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Beef Stew

Source of Recipe

From "Beginner's Guide to Canning" by Diane Devereaux


Recipe Introduction

"Comfort food at its finest, I crave this hearty stew on cool, rainy days. Enjoy alongside freshly baked bread or serve over roasted garlic mashed potatoes."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
â—¦ 2 pounds stewing beef, cut into bite-size pieces (6 cups)
â—¦ 8 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (4 cups)
â—¦ 4 medium yellow or red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces (4 cups)
â—¦ 3 medium sweet onions, chopped (3 cups)
â—¦ 6 medium Roma tomatoes, diced (3 cups)
â—¦ 3 celery stalks, chopped (1 ½ cups)
â—¦ 1 tablespoon dried parsley
â—¦ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
â—¦ 2 teaspoons salt (optional)
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dried basil
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
â—¦ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 8 cups beef broth
â—¦ 5 cups water


Recipe

This recipe is hot packed, so have clean jars resting in hot water. In a stockpot, starting with 1 tablespoon of oil and working in batches of about 2 cups at a time, cook the beef until it is lightly browned on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. The meat should not be cooked through. Remove each batch from the stockpot before starting a new batch and place the browned meat in a bowl.

Return all the browned beef to the stockpot and add the carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, celery, parsley, oregano, salt (if using), basil, thyme, and pepper. Mix well. Add the beef broth and water and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Place the hot jars on a cutting board. Using a funnel, ladle the hot stew into the jars, leaving a 1-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles and add additional stew if necessary to maintain the 1-inch headspace. Wipe the rim of each jar with a warm washcloth dipped in distilled white vinegar. Place a lid and ring on each jar and hand-tighten.

Fill the pressure canner with 3 quarts of water and add 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar. Place the jars in the pressure canner, lock the pressure canner lid, and bring to a boil over high heat. Let the canner vent for 10 minutes. Close the vent and continue heating to achieve 11 PSI for a dial gauge and 10 PSI for a weighted gauge. Process quarts for 90 minutes and pints for 75 minutes.

After the processing time has been reached, turn off the heat. Allow the pressure in the canner to reach zero on its own, which usually takes about 30 minutes. Safely remove the canner lid and allow the jars to sit for 10 minutes inside the canner before removing.

Makes 6 quarts or 12 pints