Beef Stew with Dumplings #SoupSwappers

I’m back with this month’s Soup Saturday Swappers!  This month’s theme, English Stews, was chosen by Sneha from Sneha’s Recipe.

English stews are actually pretty hard to come by.  I found lots of stews shared by British chefs, but does that automatically make it a British stew?  I say no.  Just because I learned how to make croissants does not automatically make them an American food.

After quite a lot of searching, I came across a couple recipes for British Beef Stew with Suet Dumplings.  Finally – something that sounded like it might have originated in England!

Now, since I’m in the US, suet is not a pantry staple.  Suet appears to be a type of rendered beef fat, so, like I do for anytime anything calls for rendered fat, I substituted bacon grease. 

The stew itself starts with some beef seared stove top.  Then all manner of yumminess and some broth are added and the stew gets to braise in the oven for a couple hours.

Meanwhile, the dumplings are made and added for the last 20 minutes of the cooking time.

The verdict:  The stew was delicious, but the dumplings were not.  The dumplings were dense and had an odd, greasy texture.  I ended up tossing the dumplings and serving the stew with some crackers.

If I were to make this again, I’d completely forgo the dumplings.  I don’t know if my bacon dripping substitution is the root of my failed dumplings or if I just don’t like dumplings in my stew!

Beef Stew with Dumplings

Adapted from The Spruce

Stew

2 tbsp oil

1 lb stew meat, cut in bite sized pieces

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp red wine

3 leeks, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

1 onion, diced

Salt & pepper

4 cups beef broth

1 tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh oregano

1 small handful fresh basil, minced

Dumplings

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

Dash of salt

¼ cup suet or bacon drippings

4-6 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Place the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the meat and brown on all sides. 

Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine.  Add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with flour and continue cooking for an additional 1 minute.  Deglaze with more wine, taking care to scrape all of the browned on bits off the bottom of the pan. 

Pour the beef, broth, salt & pepper, and herbs.  Bring to a simmer, cover, then place in the oven to cook for 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, bacon drippings, and water to form a dough.  Roll the dough into small balls and place in the stew.  Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the dumplings are tender and puffy.

Serves 4

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Beef Stew with Dumplings

by Amy's Cooking Adventures June-17-2017

This hearty English stew is perfect for cool evenings #soupswappers

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 pound stew meat
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 3 leeks
• 3 carrots
• 1 onion
• dash salt & pepper
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 bunch basil
• 3 springs oregano
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon bakign powder
• dash salt
• 1/4 cup suet
• 4 tablespoons water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides. Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine. Add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and continue cooking for an additional 1 minute. Deglaze with more wine, taking care to scrape all of the browned on bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour the beef, broth, salt & pepper, and herbs. Bring to a simmer, cover, then place in the oven to cook for 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, bacon drippings, and water to form a dough. Roll the dough into small balls and place in the stew. Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the dumplings are tender and puffy.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 15 mins Yield: 4 servings