So I’m looking at what’s left of this pot of stew I made a couple of days ago. It’s like 90% beef and few veggies left.
This is obviously easy enough to remedy (Although, I don’t think I can be bothered to cut up and boil more potatoes), my question is: Why do I seem to struggle so much with the portions? Because looking at everything in the crock pot before it was cooked; it looked like it was going to be too much veggies and not enough beef.
Is there a rule of thumb to help me judge this better?
I’ve made some great all-veggie stews! You start with a mongo zucchini…
For my carnivorous family, I’d estimate my stews being approximately 50% beef. Potatoes would be number two. But this is guesswork only. My stews are made in the crockpot. Start with meat, add veg until the pot is 2/3 to 3/4 full.
I use V8 juice for the liquid. It adds more flavor.
I tend to agree; the beef in beef stew is more than a flavoring ingredient, but less than the bulk of the dish. 1/3 sounds about right- maybe 40% would also work. But you have to have plenty of room for vegetables and starchy stuff (mostly potatoes).
I agree with Tripolar. One third meat, one third potatoes, one third everything else. It’s not an exact science though.
I’m more concerned about the ratio of solid to liquid. Sometimes my stew is like a soup, and other times it’s more like meat with a layer of sauce on it. I try to err on the side of less liquid, because I know the meat and veggies have a lot of water in them that will come out during cooking. It’s still hit or miss though.
Stupid diabetes … I tend to follow in a vague sort of way the food pyramid, mostly veggies and starches [potatoes, grains like barley, turnips or rutabagas] with about 8 oz meat per pot [I tend to cook for me alone a lot of the time - mrAru was military and spent about 2/3 of his career sea duty/deployed/detached] and whatever herbs and seasonings I feel like throwing in, with minimal salt. So, for 1 person 4 oz meat, half cup each of carrots, celery, onions, potato, cabbage/bok choy, barley. Ends up being effectively more than enough for me .
Are you using cuts with more connective tissue in them, like shank or the like? They tend to make the broth more unctuous and less soupy. Means you can get away with a little more liquid without losing mouthfeel.
The unanswered questions: How many people was this stew for, and what was the meat/veggie ratio of their servings? This is the likely culprit. I always find that I take way more vegetables than meat when I dish out stew for myself.
My basic assumption is that one portion for one person is 4oz (100g) of each of meat, starch (potatoes) and whatever additional vegetables you like. Though most green veg wouldn’t (to me) be palatable cooked within a stew and would need to be cooked separately.
I agree that boeuf bourguignon is much more substantially meat, but that’s one among many similar ways of preparing meat rather than a one-pot meal in itself.
I tend to do, by weight: 1 unit beef. 1/3 - 1/2 unit onion. 1/2 unit potato. 1/2 unit mixed vegetables (carrot, celery or celery root, parsnip, turnip, whatever.) Something in that ballpark. Maybe sometimes up the beef to 1.5 units. My most basic beef stew is just beef & onions in the ratio of 1 part beef to 1/3-1/2 onion, and just spices for the rest. Only add enough water to keep things from burning (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup at most – the beef and onion render a lot of water as they cook.)