Beef Casserole Ideas

I searched and searched and thought surely we have a thread all about beef casseroles?
But no, I couldn't find one !

Oh well I thought here goes …

First Beef Casserole idea is - Beef and Guinness Casserole - Perfect for Cooler Months


Did you know that Guinness has been around since 1759, that's quite a long time isn't it. Now, Guinness may not be to everyone's liking but when added to a beef casserole - it really can make a tasty addition - and casseroles are great for cooler months.

Ingredients:
Serves Four
2 tbsp. oil
400g casserole steak, cut into cubes
2 onions, sliced
1 tbsp. plain flour
2.5cm (1in) piece of root ginger, grated
150ml (¼pt) Guinness
1 Beef Stock pot dissolved in 150ml boiling water
400g can tomatoes or passata
bouquet garni
1 red pepper, sliced
1 orange, rind and juice (optional)*

Method:
1. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry the meat until it has browned. Remove from the pan and put into a casserole dish.
2. Heat the remaining oil and sauté the onion over a low heat until golden. Mix in the flour and ginger, cook for 1-2 minutes, then gradually stir in the ale, stock and tomatoes and cook until thickened. Add the bouquet garni, pepper and orange rind and pour into the casserole.
3. Cook in a preheated oven Gas mark 3/160°C/Fan140°C for 1½ hours.
4. Remove the bouquet garni, stir in the orange juice (optional)* then serve.

* some may find the orange juice a little overpowering and may just prefer to add the rind … it's a personal taste choice

Nutritional Details Per Serving:
Fat 10g Carbohydrate 13.9g Protein 25.8g Fibre 3.5g

Freezing and defrosting instructions:
This recipe is freeze-able. Defrost at room temperature for about 1 ½ hours. Cook covered under a gentle heat for about 2 hours or in the oven 150C/300F/Gas mark 2 for 2 hours.

From an original idea here
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/beef-and-guinness-casserole.html

All the best Jan

Haven't done a casserole for ages. One thing I used to like to add was whole black peppercorns which soften up when cooked for long enough and produce little explosions of flavour. This sounds a bit like something Gran might have cooked.

chris c wrote:Haven't done a casserole for ages. One thing I used to like to add was whole black peppercorns which soften up when cooked for long enough and produce little explosions of flavour. This sounds a bit like something Gran might have cooked.

Yes cooking and using peppercorns like that do produce little explosions of flavour …

Talking of Grans!
My Gran enjoyed cooking with Guinness and having a sip (or two) of Mackeson !
She also made the most delicious of fruit cakes and apple pies/crumbles.
Her kitchen always had the most delicious aromas coming from them, and whenever we visited, out of the kitchen she would come complete with her Grannies apron on - it was a wrap over type, I don't think you can get them these days.
Wonderful memories of years past.

All the best Jan

Oh yes mine also did a lot of baking, especially pastry (strangely mother never learnt how to make puff pastry properly like hers). There was a distinct smell of cloves, which she put in the apple pies, and various other spices. And onions of course, which for some reason my father hated. The best smell was in her garden shed, a mixture of ripe apples, coal and creosote. The house my ex and I bought was just around the corner and once when we were walking past we got chatting to the new owners and they invited us in. Twenty years after she died and the shed still smelled exactly the same. The kitchen, not so much.

A beef casserole is always included in my menu plans.

Ingredients:
Family meal serves 4 - 5
2 celery sticks, thickly sliced
1 onion chopped
2 big carrots, halved lengthways then 'chunkily' sliced
5 bay leaves
3 sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. plain flour
2 tbsp. tomato puree
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 beef stock cubes crumbled
850g stewing beef - cut into large chunks.

Method:
1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Put the kettle on. Put the celery, onion, carrots, bay leaves and thyme in a casserole with 1 tbsp. oil and butter. Soften for 10 minutes, then stir in the flour until it doesn't look 'dusty', followed by the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cubes.
2. Gradually stir in 600ml hot water, then tip in the beef and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and put in the oven for 2hours 30 minutes, then uncover and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour more until the meat is really tender and the sauce is thickened.

The original recipe idea is here
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1940689/beef-and-vegetable-casserole-

All the best Jan

It's the cooking time that prevents me from doing many casseroles, compare and contrast, runner beans or broccoli in a pan, rump steak under the grill until it's nearly stopped mooing. Finished!

A friend swears by his wife's slow cooker. Put stuff in in the morning, fetch it out at night.

chris c wrote:It's the cooking time that prevents me from doing many casseroles, compare and contrast, runner beans or broccoli in a pan, rump steak under the grill until it's nearly stopped mooing. Finished!

A friend swears by his wife's slow cooker. Put stuff in in the morning, fetch it out at night.

Yes, casseroles do take time to cook …

Slow cookers are very popular … friends of ours uses theirs regularly, but it's not something I use.

But no beef for us tonight it's fish LOL!

All the best Jan

This is a great favourite …

Beef Bourguignon ... low carb and so delicious


Ingredients:
Serves Two
250 grams of diced braising steak
A handful of shallots
A handful of button mushrooms
50 grams of smoked bacon lardons
1 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs
1 bay leaf (optional)
2 beef stock cubes
1 large glass of red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method:
Heat the oil (to medium heat) in a frying pan. Add the shallots and mushrooms, fry/saute until golden brown, Remove from pan into oven proof casserole dish.

Add bacon lardons to pan and cook until they are lightly browned, add to casserole dish.

Finally put diced beef into frying pan and lightly brown each side of cubed beef then put into casserole dish.

Make up the beef stock to approx. half to three quarters of a pint, but the red wine should make up about half of the liquid.Bring to a gentle simmer in the frying pan and add the mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Pour over the ingredients in the casserole dish, add your bay leaf (optional). Cover and cook for approx. two to two and a half hours at Regulo 4 Electric 180 stirring after the first hour. Serve with steamed broccoli and white cabbage or vegetables of your choice.

Very delicious, very easy to make and very low carb.

Hope you enjoy it.

All the best Jan

Oh yes the bay leaf/leaves are something else I'd forgotten.

I do like using bay leaves in casserole dishes ...

A little bit more information abou them:

Health benefits of bay leaf:

Bay leaf was prized highly by the Greeks and the Romans, who believed that the herb symbolizes wisdom, peace, and protection.

The spice contains many important plant-derived chemical compounds, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.

This spice has many volatile active components such as a-pinene, ß-pinene, myrcene, limonene, linalool, methyl chavicol, neral, a-terpineol, geranyl acetate, eugenol, and chavicol. These compounds are known to have been antiseptic, antioxidant, digestive, and thought to have anti-cancer properties.

Fresh leaves are a very rich source of vitamin-C; provide 46.5 mg or 77.5% of RDA per 100 g. Vitamin-C (ascorbic acid) is one of the powerful natural antioxidant that help remove harmful free radicals from the body. Ascorbic acid also has an immune booster, wound healing, and antiviral effects.

Furthermore, its fresh leaves and herb parts are superb in folic acid; contain about 180 mg or 45% of daily-recommended values per 100 g. Folates are important in DNA synthesis, and when given during the peri-conception period, they can help prevent neural tube defects in the newborn baby.

Bay leaves are an excellent source of vitamin-A; contain 6185 IU or 206% of recommended daily levels per 100 g. Vitamin-A is a natural antioxidant and is essential for normal eyesight. It is also required for maintaining mucosa and skin health. Consumption of natural foods rich in vitamin A has been found to help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

The spice is indeed an excellent source of many vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin. These B-complex groups of vitamins help in enzyme synthesis, nervous system function, and regulating body metabolism.

This leafy spice is an excellent source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese and copper are used by the body as co-factors for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidase enzymes.

Information (and more) from here
https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/bay-leaf.html

All the best Jan

Wow I didn't know that. I just like the taste . . .

>>>

And another Beef Recipe idea !
It comes from Waitrose Supermarket Chain ...

Slow Cooked Beef With Soffrito


Ingredients
Serves Four
2 x packs (or equivalent) British beef shank joint (each pack about 750g, 1.5kg total)
1 tbsp oil
400g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Soffritto Mix (or equivalent)
77g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Diced Beechwood Smoked Pancetta (or equivalent)
550g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Casserole Vegetables (or equivalent)
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
400g can chopped tomatoes
200ml beef stock

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C, gas mark 3. Cut the meat into large chunks. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the beef including the bone then transfer to a casserole dish.

2. Add the soffritto mix and pancetta to the frying pan and fry for 3 minutes then add the casserole vegetables and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil then pour into the casserole dish. Season then cover and cook for 3 hours or until tender.

It is the slow cooking that makes this meal, I would serve mine with some cabbage, (not the bread as photographed) - but what may you choose?

Nutritional Information - per serving:
Fat 21.5g Carbohydrate 17.1g Protein 58.4g

Recipe and other detaisl shown here
https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/2017/02/slow-cooked-beef-with-soffrito.html

With original recipe idea here
https://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/s/slow-cooked-beefwithsoffritto.html#_

All the best Jan