Despite the incredible variety of edible foods and the dishes that people have invented to prepare from them, humanity has not invented many ways to prepare them. Roughly speaking, there are hardly a couple of dozen cooking methods in total, and those that most people use in everyday cooking can be counted on the fingers of one hand. One of them is stewing, a method that allows you to get tasty and nutritious dishes for eaters of any age, and from very inexpensive products: the same stew is one of the best dishes in terms of cost-to-result ratio.
It is this last feature of stewing that has led to its enormous popularity, because preparing some delicacy is usually a quick and easy task, while sometimes you have to rack your brains over “simpler” products. Stewing removes all these problems, requiring nothing in return - a little patience, so this cooking method is one of the most universal, win-win, and at the same time well-known. You probably cook stewed meat, fish and vegetables quite often, and if you are not sure that you know everything about stewing, read on: in this guide, I have collected all the information on how to prepare the most delicious stews in the world.
I usually start every article on a topic with an attempt to define what will be discussed next, and this time I won’t make an exception either. So, what is stewing?..
In a nutshell, braising is the process of cooking food in a small amount of liquid. Imagine a classic stew, small pieces in gravy. If there was a little more of it - enough to completely hide the meat, and we would call it cooking, if there was a lot less of it, and the meat would be fried or baked, and not stewed, but in this case we are simultaneously observing several heat treatment processes occurring in parallel. The lower part of the meat, which is below the “waterline,” is boiled in gravy, while the upper part is either steamed from the boiling liquid (if stewing takes place in a saucepan with a lid) or baked (if we stew in the oven and in an open container). There is one more nuance that distinguishes boiling from stewing - in the first case, boiled meat or fish will be served separately from the liquid in which they were cooked (unless we are talking about soup), stewed dishes, as a rule, are always served in a sauce formed during the process of boiling and thickening of the liquid accompanying cooking. It's this culinary magic—the spontaneous creation of a flavorful, thick sauce without all the fuss—that's another reason why stews are so popular.
But if it's all about the volume of liquid, then there is a clear criterion - exactly how much water, broth, wine or other liquid should be added in order to get the perfect stew? .. Yes and no.
Such a criterion does exist, but it depends not only on the cooking time and temperature, but also on such subjective factors as the quality of the selected products or even the shape of the pieces into which they are cut. Therefore, stewed dishes are almost always prepared by eye, fortunately, if necessary, the amount of liquid can be quickly increased (by adding more) or reduced (by boiling over high heat).
We’ll talk about how to cook stews as if you’ve been doing just that all your life a little later, but now we’ll talk about the classification of stewing methods. “For mercy, why complicate everything?” - the skeptic will ask, and will be immediately put to shame: firstly, the subtypes of stewing differ quite greatly from each other, and secondly, only by knowing their differences can you prepare the perfect dish. So,
This is exactly what first comes to mind when we talk about stewing in general. Meat, fish or vegetables are cut into pieces a little smaller or a little larger, if desired, first fried, then add liquid - water, or even cream, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer until soft, occasionally looking under the lid to Stir the contents and make sure that everything is in order and nothing is burnt.
In fact, this is a completely separate way of preparing dishes; in English they even distinguish between stewing and braising - actually stewing and braising, but in our country not everyone has heard such a word. When you enter the word “cutting” into a search engine, you won’t find a consensus on what it is, but it’s actually quite simple. Unlike stewing, when stewing, the product (usually meat, but options are possible), firstly, is cooked entirely, and if it is cut, it is in very large pieces, and secondly, the cooking itself usually takes place in a closed heavy vessel - a pot, a roasting pan and the like.
Additional liquid is not always added - often the one contained in the product itself is enough, so it stews in its own juice. Let's say, if you cook a piece of pork neck in a closed roasting pan in the oven (my mom does this mind-blowingly), it's technically brining. Also, the method of cooking is used to prepare, for example, Burgundy beef or Burgundy rooster in wine.
I wrote above that stewed dishes are usually served directly in sauce, but this rule does not work with poached dishes, which is why poaching is often called a type of cooking. And yet, from the point of view of culinary classification, this is precisely stewing: the product is filled with liquid, but not to the top, so that its lower part is boiled, and the upper part is steamed. Poaching is a great way to cook fish (whole or filleted) quickly poached in a light broth, wine or just water, but you can cook vegetables the same way. This story also works with meat, although in this case it will take more time.
We are used to the fact that if something is cooked in oil, we are always talking about frying. But at a low temperature (below the boiling point of water) it behaves the same as any other liquid, which means it can be stewed in it. So, for example, finely chopped onions and vegetables in general are stewed in oil, which will later become part of a more serious dish - they are simmered slowly, stirring and not allowing the color to change.
Another method, which can also be attributed to stewing in oil, is called “confit”, and it was originally invented to ensure that dishes prepared this way would last longer. Nowadays, using the confit method, you can prepare both classics - duck legs in duck fat, and more modern dishes - for example, prepare salmon fillet using this method, heating it in olive oil, the temperature of which is maintained at a certain level.
Unlike the methods listed above, this one is rather a mistake that spoils the intended dish, but everyone has encountered it. You're about to fry some pieces of chicken, a chop, or something else, you put the frying pan on the fire, add oil, put the meat in it, and then something goes wrong: your meat releases so much juice that it fills the entire frying pan, and fry it As a result, it really doesn't work out. Such unsuccessful frying is actually nothing more than stewing in its own juices.
To avoid this, you need, firstly, to let the pan and oil heat up properly - in this case, they will not cool down so much when you put cold meat in them - and secondly, do not overload the pan: fry in several stages, placing the meat in a frying pan in one layer so that the pieces do not touch each other, and the liquid will quickly evaporate, without leading to unplanned stewing.
Absolutely any. Unlike many other cooking methods, you can stew anything and have every reason to expect decent results. But “you can” does not mean “you should”: stewing is often called a method of preparing inexpensive dishes, and this is no coincidence. After all, which meat cuts are the cheapest? The toughest ones are those that cannot be chewed if you accidentally try to fry them, grill them, or simply bake them. This rigidity is determined anatomically - the more often during the life of an animal a particular muscle is in motion, the more connective tissue it contains, which is not for everyone.
One of the main “building materials” of connective tissue is collagen protein, which has one wonderful property: during prolonged heat treatment, collagen disintegrates, turning into gelatin, which has a soft, almost jelly-like consistency. It is to this process that we owe the opportunity to eat meat that melts in the mouth, and in this case this is not a poetic turn of phrase, but a fairly accurate description of what a properly prepared dish from an inexpensive piece of meat becomes. Of course, this result can be achieved not only by stewing - long-term boiling and baking at a low temperature are also quite suitable - but stewing is the most generous method of these, giving you the right to make mistakes and an invariably excellent result. I will note that some tenderloin after stewing, of course, will also become softer, but it will not be as tasty - which means that rather than transferring expensive meat, it is better to cook it in some other way.
If we smoothly move from meat to other products, we will find that stewing can help us with them too. The fish is stewed in spicy aromatic sauces, cut into large pieces: the fish cooks quite quickly, so it won’t take you much time, and if you add a little seafood at the very end, the dish will turn out to be completely royal. Seafood is braised less often because the best method for most of it is to cook it as quickly as possible, but it is still braised. A case in point here is squid, the meat of which will become soft if you cook it for either less than 5 minutes or more than 1 hour, so it can and should be stewed in a sauce, tomato or other sauce of your choice.
Of course, we won’t ignore stewed vegetables - the family of dishes is as diverse as it is popular. The most common variation on this theme is seasonal vegetables, which are first fried, then added with liquid and simmered until they are completely soft but still hold their shape (though some prefer a different texture - softer or, conversely, crispier). ). Stewed cabbage is another example, here stewing is more a way to get rid of excess liquid, reducing the once crunchy vegetable to a state of tender, soft and pliable. But these are not the only ways to stew vegetables - no less good are dishes in which one vegetable is salted, for example, onions, carrots or even an overseas artichoke, which is stewed for a short time - for softness, but preserving both the shape and a hint of its initial taste.
The stewing also does not ignore less obvious products. I think there is no need to tell anyone about mushrooms stewed in sour cream or cream, but, say, for a dish like shakshuka, the Middle Eastern version of scrambled eggs with vegetables, the eggs are not fried, but rather stewed in a thick spicy sauce. In the same way, cereals and legumes are stewed in sauce - not for softness (they often end up in the sauce already boiled), but to “marry” the flavors of the sauce and the cereals themselves. Rarely, they stew dough products (for the same reason), herbs, stew fruits to make a sweet dessert... In a word, if there is any product left on the planet, no one has tried to stew it yet - give it to me. I'll put it out, it'll be delicious.
So, the time has come to move from theory directly to practice. Now I will tell you in detail, step by step, what and how to do to achieve the best result. It’s quite possible that you know all this without me - well, in that case, take this section as a kind of checklist that will help you not to forget about something important while cooking. I will explain using the example of stewed meat, but you yourself understand that exactly the same rules, with a slight amendment, apply to stewed fish, vegetables, whatever.
We assume that you either have a recipe or an idea of what you are going to cook and from what products. Prepare all the ingredients in advance - cut the meat and vegetables, wash the herbs, measure out the required amount of spices and liquid ingredients, make sure that the utensils you need are at hand: these preparations will save you a lot of time and nerves during the cooking process.
Pre-frying of meat is sometimes ignored: sometimes this is due to ideas about healthy eating, sometimes a recipe, sometimes simple ignorance. However, in general, by frying meat and vegetables, we will end up with a deeper and richer taste of the finished dish, which will give the gravy that same golden brown crust. If necessary, fry the vegetables first and separately from the meat, which must be seasoned in advance with salt, pepper and rolled in flour (if you wish, you can not use it, but flour gives, firstly, a deeper frying, and secondly, it helps thicken sauce). After this, fry the meat in hot oil until crusty on all sides, in several stages, so as not to overload the pan, otherwise you will end up with what is described above in the “Pseudo-frying” section. Place the fried meat in a separate dish.
There are little brown marks on the bottom of the pan you just used—little bits of meat and vegetables stuck to the pan. These are real capsules of taste that can and should be released and added to our dish using a method called “deglazing.” To do this, pour broth, wine, cream or other liquid in which you are going to stew the meat into the pan. It will boil quite quickly - don’t yawn, start rubbing the bottom of the pan with a spatula. The pieces will come off the bottom of the pan and quickly “dissolve” in the liquid, enriching it with their taste.
If you will be stewing meat in the same pan, reduce the heat and add vegetables, meat and other ingredients (for example, spices). If you use a lot of small spices, you can tie them in a gauze bag and tie the herbs into a bouquet, so it will be easier to remove them from the finished dish. All the juices that leaked from the meat while it was waiting for its fate should be sent back there, they also contain taste that we don’t want to lose. If you are going to stew the meat in another dish - a duck pot, a pot, etc., the sequence will be reversed: first we transfer the meat and vegetables into it, then we fill it with liquid from the frying pan, in any case without neglecting the previous stage.
After this, you can cover the vessel with a lid and simmer until the meat is softened with low heat on the stove or in the oven. The stewing time depends entirely on the properties of the meat you choose, but you should periodically look under the lid to stir the contents and make sure that the liquid has not boiled away ahead of time. To prevent this process from happening so quickly, which is especially important for stewing in a container with a lid that does not close tightly, place a sheet of foil between the dish and the lid.
At this stage, some recipes recommend adding flour to thicken the sauce, but this technique is not perfect from a culinary point of view. Strictly speaking, additional thickening may not be necessary at all - cream, say, during the stewing process will thicken perfectly on its own, but if you are stewing in broth, wine or water, you should first make a flour roux by frying a little flour in the same amount of melted butter oil, then add liquid into it, stirring. But this is not necessary either - if you rolled the meat in flour before frying, it may well be enough to thicken the sauce.
When you realize that the dish is almost ready, it’s time to get it into the form in which it can be served. Catch out the old herbs and spices, adjust the amount and thickness of the sauce (a lot/thin - boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, little/thick - dilute and cook a little more), season with salt and black pepper and, if desired, garnish with fresh herbs and vegetables.
Well, this is all clear, so I included the last point just for show. Serve the stew (or whatever it is) really hot, since the sauce often tends to twitch into a thin film as it cools, and as a side dish it is better to choose those that go well with it - cereals, dumplings, some types of pasta. Legumes will perform somewhat worse in their place, and vegetables and especially mashed potatoes with stewed dishes in gravy are not categorically friendly, but this is a matter of subjective tastes: if you like it that way, then good for you.
Concluding the conversation on this voluminous topic, I want to give some practical tips of a general nature that may make your stews even tastier.
Don't use water. Whenever you have the opportunity, give preference to a liquid with its own taste and aroma - broth, wine, rather than water. The easiest and most economical way to always have broth on hand for cooking is not to throw away the bones after roasting chicken and cutting meat, as well as trimming vegetables, but put them in the freezer. Once enough has accumulated, you can make broth from these scraps that you would otherwise just throw away and freeze them until you need them.
More taste. Whether you're cooking a new dish or experimenting with an old recipe, never overlook the opportunity to add more flavor with spices and seasonings. Any dish will benefit from adding sweet peas, cloves, bay leaves, thyme and other seasonings while simmering, even if they are not in the recipe.
Take your time. Patience is the key to a delicious stew, so don't make it if you're short on time. It also happens that people, having heard enough stories on TV and the Internet, are afraid to stew meat for a long time, because this way there will be no vitamins left in it. There is no need to be afraid - there will be no vitamins left in it in any case, most of them are destroyed in the first minutes of heat treatment, so you need to look for them in other products, but your dish will definitely not become tastier from this haste.
Temperature. As a matter of fact, boiling, even if barely noticeable, is by no means a mandatory element of the program, but it is necessary so that the liquid - both added and that which was originally contained in meat and other products - boils away and thickens. After this, the heat can be reduced, and if you can adjust it in such a way that the temperature of the liquid is close, but still below the boiling point, you can simmer for as long as you like without fear that it will boil away.
Good afternoon friends! Today in our article we will tell you how to stew meat properly and what nuances and subtleties will need to be observed in order for the prepared dish to truly turn out appetizing and very tasty.
For stewing, they mainly take those parts of meat that are unsuitable for frying - streaky or tough, as well as meat from old animals. If you fry it, it will turn out dry and not very tasty, but for stewing, it’s just right.
So, how to stew meat properly? Take the meat, rinse it and dry it. Next, cut it into fairly large pieces; there is no need to cut it too finely. The meat is too tough, you can soak it in milk for a while and then dry it with a paper towel. Before you begin to stew the meat, it should be fried in a frying pan with vegetable oil. This forms a crust that will not release the juice from inside.
How to stew meat in a saucepan?
Place the fried meat in a saucepan (if you have a thick-bottomed saucepan, then you can fry the meat directly in it without using a frying pan), pour in enough water to cover the pieces. Don't add too much liquid; you'll be stewing the meat rather than boiling it. Add peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt to taste. When the water in the pan boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer until done.
How long to stew the meat?
There is no clear answer to this question. Everything will depend on what kind of meat you will be stewing. If it is pork, then it will cook much faster than beef. Only by testing can you determine the readiness of a dish. As soon as the meat becomes soft, you can turn it off - it’s ready.
How to stew chicken?
To stew chicken, use thighs or a whole carcass, after cutting it into portions. First, rub the pieces with salt and pepper and fry, and then simmer in a saucepan adding spices. Add enough liquid to cover the entire chicken. Stewed chicken in sour cream turns out very tasty. When the water boils in the pan, just add sour cream and simmer for 20-25 minutes. For 1 kg of chicken you will need about 250 g of sour cream.
How to stew pork meat?
For stewing, it is better to use a neck or spatula. Before cooking the meat, you can first marinate it using any spices, or you can only use salt and pepper. Next, put the meat in a frying pan and fry over high heat with the addition of oil until a crust forms, then reduce the heat and pour in a little water. If the meat is not very tough, do not add too much water. During the stewing process, if necessary, you can add a little more water. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer over moderate heat until fully cooked.
Beef is a valuable protein product and a constant source of iron. A variety of dishes are prepared from it, but it is most delicious when stewed. However, to make the beef juicy and soft, you need to know some secrets.
Recipe contents:
Beef is a tasty and nutritious meat. This is a real storehouse of protein, B vitamins and useful minerals. Of the many options for preparing it, the most convenient way is stewing. This process will make even the toughest meat soft and tasty. The time for stewing beef usually takes from 40 minutes to 2.5 hours. It depends on the age of the animal and the part of the carcass. The softest parts of beef are roast beef and fillet. Also, the most commonly used parts include the shoulder blades, neck and hip. If you decide to make beef stew, the following tips and little tricks will help you make the usual dish even tastier.
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You can do anything with meat products: stew, fry, smoke, bake, the main thing is that the dish turns out tasty and healthy. Knowing how to stew meat in a frying pan, you will add variety to your home menu, stewing beef or pork differently each time.
Let's find out what ingredients are added when stewing, and how to cook stewed meat in its own juices or with the addition of sauces.
Stewing meat, like any other business, has its own nuances. To get a tender and healthy dish, consider the following:
Extinguishing time
How long to simmer meat in a frying pan? Depending on the type of meat, the stewing process takes from 30 minutes. up to one and a half hours. The older and tougher it is, the longer it will take to cook.
The main thing is not to overcook the product, otherwise you will get not pieces, but a meat mess. In addition, overcooked meat turns out tasteless.
Extinguishing liquids
Meat can be stewed in water (in its own juice) or with the addition of sauce - tomato, soy, sour cream, etc., flavoring the dish with Caucasian spices, Provençal herbs or other seasonings.
Meat for stewing
It is better to stew the thigh part, shoulder blades and neck: it is good if the meat is semi-tough. First, we wash it, removing films, fat and bones.
Be sure to dry the washed meat with paper towels so that the water does not come into contact with the fat during frying.
Braising meat
First, fry the meat pieces in hot oil: frying gives a crust that protects against loss of juices. We also fry the vegetables for stewing. Then fill everything with water or sauce, reduce the heat to low and simmer under the lid until tender, stirring the contents of the pan regularly.
It is better to stew the meat in a deep cast-iron frying pan or a regular one, which has a non-stick coating and, if possible, a thick bottom.
Important: when stewing, the lid must fit tightly to the vessel, otherwise steam will escape and the meat will turn out tough and dry.
Before you start stewing, remember an important rule: for uniform frying you need equal pieces, and for stewing you need low heat, since the meat should not boil too much, it needs to simmer. Otherwise it will turn out tough.
So, let's move on to the recipe...
The end result is the most tender meat with a wonderful aroma and taste, which will appeal to everyone who tries it: this recipe is good for both a weekday diet and a holiday menu.
If you choose among the types of meat that are most suitable for stewing, do not hesitate to choose pork: it is juicy and soft on its own, and even more so when stewed. Pork prepared according to this recipe will not make even the pickiest eaters go crazy!
We prepare it like this:
Serve the hot dish to the table with buckwheat porridge, mashed potatoes, rice, boiled or stewed vegetables. And if you are afraid of gaining weight, eat stewed pork with fresh vegetable salads.
For those who like spicy meat, we suggest preparing beef stew with the addition of adjika and peppers: male eaters will definitely like it. To stew a healthy and satisfying dish with pepper, we’ll use this recipe:
Sprinkle the finished beef with chopped herbs and serve an aromatic and tasty dish with juicy pieces of meat to the table.
So, you have learned how to stew meat in a frying pan using the example of beef and pork. In the same way, you can stew other meat products: rabbit, poultry, lamb, horse meat, game and even offal.
Stewed meat with vegetables is a universal dish for serving as a main dish for lunch or dinner. You can cook pork, beef, poultry, and rabbit in a similar way. Meat slices are soaked in vegetable juices and are especially soft, rich and tasty.
Anyone can cook stew with gravy, even without proper experience and culinary skills. A little free time, having the right recipe and following simple and accessible recommendations will help you achieve the desired result.
From the recipe below you will learn how to stew meat in a frying pan. The dish will be a great addition to a potato side dish, pasta or porridge. From the specified amount of products you will get 4 servings of food, the preparation of which in total will take no more than an hour. For a rich taste, it is better to pre-marinate the pork for an hour and a half.
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Preparation
Stewed beef with onions and carrots is no less tasty. This type of meat requires longer heat treatment and is especially soft in tomato sauce. Tomato paste can be replaced with grated fresh or canned tomatoes, ready-made juice, sauce or ketchup.
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Preparation
Stewed meat with potatoes and vegetables is a very self-sufficient dish that does not require additional preparation of a side dish. It is especially tasty to serve pickles or sliced fresh vegetables with your meal. Any meat product can be decorated in a similar design; in this case, the version with rabbit is presented.
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Preparation
The recipe for stewed chicken with vegetables will come to the rescue when you need to prepare a delicious meal in a short time and without unnecessary hassle. A light, healthy and nutritious dish will perfectly satisfy your hunger and will not add extra pounds. If time allows, chicken can be marinated in spices and vegetable oil for 20-30 minutes.
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Preparation
Stewed meat in the oven is especially aromatic and tasty. You can cook beef in a similar manner, as in the recipe below, as well as pork or chicken, reducing the oven heat treatment time to 40 minutes. For added spice, you can add chopped garlic cloves and celery stalks to the vegetable mix.
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Preparation
An excellent option for a homemade lunch or dinner would be stewed meat with vegetables and rice. In this case, a variation of the recipe with chicken is presented, but you can equally successfully use pork and veal, on the bone or without, supplementing the dish with spices and spices at your discretion.
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Preparation
The recommendations below will help you figure out how to cook stewed meat with vegetables in beer sauce. The technology for creating the dish is simple, and if you have the right utensils, the result will be excellent: you will need a cauldron or deep saucepan with a thick bottom and walls and a tight-fitting lid.
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Preparation
Beef stew with mushrooms and vegetables is usually served with a side dish of rice, which harmoniously neutralizes the spicy taste of the dish. You can use a random set of vegetables, compiled individually, or a frozen ready-made mix purchased in a store. You can prepare a meal for 4 people in an hour.
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Preparation
Having a multicooker in the arsenal of kitchen gadgets, even a teenager can prepare an appetizing and tasty dish - it’s so simple and not troublesome. Stewed meat with vegetables is especially tasty. In this case, the slices do not need to be fried in oil, which will make the dish even more healthy and dietary.
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Preparation
