Thursday, January 10, 2008

RECIPE: DIY Beef Stew Seasoning

We all love beef stew here at our house, although the way we most often eat it is Hobo Soup style, known by Boy Scouts as Campfire Stew. This is where you use ground beef instead of beef chunks for your soup.

I love the traditional seasoning for beef stew and it can be found in packets at the grocery, but I think it's kind of a pain to have those little packets cluttering up my cupboards. They always get separated from one another and I end up with envelopes of taco seasoning here and stew seasoning there and they all fall out unexpectedly, sometimes into the slow-cooker full of chili when I lift off the lid to serve it.

So then I bought a large canister of Kroger's beef stew seasoning and it was really good, but for some reason, I can't find it around here anymore. The only kind of stew seasoning our Kroger sells is McCormack and we find that very, very bland.

I searched on the internet and found several different beef stew seasoning concoctions, so I cobbled this one together in amounts that best suit our taste. I keep in in a glass jar with a one tablespoon scoop inside.

Beef Stew Seasoning

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground red pepper or cayenne pepper
2 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 tablespoons salt
2 1/4 tablespoons black pepper
2 1/4 tablespoons paprika
2 1/4 tablespoons garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in small mixing bowl; stir to combine. Store in a small jar, tightly closed. Use 2-3 tablespoons seasoning mix per 1 pound of meat.

7 comments:

Kayte said...

Wow...you are certainly talented...that's a lot of stuff!

I may have to try this out and see how it goes...my beef stew has just, well, the beef stew parts, and then salt and pepper and a little flour tossed in to thicken it up a bit, but not much.

What else does yours have? Beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, green beans, tomatoes...that's pretty much mine, with a base of tomato juice, beef stock, chicken stock, and a little bit of water, not much. I have been making the same beef stew for 30 years...maybe I need a little variety, you think?

michael mcnulty said...

This seasoning recipe is right on the mark! Having made a beef stew with it just a few weeks ago, we are back in the kitchen once again using the stored mix from then. Convenient and oh so tasty!!!

Unknown said...

Do you use kitchen bouquet with this blend? It looks really good! Thanks!

BJD said...

I am trying this today! All the ingredients look like good ones. I like the idea of having my own mix. Commercial mixes add other "stuff" to theirs, like enhancers, non caking, preservatives and things we cannot pronounce!
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Ok... So I used to think that I made a great Beef Stew... After trying this I realized that all I was making was a slightly thickened bland tasting water with vegetables and beef thrown in. This blend is KICK &$$! Thanks a bunch.

Michael Card

Unknown said...

My kitchen smelled heavenly while the stew was simmering and it was yummy!

A word of caution though, I put hot sauce on everything (yes, just like the old lady in the Frank's Red Hot commercials) so I was not bothered by the heat of the seasoning, however, my spousal equivalent said it was pretty fiery for someone who doesn't normally eat spicy. So you may want to cut back on the cayenne and black peppers and paprika until you find a balance that works for you.

The Wohlleb Family said...

your newest follow...Im going to try this tonight. Thanks for sharing!