet and sour sauce. To prepare the dish you will need:
- a pound of beef;
- 40-50 g of fat;
- one or two onions;
- one tablespoon of tomato paste;
- one tablespoon of sugar;
- one tablespoon of vinegar 9%;
- two tablespoons of ground crackers;
- two tablespoons of wheat flour;
- one carrot;
- one parsley root;
- spices, salt, spicy greens.
Cooking
A dish of fried and stewed meat is prepared as follows:
- For stewing, meat cut into portions from the back leg is used.
- Beef is beaten a little, then pepper, salt and bread in flour.
- Prepared meat is laid in a pan heated with fat and fried on both sides until golden.
- Then it is transferred to a deeper bowl in a row, on top put chopped and lightly fried onions, carrots, parsley, tomato paste, salt to taste, pour broth or hot water so that the liquid covers the meat.
- Next, the dishes are covered with a lid and stewed for one hour.
- After that add sugar, rye crushed crackers, bay leaves, vinegar, ground pepper, reduce heat and continue to simmer until fully cooked.
As a side dish, meat is well suited for potatoes, pasta, boiled beans. Garnish, a portion of meat should be put on a plate, pour over the sauce formed during braising on top and sprinkle with herbs. A stew dish can be served.
Home-style roast with chicken and vegetables
Here is another wonderful dish, this time from chicken. For cooking you will need:
- 5-6 potatoes;
- 2 chicken legs;
- one carrot;
- a pair of onion heads;
- 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour;
- bay leaf;
- spices as desired.
Cooking sequence
Braised potato with chicken meat is prepared as follows:
- Chicken is cut into medium pieces. Fried in sunflower oil with onions and carrots.
- Cut potatoes into large cubes or rings. Pour two tablespoons of flour. Stir.
- Lay the potatoes. Pour water so that it completely covers the potatoes. Spice up. Cover the roast with a lid and then stew.
- About 10 minutes before the end of cooking add 3 bay leaves. After cooking, they need to be removed.
The dish is ready to serve!
Beef goulash with mashed potatoes and gravy
To cook a stew, you will need the following ingredients. For goulash:
- a pound of beef;
- one carrot;
- one onion;
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste;
- 1 tbsp. a spoon of sour cream;
- 1 tbsp. a spoon of flour;
- salt;
- Bay leaf.
To make mashed potatoes:
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- a glass of milk;
- butter;
- salt.
Cooking
Consider the technology of cooking stew dishes:
- The meat is cut, lightly fried, a small amount of boiling water is poured into it, grated carrots and diced onions are put, stewed with the addition of oil. Then pour a little more water so that it slightly covers the meat, stew until cooked for about one hour.
- About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, salt, add bay leaf, peppercorns.
- Mix one teaspoon of tomato paste and a tablespoon of flour and a half cup of warm water, add one tablespoon of sour cream, mix everything so that there are no lumps.
- Slowly poured into the meat, stirring all the time, stew all together for about 10 minutes.
- Boil the potatoes, knead to a puree condition, pour in the warmed milk, mix.
- Serve beef goulash with mashed potatoes and hot gravy.
Braised Pork with Bell Peppers and Mushrooms
To prepare this delicious dish, you must purchase the following set of products:
- 800 g of pork;
- 300 g of champignons;
- two sweet Bulgarian peppers;
- one carrot;
- one head of onion;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of tomato paste;
- salt;
- ground black pepper;
- dill.
Consider the technology of cooking stew dishes:
- Cut the meat into small pieces.
- Fried in oil until a beautiful golden crust is formed. After that, add onion, sliced in half rings, mix, fry for 3-5 minutes.
- Peppers chopped into strips, champignons, cut into quarters, grated carrots, tomato paste are poured into it. All are mixed.
- Pour a glass of water into the pan (a little more can be done), stew for about half an hour with little heat. Stir several times during cooking pork with sweet pepper and mushrooms.
- If necessary, you can add a little more water.
Lamb stew
We offer a recipe for a rather complicated hot stew. But the result is worth it. You will need:
- a pound of lamb;
- 500-600 grams of potato;
- 2 carrots;
- one turnip;
- parsley;
- one head of onion;
- 2 tbsp. tablespoons of tomato paste and the same amount of oil.
Cooking sequence
- The lamb shoulder or brisket is washed, tubular bones are removed, then chopped into pieces, sprinkled with salt and fried until a beautiful crispy crust is formed.
- Before the end of frying, sprinkle the meat with one tablespoon of flour. After that, put the lamb in a deep dish, add tomato paste, pour 2-3 cups of hot baud or broth, close the lid and put it to simmer on low heat.
- About one and a half to two hours after the start of the stew, the meat is transferred to a shallow saucepan. Add peeled, sliced and slightly fried vegetables: onions, carrots, parsley, potatoes, turnips, bay leaves and 7-8 pieces of peppercorns.
- All this is poured with strained sauce, which was obtained by stewing, and again set to cook for half an hour.
Serve the dish in a deep dish. Before serving, sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.
Cabbage with meat
Braised cabbage with meat is a very simple dish, but quite tasty and loved by many. Prepare it from fresh or sauerkraut. Cooking takes a minimum of time. It is best to use a pan or pan with a thick bottom. Consider the recipe for cooking cabbage with beef. But if you wish, you can use any meat that is at hand: pork, chicken, turkey fillet.
Recipe
For this dish we will need the following products:
- 1 kg of pulp of beef shoulder blade;
- one head of fresh cabbage;
- one carrot;
- one onion head;
- one tomato;
- a couple of sprigs of dill;
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil;
- salt and pepper.
We start to cook:
- Rinse the meat in cold water, dry it slightly, cut into medium pieces.
- Pour oil into the pan. When it is well heated, put the meat for roasting.
- Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, so that all the water from the meat evaporates.
- Fry the meat to a beautiful golden crust.
- Dice the onion and add to the meat, lightly fry, then add the grated carrot. Mix everything and cover.
- While stewing meat with vegetables, chop cabbage.
- Peel the peel from the tomato. To do this, you need to make a cross-sectional incision on it, so that it is easier to remove the skin, pour boiling water and let it stand for five minutes.
- Then rinse the tomato with cold water and remove the skin. Grate it. Then put in the pan and mix. This will replace tomato paste.
- Add chopped cabbage to a skillet where the meat is stewed. Mixing immediately with all the ingredients is not necessary, it is better to let the cabbage stew a little, because it will be much easier to mix the dish.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir the cabbage with meat and vegetables and simmer until simmered. It takes about 20 minutes.
- Add fresh dill to the finished dish, mix and leave on the fire for another five minutes.
Delicious, aromatic stewed cabbage with vegetables and meat is ready. Enjoy your meal!
Some Stewed Cabbage Tips
Initially prepared cabbage can be slightly fried in oil until a golden, pleasant shade is obtained. To make it cook evenly, mix it carefully. Then add water or broth and simmer over low heat under a closed lid until cooked.
If you put out the cabbage, adding a little cream, it acquires a completely different taste - more delicate and soft, with a pleasant creamy aroma. It should be noted that the cream is fatter, the tastier the dish will be.
If you wish, during stewing, you can add bell pepper, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, prunes. To give the dish a sweet and sour pleasant flavor, pour a spoonful of table vinegar 10 minutes before the end of the stew and add 15 g of sugar.
Beef baked in onion sauce
To prepare a dish of stew and baked meat you will need:
- 160 g of beef;
- 200 g of potatoes;
- 100 g sauce;
- 2 g crackers;
- 3 g of cheese;
- 5 g of table margarine.
300 g yield
The cooking process looks like this:
- Quench the meat in large pieces, then cut into portions.
- Cut boiled potatoes into slices or slices. You can make mashed potatoes and add raw eggs.
- Pour a small amount of sauce into a greased portioned pan, put 1-2 pieces of beef.
- Place potatoes around the meat or release mashed potatoes from a pastry bag, sprinkle with breadcrumbs or grated cheese, drizzle with oil and bake.
Serve the dish in a portioned pan, you can sprinkle it with chopped herbs.
Conclusion
So, we looked at how stews are prepared and called. Each of them is satisfying and healthy. Cooking them is not very difficult. Delight your loved ones with a delicious lunch or dinner. Enjoy your meal!