Steaming bowls of soup will get dished this season under many names: gumbo, chowder, bisque, borscht, chili and congee. While soup may be good food, it is definitely not a stew.
Soup is an appetizer. Stew is an entrée. Soup tends to be, well, soupy and brothy. Stew is a bowl of satisfaction — braised meat and sautéed aromatics, simmered in broth and chockablock with potatoes, carrots and flavor.
Making a great stew takes practice and a certain obsession. Longmont chef Steven Podel has had a thing for soups, chowders, chilis and stews for most of the past 40 years.
Podel is the deli manager at Your Butcher Frank, 900 Coffman St., and former owner of Longmont’s Brooklyn Deli. His career has included running Boulder kitchens like Azar’s Big Boy, Jose Muldoon’s and Pearl’s.
Wherever Podel has cooked, he has attracted soup devotees who appreciate his expertise. His Facebook followers at Your Butcher Frank make a beeline to the shop when favorites like his split pea, sweet and sour brisket cabbage or matzo ball soup are one of the specials of the day.
“The biggest thing in making a great beef stew is to use good ingredients to start with,” Podel says. “You can get all the beef and vegetables from local stores and farmers.”
According to him, the beauty of stew is that it adapts to the ingredients you have on hand. Stew is forgiving and the recipe can be adjusted for any dietary need.
Boulder Weekly recently grilled Podel about the secrets to crafting a killer beef stew as the centerpiece of a comfy wintertime meal.
Time waits for a great stew:Besides usingthe best available ingredients, the secret to crafting craveable stew flavor is patience. “It takes time,” Podel says. “Sometimes I come into the shop at 7 a.m. to start soups so they are ready for lunch.”
Stew beef is not steak: The best beef stews are made with the right cut of meat that can cook a while, like chuck roast, brisket or round. “You don’t want an expensive cut of beef like tenderloin,” he says. “I tend to use chuck at the shop, but the easiest thing is to use stew meat which is the trimmings from various cuts.”
Many stew recipes call for about three pounds of stew beef (or pork) cut in 1- to 2-inch chunks.
Browning, braising and deglazing: Stews start by browning the meat in a hot skillet with oil. Adding bacon gives the stew an additional layer of smoky flavor.
“You cook them until pieces are browned all over. You want them to sear, not simmer,” Podel says. “Pull the browned meat out and set aside. You add mirepoix – finely chopped celery, onions and carrots to the pan and cook until softened.”
The next step is to set aside those vegetables and deglaze the pan with some wine or broth to loosen all the browned bits of flavor.
Get thick with roux: Roux is the combo that thickens stews and gives the gravy that great silky texture. “In a deep saucepan, you melt butter or oil, sprinkle in flour and stir over low heat for a few minutes until it gets smooth,” he says. “Then stir in the beef, the saved cooked vegetables, pan juices and chopped garlic.”
Stews can also be thickened with cornstarch dissolved in water.
Add flavor, not just liquid: The better the stock or bone you add to the stew, the tastier it will be. “I prefer using homemade broths — part beef and part chicken broth, which is lighter and adds some character to the flavor,” he says.
Podel isn’t shy about admitting that prepared beef and chicken broth bases can also add oomph to soups and stews.
Boulder Broth sells frozen pouches of beef and chicken bone broth.
Wait to add the veggies: Bring the broth and ingredients to a simmer before introducing vegetables to the mix. “Don’t cut the vegetables or mushrooms too small. Add the potatoes last,” he says. “You want to make sure they don’t dissolve.”
Waxy skin-on red potatoes tend to hold their shape better than Russets.
At this point in the cooking, Podel adds a sprig of rosemary to the pot along with some tarragon.
The zen of stew-tweaking:As the pot finishes simmering over the course of an hour or more, the flavor can be adjusted to personal taste with salt, black pepper, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, honey, horseradish or mustard. Thin it with more broth as needed.
Podel suggests serving the stew topped with chopped fresh parsley or, if desired, a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt. Some cooks also pair it with noodles or rice.
Global variations on a stew theme: Beef stews dished across the planet have similar ingredients but vastly varied flavors. You can give your stew an Indian or Thai profile by adding curry paste. The addition of tomato paste, basil, oregano and fennel can lend an Italian accent. One popular Mexican beef stew, Chile Colorado (named for its color), features tender pieces of beef in a red chile-accented gravy.
Neighborhood bread and butter: Stew calls for good bread to sop up those stew juices. One option is the chewy kaiser rolls or hearty rye bread offered by Longmont’s Bavarian Bakery. In Boulder, Breadworks bakes firmly crusted baguettes that are perfect for dunking or making mini stew sandwich bites. Others opt for challah (try Moe’s Broadway Bagel on Fridays) or serve their stew over biscuits (try Biscuits @Mike’s).
And of course, great bread calls for excellent butter, whether high-fat European salted butters or the freshly churned cultured offerings at Longmont’s recently opened Bella La Crema.
Boulder wine for a bold stew: Pair your local stew and sides with a robust red crafted in Boulder. Boulder’s Bookcliff Vineyards offers Tectonic Red, an affordable, approachable Colorado blend available at Bookcliff’s North Boulder tasting room and at local liquor stores.
For love of leftovers: If you’re going to the effort to make stew, you might as well make a big batch. Stews generally develop more flavor when they are chilled overnight and then reheated. Leftover stew can be tucked inside a double crust and renamed beef pot pie.
Where to find local meat and vegetables:
7th Generation Farm, 100 S 96th St., Louisville
7th-generation-farm.square.site
Aspen Moon Farm, 7940 Hygiene Road, Hygiene
aspenmoonfarm.com
Black Cat Farm, 4975 Jay Road, Boulder
blackcatboulder.com
Cure Organic Farm, 7416 Valmont Road, Boulder
cureorganicfarm.com
Access local produce and foods all winter long through the Boulder Farmers Market online marketplace: shop.bcfm.org/products