Beef Stew
- Howie Bulka
- Jan 19
- 7 min read
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Howie's Missive
Every other Thursday, my wife plays Mahjong with her besties. As the ladies gather around our dining room table to giggle, gossip and eat weird girlie food, I take my leave. It’s a well-worn plan of escape. Early in the week, I text Patty and Alex, my dear friends and neighbors, down the street to let them know I’m a free agent. Our dinners together are always unabashedly carnivorous, predicated on Alex’s aversion to eating anything that swims or is green. Their lavishly renovated patio has become my sometime playground with its shiny new outdoor kitchen, an enviable batterie de cuisine, and well stocked wet bar.
I will generally head to Costco in advance of our little soirees, in search of great slabs of affordable red meat. Last time I cooked at their house it was beef shanks, which I braised in red wine and stock with a soupcon of tomato puree for a classic ‘Osso Buco’ which we ate with risotto Milanese and a green salad. The time before that it was St. Louis style ribs, Steve’s cornbread and coleslaw. This time around, a pretty piece of beef chuck caught my eye. Seven-pounds, well-trimmed and nicely marbled. Half for dinner at Patty and Alex’s, the other half for staff meal, Hilda’s Chili Verde with red rice and warm tortillas. Patty and I somehow came to agree that an old-fashioned beef stew would be ‘just right’ on a chilly winter evening in early December.
We toasted the holidays with a round of Queens Park Hotel Super Cocktails, an unusual rum-based cocktail made with sweet vermouth and fresh lime, which I highly recommend, and then sat down to big bowls of Old-Fashioned Beef Stew with crusty baguette to sop up the rich gravy. The stew wasn’t perfect, but it was a good effort. Good enough to remind me that a simple thing well prepared is always better than something complicated not so well prepared. We agreed that there was a bit too much carrot and potato, preferring a meatier stew. Next time, I will add more garlic and thyme at the finish to punch it up a bit.
Because Turkey Gravy, our November Recipe of the Month, garnered a remarkable number of eyeballs on Instagram, I was left wondering if perhaps simple, basic recipes might be what people, or some demographic swath of them, are looking for, so I asked Louis to film the preparation of the stew I made for Alex and Patty, thinking that we could use it as content for social media in the future. I used the opportunity to standardize a recipe for the stew as well, just for my own satisfaction. As December wore on and the demands of the holiday season became more pressing, the panic began to come over me once again. What was I thinking? We had a recipe and a video for beef stew, both of which are quite good I might add, but we had no content for the December Recipe of the Month. By the time Christmas had come and gone, I was desperate.
So that’s how Beef Stew became the Recipe of the Month for December. Opportunity knocked. The good news is that we have this great recipe for Beef Stew and a well-crafted video of its preparation which has been ‘in the can’ as they say, for many days. The bad news is that in keeping with the customary format of our Recipe of the Month and given the auspicious occasion that is the new year, I feel I owe you dear reader, something more meaningful than stew as you march bravely into 2026. So, the question I have been pondering, revisited during several sleepless nights, is how does someone with limited literary skills use Beef Stew as a segue into a new year’s salutation which is both personal and profound?
Understandably, 2025 has been a difficult year for some. There’s a lot that’s wrong with this country I love. I reckon I’ve lived long enough to have earned the right to say that. If asked, I would be fully capable of apportioning blame as I see it, and I could make a thoughtful argument as to how we got to this dire moment in our national politics, but no one is asking. Years of dinner table conversation have led me to understand that it’s hard to change people’s minds and even then, it requires trust and empathy more than facts and figures. I do not believe we are a divided nation, but rather we are a nation being divided by those who gain power and profit in the machinations of a corrupt political system. If it’s true that we get the politicians we deserve then you and I must also be culpable. But there is no need to look for villains. Everything’s broken and it’s everyone’s fault.
While my assessment of current events is rather bleak, I remain optimistic about the future. In fact, I think 2026 will be a pivotal year. We’ll see. In the meantime, life goes on. There is suffering. A world of it. Staying in the moment and finding a way through the day gracefully can be challenging. Harder for some than others. My intention in writing this missive, as it has been with many, is to simply share my point of view. It’s the only unique thing I have to offer. If my point of view resonates with at least one other person, then there is hope. With hope in tow and a little faith in our fellow humans, we can build communities. Communities With a common cause, can grow into social movements. The history of the twentieth century tells us that it is social movements, not political movements that change the world. Politicians are too easily corrupted. When the people lead, the arc of history bends towards justice.
What does all this have to do with Beef Stew? Well, it turns out that just about every recipe for beef stew includes the phrase ‘Old Fashioned’ in its title. Certainly, it’s a recipe from our culinary past, but so are a lot of things we don’t call ‘old fashioned’. So, what makes beef stew, the poster child for old fashioned things? Maybe it’s because beef stew is simple and comforting, unpretentious and uncomplicated, the way things used to be. Beef stew is best served to family and friends. It’s something we can respectfully disagree about. You eat it with a spoon. All old-Fashioned notions. Or maybe it’s the peas. Peas are certainly old-fashioned. Beef stew, you may recall, reminds us that “a simple thing well prepared is always better than something complicated not so well prepared’.
So, dear reader, as we dive headfirst into 2026, may your cup runneth over with old-fashioned things. Old-fashioned pursuits, old-fashioned values, and (it’s a stretch, I know) Old Fashioned Beef Stew. In 2026 I resolve to read more, write every day and meditate with loving kindness. In 2026 I resolve that my actions will be informed by old-fashioned values; faith, hope and charity. In 2026 I hope to add my voice to a community of people who can keep faith in each other even when they disagree, people willing to compromise their own selfish desires for a greater good. I hope to find you there.
Happy New Year.
How to Make Beef Stew
Feeds Four with Leftovers
Ingredients
For the Beef
3 lbs Beef Chuck Roast
1tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper, Ground
1/2 tsp White Pepper, Ground
1 tsp Garlic powder
2 tbsp Olive Oil
For the Braising Liquid
1 cup Tomato Puree or Tomato Sauce
1 cup Dry (and cheap) Red Wine
4 cups Brown Stock, Homemade or Canned or Chicken Stock
Handful Peeled Garlic
2 Each Onions, peeled and quartered
For the Roux
½ cup Flour
¼ pound Butter
For the Contents of the Stew
350 grams Waxy Potatoes, Yukon Gold Preferred
350 grams Carrots
300 grams Green Peas, fresh or frozen
1tbsp Dry Thyme or Dry Oregano as you prefer
1 tbsp Garlic. Minced (optional)
A bit Chopped Parsley
Method
Prepare the Beef
If there is blood (hemoglobin) in the packaging, give the beef a rinse under cold water.
Drain well and pat dry with paper towels.
With a sharp knife, Trim the beef chuck, removing some of the fat, silver skin and sinew. No need to be too fussy.
Cut the beef into pieces app. 1 ½ inches in size.
Toss the beef with black and white peppers, the garlic powder and then with the olive oil.
Lay out on a flat tray (preferably Lined with baking parchment)
Cook beef in a very hot oven until browned, app. 10 minutes.
Braise the Beef
Place the Onions and garlic cloves into your stew pot (we used an 8-quart Dutch oven)
Add the browned beef.
De-glaze the beef cooking pan with a bit of water and add to the pot along with the wine, tomato puree and brown stock.
Place the pot on stovetop and cook over a high heat , uncovered until it comes to a boil.
Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer the beef until it is ‘fork tender’ but not falling apart! At least an Hour, maybe two.
Remove from heat. Allow the braised beef to cool in the pot.
Cover the pot and refrigerate overnight
Prepare the Vegetables
Peel and dice the carrots into a pretty ½ inch dice.
Blanch in salted boiling water until fully cooked. Drain.
Peel and dice the potatoes into a pretty ½ inch dice.
Blanch in salted boiling water until fully cooked but not falling apart. Drain.
Hold vegetables refrigerated until needed.
Prepare a Roux
Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
When the butter is fully melted add the flour all at once.
Lower the heat and stir the roux until the butter and flour are combined.
Continue to cook, stirring frequently for a few minutes or until the roux is aromatic and has darkened in color just a bit.
Immediately remove the roux to a bowl or storage container. Set aside.
Finish the Stew
Remove the stew pot from the refrigerator.
If a fat layer has formed on top use a spoon to scrape it off.
Put the pot back on stovetop. Cook (covered) over a low heat until the broth is liquid.
Strain the contents of the stewpot into a container.
Measure the broth. Add water to bring the volume back to five cups.
Put the broth back into the stew pot. Pick the beef out of the strainer and put it back into the stew pot. Discard the onions, garlic cloves and other stuff in the strainer.
Put the stewpot back on stovetop.
Whisk the room temperature roux into the warm broth.
Bring to a simmer whisking frequently. It will have thickened considerably.
Add the Thyme and garlic.
Add the carrots and potatoes. (note that recipe can be held here for service later).
Simmer the stew until the vegetables are fully cooked and heated though,
Add the peas. Heat briefly.
Add Parsley.
Add Salt and (freshly ground) pepper to taste
Serve hot from the pot with crusty bread.
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