Veal Stew

This recipe came to be after I saw a sale for veal stew meat at the local Italian grocery store.  First I made veal stock, the recipe is on this blog, then I made this delicious stew.  The recipe is here as a guide for you as items are easily swapped out.  If you do not have veal stock, use chicken stock or beef stock.  The vegetables in this recipe are based upon what I had in my fridge.  If you do not have leeks, use onion; if you do not have parsnips, add extra carrot; if you do not have baby Bella mushrooms, use white button and; if you do not have white wine, use red wine or just add extra stock.  This stew is hearty and warming on a cold winter day.  Enjoy.

Makes 3 quarts of stew.  Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs veal stew meat, cubed

1/2 cup flour

Salt

Pepper

8 TBS olive oil

2 large carrots, diced

3 large celery stalks, diced

1 small parsnip, diced

8 oz. baby Bella mushrooms, cut into quarters, stems removed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups white wine, I used Chardonnay 

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes 

2 cups veal stock

2 Bay leaves

5 fresh thyme sprigs or 2 tsp dried thyme

2 TBS fresh parsley, minced, or 2 tsp dried parsley

Here's how:

Heat a large Dutch oven or large soup pot on medium heat on the stove.

Meanwhile, put the flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a zip top bag or a bowl.

Dredge the meat in the flour.  

Add 2 TBS olive oil to the Dutch oven and brown the meat in three batches.  Brown on all sides.  Add 2 TBS of oil to each batch.

Remove the meat after each batch and set aside in a plate or in a bowl.  

Add the last 2 TBS of oil to the pot and add the carrots, celery, parsnip, mushrooms, and leeks.  Sauté for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom as you do it to loosen any meat bits from browning the meat.

 Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

Add the wine and use a wooden spoon to loosen the rest of the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.  Cook 2 minutes until almost all the wine has evaporated.

Add the stock and tomatoes. Stir it all in. 

Add the meat and stir it in. Make sure it is all covered by the liquid.

Add the Bay leaves, thyme, parsley, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Stir it all in.

Bring the pot to a simmer, reduce the heat to a simmer and put the lid on the pot.

Cook for 2 to 2.5 hours until the meat is tender.  Remove the lid after 1 hour.  Do not over cook the meat or it will dry out.  Once the meat is tender and can be pulled apart easily, it is done.

Remove the Bay leaves and thyme stems.

Eat and enjoy now, place in the fridge for up to three days or freeze up to 6 months.

Veal Stock in the Pressure Cooker

A recent addition to my kitchen is a pressure cooker.  I bought an electric version so it feels safer than that one I remember my grandma using and it is easy to use.  I decided to make a recipe using it that was simple and stock is a great one to try in it.  Veal was on sale at my local Italian market so veal was the choice for today.  If you like to make stews or gravies using veal, this is the base for it.  You can make this recipe on the stove top too.  At the time when you add the items to the pressure cooker, simply add it all to a large pot on the stove and add 8-10 of water to the pot to account for evaporation and cook it for 3 hours on a low simmer.

Ingredients:

2.5 veal bones, I used neck bones

3 large carrots cut into 3 pieces

2 large onions, cut in quarters, skin can stay on

4 celery stalks, cut into 3 pieces

1 head of garlic cut horizontally in half

2 TBS olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup red wine

6-8 cups water

2 Bay leaves

5 thyme sprigs

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Place the veal bones, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a roasting pan and toss to coat.

Place the pan in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the pan and toss again.

Return the pan and roast for another 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven.

Place all of the roasted meat and vegetables into the pressure cooker.

Pour the red wine into the roasting pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape the pan of all the brown bits on the bottom of the roasting pan.  This is where the flavor is.  

Pour the wine from the pan into the pressure cooker.  

Add water to fill to the max line, between six and eight cups and the Bay leaves and thyme stems to the cooker.

Bring the cooker to pressure according to manufacturers instructions and cook at pressure for 30 minutes.  

Turn the cooker off after the thirty minutes and let cool naturally, do not release the steam yourself.

Remove the lid. 

Strain the stock of all the solids and discard the solids.  I use a strainer over a large bowl.  

Pour the stock Into smaller containers.  

Either let it sit on the counter for a while and remove the fat with a spoon or let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to cool.  After it is cooled, remove the fat solid at the top of the container.

Refrigerate for three days or freeze for up to one year.  

Enjoy.