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Polenta with Beef Hunter's Stew
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Polenta with Beef Hunter’s Stew

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Polenta with Beef Hunter’s Stew

by fyfeshire

7 Comments

  1. Milhanou22

    Manzo alla cacciatora then right? Definitely on the north part of Italy with this dish.

  7. fyfeshire

    Large package of stewing beef

    2 pork large ribs, shoulder….meat and bone

    4 tbsp tomato paste…

    2 jars passata…

    rinse bottles with 1/4 water add to the sauce

    1 onion

    1/3 cup chopped celery

    2 carrots

    Optional: 1/4 red pepper chopped.

    2 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder

    1 tsp of paprika

    Pepper / salt to taste

    1.5 – 2 beef bouillon cubes

    1/3 cup deep red wine or 1/4 cup cognac, brandy

    1/3 cup olive oil

    4 large garlic cloves

    3 tbsp butter

    Rinse beef and pork under water, pat dry all moisture with paper

    towel then place in colander that sits in a bowl. Place this in the

    fridge to dry…few hours. You may still need to pat dry with a paper

    towel to remove all moisture from the meat before browning

    otherwise you will get a lot of grease splatter while browning.

    Remember to lower the heat on your element to prevent splattering.

    I would trim some of the fat and silver skin from the stewing beef

    and cube them into bite size pieces.

    Rub salt and pepper over meat pieces, or sprinkle and toss.

    Slightly heat the Dutch oven before oiling…1minute. You can place

    your hand over but above the bottom of the D. oven to test heat but

    do not touch bottom. Add some of the oil to Dutch oven to brown

    the meats on all sides. You can add a little extra butter with the oil

    for better browning.

    Remove meat, plate, set aside for later. If adding wine, cognac or

    brandy now is the time to do it.

    This is the step to scrape off the meat bits on the bottom, add more

    butter and stir (with brandy and cognac you will notice a

    caramelization happening….this is good, but add broth soon

    afterwards to prevent burning or too much browning. Then add

    paste, and bouillon cubes and blend well. Mix in garlic and onion

    powder and paprika. Add FINELY chopped veggies and cook veggies

    separate and slightly tender in the Dutch oven. Add browned meat,

    passata and water that you cleaned the jars with, add the rest of

    the oil stir and simmer LOW temperature 3-4 hours over low heat.

    Remember this a low and slow process. Too high a heat will cause

    sauce and meat to stick to the bottom then start to burn. You want

    to evaporate the waters so it should remain uncovered or partially

    covered. You may need to cover if you notice any burning or too

    thickness occurring but leave a small gap for liquid to slowly

    evaporate. You can always add a little extra broth as well so make

    sure you have some set aside for this addition. You can also add a

    little extra olive oil if you prefer. Make sure to check your stew every

    20 minutes to a 1/2 hour and give it a little stirring.

    Polenta

    Ratio: 4 cups water (or broth…water and bouillon cubes) to 1 cup

    corn meal 1tbsp salt. Omit or use less salt if using bouillon cubes.

    The water should taste like the sea

    Measure the water/broth boiled at 4 cups. Add salt. Stir the

    cornmeal as you add it to the water. A whisk works best for this

    technique. Place it on medium low. If it starts to bubble too much

    lower the heat, or quickly cover pot with a lid partially on but do not

    leave the lid on for it can add water from condensation and make a

    loose polenta.

    Never stir the polenta when it is bubbling, it can splatter on you. A

    way to avoid this is move to the pot to an unused, cold element or

    counter top then stir.

    Stirring using a whisk helps prevent lumps

    Polenta needs to be stirred frequently to prevent it from sticking to

    the bottom of the pot. Cooking time is 20-25 minutes.

    Make sure you buy the coarser cornmeal not the finer semolina.

    The Unico brand is what I use

    If your polenta is loose, pour it into a greased mold, it will still

    set/solidify.

    In the last 5 minutes you can add flavours:

    Milk/cream – not too much or it will be too soft

    Butter

    Grated hard cheeses

    Chives

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