John Torode's beef stew

Friday 5 October at 12:50pm

In honour of Eamonn’s mum Josie, John has made a version her famous stew! To make a great stew, the meat has to be cooked long and slow, but you want it to be moist and succulent, so only use chunks like shin, cheek or tail that have plenty of sinew and a little fat so the meat stays together and is moist, not dry and stringy.

Josie's famous beef stew

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2kg stewing steak, such as skirt, shin, brisket, cheek or tail, trimmed of excess fat but leave in all the gristle, then cut into 3cm cubes

80g plain flour

Salt and pepper

50ml vegetable oil

2 large onions, roughly chopped

1 litre stock or water

50ml Worcestershire sauce

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes

For the pie pastry (optional):

200g lard, at room temperature

400g self-raising flour, sifted

1 pinch salt

180ml cold water

1 egg

A little milk

Method

Shake the meat and flour in a plastic bag with some salt and pepper – a quick way of coating the meat in the flour with no mess.
Heat a cast-iron or other heavy-based pan over a medium heat and add the oil. When hot, fry the onions for about 3 minutes.
Add the floured meat and cook until coloured, about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock (or water) and add the Worcestershire sauce.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours.
Add the potatoes and cook for a further 1 hour. After this time check the meat – when ready it will be soft and break apart when squeezed. The sauce should be rich and thick. Season as necessary.
If making this into a pie, make the pastry by rubbing the lard into the flour and salt, or put in a food processor and mix, until resembling breadcrumbs. Add the water bit by bit and mix to a dough. Let rest for 20 minutes.
Heat the oven to 190C, gas 5. Three-quarters fill an ovenproof pie dish with the meat mixture. Roll out the pastry to 3cm thick and cut into a shape large enough to cover the top of the dish.
Beat the egg and milk together and brush over the rim of the dish. Press the edges of the pastry down firmly. Brush the pastry with the egg wash, then cut a small hole in the middle to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 40 minutes - if the edges of the pastry become too brown, protect with some foil.