Seems like an unlikely title for a blog post, but someone just wrote and asked me about the stew beef in this recipe. The writer complains of it being tough. My houseguest, who is actually a much more competent and adventurous cook than I, also had a run-in with it lately. So it seems like a post on stew beef is needed. This isn’t the only way to do it, but it’s the way I do it.

The main thing you need to know is that you cannot just go buy a package of stew beef, dump it in something, and then dish it up a short amount of time later. Well, you can, but it will indeed be tough. Stew beef cannot just be used. It must be dealt with. Plan on enough time to go through the process.

So first, you get out your cutting board and a knife you like that has a fairly sharp blade. Trim all the beef in your package. This means that you cut off all the bits that aren’t meat — connective tissue, fat, whatever. While you’re at it, cut the hunks in half if they’re too big to be bite sized.

Then, get out your heavy-bottomed skillet* and heat it fairly hot. Brown the meat in small batches. If you put it all in there at once, you’ll stew it, not brown it. In between batches, deglaze the pan. Dump the results (and the beef) into your stew pot. This is important for two reasons: if you don’t deglaze, you’ll end up with a bunch of burnt crap all over your nice heavy pan. And loosening all the brown bits with the liquid gives whatever you’re making that much more flavor.

OK. You’ve browned and deglazed and browned and deglazed and kept on going until you’re done. Good job. Add the rest of liquid (stock, vegetable juice, whatever) to your stew pot. Dice up an onion and a bunch of garlic and toss them in there, too. Add spices (remembering that you can always adjust their levels later.) Put on a lid and let the whole thing simmer — not boil — for two or three hours. Then add in the rest of your ingredients according to cooking times.

Voila. Beef stew made with tender stew beef. Serve with a festive adult beverage. You deserve it.

*You do own a heavy ass skillet, don’t you? If not, get one. Cast iron, even, if you’re willing to deal with the seasoning process. Here’s the rule of thumb: if you couldn’t kill someone with the pan, or at least inflict serious damage, then it’s not worth having.