Recipes / Pot
The old realm · main quest · Pot
Beef Stewed with Onions & Cloves
The Castle Kitchen Stew
Beef braised low and slow with a mountain of onions, a whisper of cloves and mace, and parsley and sage, then thickened at the end with bread soaked in vinegar. It's after Beef y-stewed in The Forme of Cury, the English royal cookbook of about 1390, with more vegetables and less fat.
At the table: In a slow cooker on warm, at 140°F or above, up to 4 hours.
Not yet table-tested. This recipe is written from standard, well-known methods and has not been through our test tables yet. The badge changes when it has.
Crafting formula
TrainsBladeFireTime
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As written: a slow one-pot braise.
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Brown the beef in three batches for a deeper crust, and deglaze the pot with the vinegar before the broth goes in. Then finish the gravy with toasted bread instead of soaked.
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Make your own beef stock from roasted bones, onion and carrot (simmer 4 hours, strain), and bake barley bread for the table.
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Plate it as the lord's dish: the beef in neat pieces on a warm platter, the gravy strained and glossy, glazed carrots alongside, and a scatter of parsley and crisp-fried onions.
Cooking at Hearth. The dish as written. Simple, honest, done well.
Stock your pantry to see what you are missing.
Why nowChuck is one of the cheaper beef cuts and the best one for a long braise. Two pounds, with carrots and onions, feed six.
Ingredients
As written: About 9 cups.
Kosher salt means Diamond Crystal. With Morton kosher salt, use about half.
Method
Pat the beef dry and season it with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef in two batches, about 6 minutes a batch. Move it to a bowl.
Look forA deep brown crust on two sides. Crowded meat steams grey, so leave space between the pieces.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the last tablespoon of oil, the onions and a pinch of salt, and cook 10 to 12 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the cloves and mace for 30 seconds.
Look forThe onions are soft, golden and much smaller.
Return the beef and its juices with the broth, bay leaves, sage and the rest of the salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down as low as it goes. Simmer 1½ hours.
Look forBarely bubbling. Check now and then, and add a splash of water if it looks dry.
Add the carrots, cover, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes more.
Look forThe beef falls apart when you press it with a spoon.
In a small bowl, soak the bread in the vinegar and a ladle of the hot broth, and mash it smooth with a fork. Stir it into the stew and simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Take out the bay leaves, stir in the parsley and taste for salt.
Look forThe gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon.
Make ahead
Better the next day. Keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes 3 months. Lift off any fat that sets on top, and reheat until steaming hot all the way through.
Holding
In a slow cooker on warm, at 140°F or above, up to 4 hours.
Allergens
Contains wheat (bread). Always check labels on packaged ingredients.
Notes
Gluten-free: skip the bread. At the end, stir in 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water and simmer 2 minutes.
Slow cooker: brown the beef and onions as written, then cook everything but the bread, vinegar and parsley on low 7 to 8 hours. Finish as in step 5.
Mace is the lacy outer coat of the nutmeg and tastes like a softer nutmeg. Medieval kitchens used both.
Tavern Night
This dish's twist table (d6)
| 1–2 | The classic stands. No twist. Cook it as written. |
|---|---|
| 3 | Herb swap. Swap the sage for thyme and add a few crushed juniper berries with the cloves |
| 4 | Acid strike. Cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar |
| 5 | Plating challenge. Serve over barley or with oat flatbreads to mop the gravy |
| 6 | Host's boon. The Host picks any twist above, or the table invents one. The safety rule still applies. |
Roll before you start cooking. No twist ever changes a time, a temperature or how done something must be.