Stewing

Stewing

Stews are cooked in all major cuisines and although the approaches vary, the process is always the same. Food is diced and cooked for a long time in a barely moving liquid to achieve maximum tenderisation. This allows the connective tissue and fibres of tough meats and vegetables to be broken down. This cookery method is very simple and often used in colder months, but you must do it correctly. The food should never be boiled rapidly as it will make the meat tough and dry.

Stews are cooked using any pot, casserole dish or special pots such as a tagine, crock pot or Roemertopf. The food is completely submerged in the liquid and in most cases no lid is placed on top. This allows some evaporation and a slight thickening of the sauce.

When preparing a stew, the food should be diced into even pieces. The stew can contain a mixture of vegetables and meat and is cooked slowly so that the flavours can escape into the liquid. Traditional meat stews include curries (India, Pakistan, South East Asia), goulash (Hungary, Austria, Germany), Irish stew (Ireland), chilli con carne (Spain and Latin America), pickelsteiner (German), jjigae (Korean), ratatouille, ragoût, blanquette and fricassée (French) and carbonnade of beef (Belgium). There are also many different regional interpretations of these dishes.

In general, European stews are started by frying the onions, then sealing the meat and/or vegetables prior to adding the liquid, which provides a lighter colour in the finished product and enriches the flavour of the liquid. Goulash, Irish stew and pickelsteiner use this approach. When making ragoût, you first brown the meat, then add the vegetables and alcohol is often added for extra flavour. The technique for making a curry varies according to region. Sometimes the meat is browned first, sometimes it is the onions. Sometimes the meat is not sealed at all.

When using a casserole dish the stew is cooked in the oven rather than on the cooktop, so that the heat is transferred evenly. The basic process, however, is still the same.

Stewing Vegetables, Legumes and Fruit

Stewing is used to break down fibres in vegetables. Tough vegetables such as cabbage, fennel, celery or witlof are often chopped up and then stewed to soften them, e.g. sauerkraut. Vegetables are often stewed in combination with meat, such as in an Irish stew and in curries.

Tomatoes are stewed to extract the moisture and concentrate the favour. They are often stewed in combination with other nightshade vegetables such as zucchini and eggplants when making Mediterranean dishes such as ratatouille. Tomatoes can also be cooked with legumes for dishes such as dhal.

Legumes such as lentils, peas and chickpeas are often used as a meat substitute in stews or as an accompaniment. Tougher fruits such as apples or quinces are often stewed to break down the fibres and release the pectin and flavour into the cooking liquor.

Stewing Farinaceous Items

Cereals are often stewed together with vegetables in vegetarian dishes. Couscous is often the "filling" component of Middle Eastern dishes. Pearl barley is used in many British dishes and rice is often added to stews for extra bulk. Pasta is not suitable for stews as the extended cooking time would make the pasta swell up as it absorbs all the liquid, then go mushy.

Stewing Dairy Items

Stewed cheese is used in Welsh rarebit. To make it, beer is heated and grated cheese, mustard and cayenne pepper are added. Indian stews sometimes use yoghurt as a base, with the addition of herbs and spices.

Stewing Protein Items

Stewing is used for tough meat cuts either from the forequarter, such as the neck, shoulder and shin/shank, or tougher hindquarter cuts like the shin/shank, as well as meat trimmings and offcuts. Stewing generally breaks down the collagen in meat and turns it into gelatine. The meat fibres are also softened and separate easily after cooking.

Meat is cut into even dice 2-3cm in size, so that much of the collagen can be released into the sauce. During the stewing process the flavours in the meat are released into the sauce and contribute to the aroma of the finished dish. The meat ends up tender and the sauce obtains a rich, meaty flavour.

When making ragoûts, the meat is sealed in hot fat, then removed. The remaining ingredients are browned in a pot then the meat is added and barely covered with stock. It is then cooked very slowly, with barely perceptible movement, until the meat is tender. White ragoûts such as fricassée should only be sealed lightly to minimise the colour in the sauce.

When making goulash the onions are sweated without colour, rather than fried. The meat is then added and sealed without adding much colour, then tomato paste and/or paprika are added. This mixture is roasted slightly, then chopped marjoram, caraway seeds, lemon zest and garlic are added. The mixture is barely covered with stock and stewed gently until the meat is tender.

Irish stew also follows this process where the onions are sweated first, the meat is sealed without too much colour and then the remaining ingredients are added at various stages, according to the required cooking times. Blanquettes are different in as far as the meat is poached first and then removed. The poaching liquor is used to make a velouté sauce and once the sauce is cooked, the meat is returned to it.

The method for making curries and Asian stews varies. In some areas the meat is sealed in fat first, in others the onions are sweated before the meat is sealed. In other areas the sauce is started first, then the diced meat is added without being sealed.

Chef's Hint: Do not boil meat rapidly in the hope that it will speed up the cooking process. This will only make the meat stringy and tough. Use the correct technique!

Poultry and game stews are made from tougher cuts, trimmings and diced leg meat. The process is the same as for meat stews but flavours such as juniper berries, gin, forest fruit and wild mushrooms are used to balance the flavours. Consider seasonality of ingredients and ethnic origin when choosing accompaniments for poultry and game dishes. In Europe the hunt took place in autumn, so autumn fruits and wild mushrooms were used as accompaniments to game.

Seafood stews often use cheaper fish and were traditionally cooked by fisherman to use up the leftover fish that they could not sell at the markets. These regional specialties are often simple dishes, using a basic stock or sauce and whole seafood.

Stews are often cooked in advance and in large amounts. Once the stew is refrigerated the fat solidifies on the top and can be taken off easily. The stew can then be reheated to order. Reheated stew has a more intense flavour.