One of my most-requested recipes has been my "Blizzard Stew with Herbed Dumplings" that I originally created in December 2009. Yesterday I thought I'd revise the recipe and republish it with the changes I've made over the years.
Although it's not BBQ, it is Good Eats (sorry AB).
Hope you all enjoy it.
Beef Stew with Herbed Dumplings
(Rev. 2.0 Nov 2012)
The key to making this stew is like any other cooking… do all the prep work ahead of time and have everything ready when it’s needed. Diced the vegetables into bite-size pieces, you shouldn’t need a knife for stew. This stew, like any stew or chili, is better after resting for a day but even without the rest, it’s pretty tasty. It has a medium heat level; adjust the heat level by adding more chiles or crushed red pepper flakes if desired.
My preference is to use a 10-inch deep Lodge cast iron skillet to prepare the stew but you may use any stockpot you have. Be careful not to have the meat stick to the bottom of the pot.
1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about one pound trimmed)
1 pound top round, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons shortening (Crisco is good)
Coarse kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked Hungarian paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic (about three cloves)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup dark roux (Savoie’s or homemade)
4 California bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
8 to 10 cups homemade beef stock, divided
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, divided
2 tablespoons seeded and finely diced hot chiles (one medium Jalapeño or three serranos)
1/4 teaspoon fresh Birdseye chiles with seeds, finely diced (about four chiles)
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion (one small onion)
2 cups Baby Bliss or Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered (about 10 one-ounce potatoes)
1 1/2 cups diced parsnips or yams (two to three yams or parsnips)
1 cup sliced carrots (one large carrot)
1 cup sliced leeks
1 cup diced turnip (about 1/2 medium turnip)
1 1/2 cups sliced celery (about three ribs)
3/4 cup quartered button or small crimini mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped red, green or orange bell pepper (about one-half large pepper)
Heat the shortening in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meat in batches and brown well. Season the meat with salt, pepper and paprika. (Don’t crowd the meat in the pan or it will steam and not brown.)
When the meat is nicely browned, add the garlic and tomato paste, cook briefly. Add the roux and cook, stirring, for three minutes. Add the bay leaves, rosemary, basil, thyme, cumin, allspice and four cups of the beef stock. Stir to combine. Add the sugar, Worcestershire and 1/4 cup parsley. Add another two cups of stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer of 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is barely tender.
Add the chiles, onion, potatoes, parsnips (or yams), carrots, leek and turnip. Add more stock and roux if necessary to cover the vegetables (add one tablespoon roux for every two cups of stock). Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the celery, cook for another 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper, cook for another five minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
(If serving with dumplings, spoon out enough liquid so the vegetables and meat are exposed. Reserve the liquid. Prepare and cook the dumplings according to the recipe below. Remove dumplings and return the reserved liquid to the pot.)
Ladle the stew into warmed serving bowls and garnish with remaining parsley.
Herbed Dumplings
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon poppy or caraway seeds
Combine all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Using two tablespoons form the dough into quenelle-shaped dumplings and drop onto the simmering stew. (The dumpling dough will come off the spoons easier if the spoons are dipped in hot stock or water before forming.) Cover and cook 15 to 18 minutes. (The dumplings are done when a toothpick inserted into the dumpling comes out cleanly.)
Transfer the dumplings to a warmed plate.
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