FOOD NEWS
The Unconventional Method Alton Brown Has For Beef Stew
BY Julia Holland
As seen in an episode of the popular Food Network show "Good Eats," celebrity chef Alton Brown’s beef stew cooking method is completely out of the realm of conventional protocol.
Brown uses short ribs, unlike common stew cuts like boneless flank, chuck, or skirt steak. Instead of browning the ribs in the stew pot, he first sears them on a cast iron griddle.
He then tosses them in a pasty marinade of Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, and smoky paprika and slow-roasts them in a foil pouch at 250° F for four hours.
This gives them a nice flavor, crispy skin, and tenderness, while producing juice and fat that Brown uses to develop complexity in place of seasonings typically added to the broth.
Brown cuts a small hole in the aluminum foil pouch housing the ribs to drain the juice into a container. He then refrigerates it so that the fat solidifies on top of the liquid.
He plucks out the solidified fat and uses some to fry onions and coat the potatoes. The rest of the liquid is poured over the veggies with water to create the stew's broth.
Additionally, Brown doesn't layer the beef onto the veggies and simmer it in broth. As the veggies and broth simmer, he de-bones the ribs and removes any fat or gristle.
He then adds them to the stew pot and simmers it all for 10 more minutes. His method may take time, but it consolidates the stew’s ingredients and really amps up the beefy flavor.