Success and Failures - Tuscan Beef stew vs Short Ribs with Polenta

Two recipes for beef with polenta, one uses short ribs and the other beef stew meat.  Tender beef and creamy polenta, sounds dreamy doesn’t it?   It is. 

I roughly followed this epicurious version of Tuscan Beef Stew with Polenta.  The original recipe did not call for beef broth, but I thought braising with only red wine sounded too winey, and if there is anything I hate it is whiners.  I do like wine though. 

Here’s what you need:

Olive oil

½ yellow onion

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1 lb of beef “stew meat”
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth, this was my own addition I wanted more beef flavor. 
3 whole tomatoes , I used canned (about half of the 29.5oz can)

Thyme, I only had dried and chopped so used a pinch of that.

Salt & Pepper

Here's what I did:

I used my big Le Crueset that I do not get to use very often because it is massive. Start by swirling a couple glugs of olive oil in there, enough to coat the bottom.

While that is warming on med heat, dice half a yellow onion and add that to your pot. 

Let the onions cook for a few minutes while you chop up the carrots and celery.  Add them and allow all the vegetables to cook together for about 10 minutes.

Add the beef and brown it on each side, should take about 5 minutes.

Add the wine, beef broth, tomatoes and thyme, bring to a boil.

Hit it with salt and pepper, cover and reduce heat to medium low.

 Let the whole thing simmer, stirring occasionally for about two hours.  I set my alarm for an hour and half and check every ten minutes after that. 

The meat should fall apart when you push on it with a spoon.

Polenta: I use this method and it works like a champ.  Basically 4 cups of water to 1 cup of polenta, stream polenta into simmering water on low heat, stir consistently for five minutes, reduce heat to low, cover the pot with foil and leave it for 25 minutes.

When you return stir the whole mixture together, viola delicious, non-clumped, corn gruel or porridge.  Not a solid chunk of corn cement.  (heh, I like the solid clump but for this dinner I want the liquidy polenta)

Next toss in some butter and some grated parmesan.  Now look away while your other hand adds some more butter. Done!

I made the stew on Sunday and cooked the polenta on Monday after work while the stew was re-heating.  I also melted 1 tablespoon of butter in pan and added about a tablespoon of flour.  I stirred that until it was a goldy brown color and had no flour clumps and then added that to the stew to thicken it up a bit.  Yum, you can also make a little thickening paste with about a tablespoon of stew juice and a tablespoon of flour.  You are going for a liquid consistency. with no lumps of flour.  Stir that together so all the bits of flour are incorporated and then add that to the stew. 

Ladle some polenta into a bowl, top with stew and dig it, it’s delicious.  Success!

Tomorrow the same dish and yet, less delightful