What can I make with stew meat?
Stew Meat is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use stew meat, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with stew meat
Flemish Beef Stew
A hearty and flavorful stew from Flanders, made with tender beef, dark beer, and root vegetables.
Belgian180m4
Beef pumpkin Stew
Cut the beef into 1-inch chunks.
4
Bigos (Polish hunter's stew)
step 1 Put the cabbage in a heavy casserole dish, add the stock and cook over a low heat for about 50 mins, until tender.
Polish4
Massaman Beef curry
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then roast the peanuts on a baking tray for 5 mins until golden brown.
Thai4
Lemongrass beef stew with noodles
step 1 Put the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, coriander and 1 chilli in a food processor, then pulse until puréed.
Thai4
Brun Lapskaus (Norwegian Beef Vegetable Stew)
▢ Heat olive oil in a large pot.
Norway4
Smash Burger
Thin, ultra-crispy burger smashed on a hot griddle.
American10m4Smashed Cheeseburger
Thin, crispy-edged beef patties with American cheese on a toasted bun.
American20m4
Ground Beef Tacos
Classic American-style hard shell beef tacos.
Mexican20m4
Loaded Nachos
Tortilla chips baked with cheese, beans, and every topping.
Tex-Mex20m4
Beef and Broccoli
Tender flank steak stir-fried with broccoli in a glossy soy sauce.
Chinese-American25m4Sloppy Joes
Sweet-tangy saucy ground beef piled on soft buns.
American25m6
How to cook stew meat so it stays tender
- 1Pat the stew meat dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason stew meat turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with stew meat
Stew Meat is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus stew meat, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing stew meat
Keep raw stew meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting stew meat
If you are out of stew meat, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Stew Meat recipes: common questions
- What can I make with stew meat and not much else?
- Plenty. With stew meat plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest stew meat recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute stew meat?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover stew meat?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover stew meat without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should stew meat be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.