Indian Creek 100% Grass-Fed Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds grass-fed boneless stew beef
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
2 cups water or broth
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
2 TBSP blackberry moonshine or equivalent
2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
3 TBSP ketchup
Hot sauce to taste
2 tsp brown sugar
½ cup green beans or peas
3-4 potatoes diced in one inch squares
2-3 carrots chopped thinly
1 TBSP cornstarch

Instructions:

Thaw the stew beef in the refrigerator overnight and then let it sit at room temperature until ready to cook.
Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in a cast iron cooking pot and heat to medium high temperature.
Add onion, pepper, and garlic and stir.
Cook until onion is translucent.
Add stew beef and brown on medium high heat.
Add 2 cups of water, allspice, salt, pepper, paprika, moonshine, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, and brown sugar and stir well.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for 3-4 hours.
Check meat for tenderness.
Add beans or peas, potatoes, and carrots and cook just at the boil for 1-1/2 more hours.
Be careful not to burn the bottom.
When meat and vegetables are completely cooked, add several tablespoons of the broth to the cornstarch and make a paste.
Thin the paste with broth until it can be poured and mixed into the stew.
Bring the stew to boil again to thicken.

Serve with crusty French bread and a green salad.

This recipe makes use of the “high-low” method of cooking grass-fed beef discussed in Stanley A. Fishman’s Tender Grassfed Meat. Because grass-fed beef has less fat than grain-finished beef, it is best to brown the meat on a medium high heat rather than high heat. Then lower the temperature for the remainder of the cooking. And for really tender beef stew or roast beef, we cook it at 200 degrees in the oven overnight.