Beef Stew (Giant batch)

Chances are, if you're brewing beer in your home, you've got a large pot of some sort.  Remember, you can use it for food, too!  Like this giant batch of Beef Stew...

Beef round roast was on sale, 2 for the price of 1, at Kroger this past weekend.  So we picked up a pair, and did the classic roast-in-a-bag the same day of the Easy Irish Red batch.  Then we had a whole roast in the freezer.  What to do, what to do...

BEEF STEW!
Remember, this is just what we did.  You can always approximate/substitute ingredients

Yields:
Enough to feed an army

Ingredients:
-2.63 lbs beef round roast, cubed, fat removed
-11-13 carrots (15 oz), peeled and cut into 1/4" medallions
-12 medium potatoes (5 lbs)
-1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
-5.3 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
-1 can (15 oz) sweet peas, drained
-1 can (14.75 oz) cream-style corn
-3 large celery stalks (9.2 oz), if smaller middle stalks are used, remove bitter leaves
-1 can (14 oz) beef broth
-1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/4 cup oil (olive, vegetable, etc.)
-1/4 cup & 2 tbsp corn starch (dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water)
-1 tbsp & 2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
-2 bay leaves
-1 tbsp & 2 tsp cumin
-2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
-1 tbsp & 1 tsp chili powder
-1 tbsp & 1 tsp paprika
-1 tbsp & 1 tsp basil flakes
-1 tbsp & 1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tbsp oregano flakes
-1 tbsp sea salt
-1 tsp onion powder
-2 dashes liquid smoke
-1 tbsp hot sauce
-water to cover

 (minus spices)

Procedure:
Brown meat in bottom of the pan with oil.  Sprinkle with some fresh ground pepper and salt.  When meat is brown but not charred (unless you prefer it tough), add carrots, potatoes, onion, mushrooms, peas, celery, and bay leaves.  Pour enough water into the pot to just cover everything, and stir a bit.

 

Bring to a boil for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then add all remaining ingredients, saving the corn starch and water mixture for last.  After adding the corn starch mixture, turn heat down to simmer, stirring continuously.  Make sure when stirring to scrape the bottom, ensuring no clumps.  Simmer 15 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add seasonings to taste.  And then taste the hell out of it!

 Make some biscuits, and it doesn't get much heartier than that!

-Myles and Carla