Top Tips how to make the best-ever stew

Stews. God, I love them.

Though the summer is my favourite season, secretly I look forward to the colder months so I have the excuse to wear my colourful faux fur collection. But more importantly, enjoy bowls of hot steaming stew. 

Stews are essentially chunky soups. Chopped up ingredients that are enhanced in a cooking liquid to create something wonderful.

But stews sometimes can feel daunting, as the number of components and time it takes to cook can have you opting for quick meals. However, there is something so warming and comforting that a stew provides that no other dish can.

This post will help you overcome your stew fears. Below you will find an outline of the key steps. Plus easy tips to create the best-ever stew. From how to enhance the flavour of each ingredient, to how to cook every element confidently.

Here are my top tips to creating the best-ever stew

Time

Building flavour, flavour, and more flavour is key to a good stew. That means time is needed to enhance your ingredients. However, before I put you off from cooking a gorgeous stew, it’s important to note that what you require is a little patience while it’s simmering away rather than spending hours messing about with your ingredients. Granted, a stew isn’t necessarily something you can whip up quickly after work (my fish stew is an exception). However, with a little planning, who says you can’t have it bubbling away while you’re busy doing other house tasks. Plus, stews are great for batch cooking and most can be saved for a rainy day in the freezer,

Flavour combination

Next, you will want to decide what type of stew you would like to enjoy. What are you craving? Meat vs. vegetarian, earthy vs spicy. Here are some fool-proof flavour combinations

• Chicken tarragon lemon, capers
• Beef loves bay, rosemary and olives.
• Fish loves fennel, tomato and chilli.
• Beans and green vegetables work beautifully with fresh soft herbs like basil, parsley and mint.

It’s all about that base

A good stew starts with a fabulous base and in the world of Italian cooking, a ‘soffrito’ is the beautiful aromatic combination for all soups, stews and ragus. Usually two parts onions, one part carrot, and one part celery, gently frying these vegetables will help release the aromas and flavours. Plus, I love to add a good pinch of salt to help release their natural juices and start with a well-seasoned base. It’s also important to note that the smaller you chop up the vegetables the quicker their juices will be released while cooking. A great tip is to choose a smaller chop for shorter cooking times and a larger chop for longer cooking times. However, whatever size you choose, try to chop them the same size so that they cook evenly.

Pimp up with spices and herbs

Adding spices or dried herbs to your soffrito base will help release their natural oils which will add more flavour. So it’s important to think of spices and herbs that will complement your main ingredients.

• Chicken tarragon lemon, capers
• Beef loves bay, rosemary and olives.
• Lamb works brilliantly with ground cumin and coriander, dried apricots and fresh ginger.
• Fish loves fennel, tomato and chilli.
• Beans and green vegetables work beautifully with fresh soft herbs like basil, parsley and mint.

Don’t forget to deglaze

A lot of recipes will ask for wine, beer or water to be added to a stew without explaining its real purpose. It’s added to deglaze a pan. When you sear meat or sweat vegetables, browned bits are created at the bottom of the pan. By adding a splash of wine, beer or water you’re lifting the sediments off the base releasing more flavour and enhancing the stew. BOOM!!

Stock

Stock is added to a stew to not only help cook but to also add flavour. However, the choice of stock is very important so as not to overpower your key ingredients.

• Vegetable and chicken stock are great choices for fish, vegetable and chicken stews
• Fish stock – only use if you need to enhance the fish flavour element of your dish
• Beef or other meat – These are very rich and should only be used to enhance the meat flavour as it will overpower any other key ingredients.

How to maximise key ingredient flavours

Stews are so versatile. You can create so many different flavours and textures across various main ingredients. However, it’s important to understand the best way to maximise their flavours.

Meat

• Fattier meat will give you the best flavour.
• Searing and caramelising the meat in equal size chunks will add more flavour to the pan before carrying on creating your stew base
• Cook the meat in simmering liquid until the muscle has broken down and tenderised. The longer you cook, the better.

Chicken

• Cook chicken with skin and on the bone for the best flavour. 
• Brown the chicken skin-side first until it has melted and rendered which will provide more flavour
• Cook the meat in simmering liquid for about 30-45 minutes. Cooking it for longer may dry out the meat.

Fish

Fish is the quickest non-vegetarian stew. Unlike meat and chicken, you add fish towards the end of the cooking time. Fish only has to be poached in the cooking liquid for 4-8 minutes, otherwise, you’re at risk of overcooking it.

Veggies

By roasting and frying your key vegetables first, you’re creating body, texture and sweetness to your finished stew. If you were to cook your ingredients only in the cooking liquid you’re going to end up with soggy vegetables which can create a boring unenjoyable stew.

How to thicken up your stew

The last thing you want is a watery stew. The easiest way to thicken it up is by adding a little flour to either your base or stirring in a roux (fat and flour paste).

However, there are other ways to add more texture to your stew

• Grains like, rice, pearl barley, farro and pasta can give your stew extra body
• Pulses and lentils add extra protein and keep you fuller for longer
• Potatoes are a cheap and easy way to bulk up a stew 

Lid on, Lid off

There is an opportunity for both when cooking a gorgeous stew. After you bring your stew to a gentle simmer it’s important to cook with the lid on as it helps to trap the liquid inside, cook the ingredients evenly, enhance the combination of flavours and prevent the ingredients from drying out. HOWEVER, if your stew is looking watery, remove the lid to help evaporate the excess liquid. which will help concentrate the stew’s flavour.

Finish off your stew

To finish off your best-ever stew

• Make sure you taste and season your stew as needed. You can add salt and pepper. However, you can also add a number of other ingredients to enhance your flavours. For example, lemon zest or a drop of vinegar can help to brighten it up if tasting a little fatty, or honey or brown sugar to sweeten it up or paprika or chilli to give it more depth.
• Serve with croutons or breadcrumbs to give a lovely crunchy texture.
• Extra virgin olive oil, flavoured olive oil or pesto works really well with a vegetarian chicken or fish stew.

Those are my top tips to create the best-ever stew; EASY, SEXY, HEALTHY. Like with good home cooking, it’s understanding flavour and knowing how to cook your key components. It doesn’t have to be hard or stressful so I hope this post will show you how to elevate your food while cooking confidently a stew you will love to eat.

If you would love to perfect a stew, why not join the Sauce club -6-week fun online cooking course to help build your kitchen confidence.