Simple Stew Meat
Prep Time: 20 min. Cook Time: 3-4 hr. Rest Time: 1 hr.
Total Time: 5 hr. 20 min.
Makes: 8-10 servings
Macronutrients: 52g protein · .1g carb · 37g fat (1 cup)*
*(this will vary greatly depending on the broth type used and how fatty the meat is)
Instagram video for visual coming soon!
About the Dish:
I prep stew meat to eat throughout the week, the same way someone would prep ground beef. It’s a cheap cut of meat and yields a lot of great fatty protein.
With the added benefit of having broth throughout the week as well!
Stew meat is typically from the shoulder/upper back of a cow, the chuck roast/steak section. Any meat with a lot of marbling and connective tissue is best cooked low and slow in liquids so you end up with a tender dish.
I grew up eating traditional beef stew with potatoes, green beans, carrots, tomato paste, flour, etc.
I don’t eat these ingredients anymore because my body doesn’t enjoy digesting them. BUT, I still wanted to enjoy the tender meat and broth so I decided…
you can still make beef stew with ONLY BEEF!
With that being said, you can EASILY take this recipe and add some animal-based friendly low toxic vegetables like squash & zucchini. If you don’t follow animal-based at all and still love the traditional vegetables mentioned above, you do you!
This recipe specifically is my meal prep recipe so I keep everything really clean and simple to be eaten throughout the week.
Checkout my “burger bowls” for inspiration on different ways to doctor up the beef throughout the week!
Instagram video coming soon…
About the Broth:
The hardest thing about documenting my recipes for others to try has been my constant use of leftover beef drippings.
I very rarely use store bought bone broth.
When I am slow cooking short ribs, chuck roasts, stew meat, etc. I ALWAYS keep the leftover drippings from the dish. This will drastically change the flavor of my dish depending on what the previous drippings were from. Therefore, when I use leftover drippings from another recipe, it is likely VERY RICH and FATTY.
I HIGHLY recommend saving all of your leftover meat drippings, especially slow cooked meals when you are yielding a lot of beneficial fatty juices. These slow cooked fatty deposits and even sometimes bone marrow (if slow cooking bone in meat), are so beneficial for you. It’s also a great alternative and money saver to store bought broth.
I store the drippings in a large wide mouth mason jar and either keep it in the fridge to use that week or store it in the freezer to use at a later time. As long as the fat layer on top remains in tact, in can stay fresh for a long while in the fridge (even a few weeks, just do a smell test before using if its been that long). It will stay good in the freezer for well up to a year or longer!
If you want to make your own bone broth from soup bones/leftover bones please see my recipe here!
Follow any of the links to view a list of all of the foods or kitchen items that I recommend. It will provide an Amazon link to purchase if you wish.
As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Equipment:
Ingredients:
4lb stew meat
1/2-1 stick butter (4-8 Tbsp.)
4 cups of broth & 2 cups of water
Want to make your own broth? Recipe here!
2 Tbsp Salt
Steps:
Remove the meat from the fridge and season with 2 Tbsp salt. Let sit out at room temp for 30min-1 hour.
Place a large pot on the stovetop over med/high heat.
Place 1/2 stick of butter in the pot and let it melt.
Place 1/3 of your meat into the pot and sear on each side for 30sec-1 min. DO NOT OVERCROWD the pan. If you pan is on the smaller side, you may want to only add 1/4 of the meat (1lb) and cook it in 4 batches.
Once the meat is seared on all sides (should only take a few minutes, you are NOT cooking the meat, just browning it), remove the meat with the tongs and place it in a bowl.
Add your next batch of meat and repeat steps 4-5, adding more butter if necessary.
Once the last batch of meat is done, add back all of the meat to the pot.
Add broth, water, and salt.
Turn your burner up to high heat and bring the stew to a low boil.
Once the stew is boiling, cover the pot and turn it down to a low simmer and let it cook for 3-4 hours.
At hour 2.5-3 you can check the meat with a fork. When the meat is fork tender you can remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. How long it takes to become tender varies greatly on your stove, your pot, and how large your meat chunks are.
If you choose to add any vegetables… at hour 2.5-3, you can add the raw vegetables and bring to another low boil. Once it is boiling, cover the stew again and lower to simmer until everything is tender.
Enjoy right away or let it cool and place it in glass sealed containers for meal-prep.
Don’t forget to save your extra broth in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or freeze for later use.
Changes/Substitutions
If you want a more expensive and decadent stew, I highly recommend using beef tenderloin. This makes for an expensive meal prep, but it is great when serving to others on a special occasion! The tenderloin is a very tender cut of meat that comes out DELICIOUS in a stew.
As we talked about above, you can use store bought broth, homemade broth, or beef drippings from other recipes. Each one is going to add a different flavor to your dish. Just remember, the fattier and richer the broth, add more water. If you are using store-bought broth, add much less water. Taste testing is the best way to decide!
Vegetables. I don’t add them for my meal prep simple beef stew but you certainly can. Some great animal-based friendly vegetables that would go great with this would be squash and zucchini.
Not animal-based? Traditional vegetables are white potatoes, green beans, onion, celery, and carrots. Traditional beef stew also adds flour and tomato paste to thicken the stew and add an element of acidity. My acid reflux doesn’t care for the traditional stew but I hope you enjoy however you decide to make it!
Sadie creates naturally sweetened and savory dishes with an animal-based way of eating in mind.
Meal prep is her specialty.
She likes to make traditional recipes that are inclusive to everyones palate and lifestyle, while showcasing natural alternatives.
Learn more in “About me”
Please checkout my instagram account for videos of me making these recipes!
I also add daily meals to my story and other useful healthy content.
Enjoying my content?
<—— follow this link to support me ❦