Jazz up Your Night with Peppered Beef Stew

            We've posted beef stew recipes here before, and with good reason: it’s kind of like our signature dish. Good Housekeeping magazine voted VitaClay the best cooker for beef stew a couple of years ago, and we can’t help but agree! (You may see the original review here)

            Beef stew is amazing cooked in VitaClay. To boot, it’s a super easy, nutritionally dense meal that will leave you satisfied and happy. It’s also pretty straight-forward, though there are things you can add or subtract to make it into your very own family favorite recipe.

            This peppered beef stew adds a bit of a twist to the traditional beef stew, and the flavors are really excellent. It won’t replace your traditional stew, but this beef stew with a kick will definitely become a favorite in my household and many others!

Ingredients:

• 1 sirloin tip beef roast (2lb)
• 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1  baking potato, peeled & diced
• 3-4 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1 bottle beer (optional)
• 1 c broth (2 c if not using beer)
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T  parsley flakes
• 1-2 t ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Cut a large cavity in the shape of an X in the roast and put the roast into the VitaClay pot
2. Stuff roast cavity with sliced red onion and minced garlic
3. Add potatoes and baby carrots to the top of the roast
4. Pour beer/broth, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce over the roast
5. Sprinkle with parsley, and ground pepper. Add bay leaves to the liquid
6. Cover and seal. Set to “stew” for 2 hours. Roast should shred easily with two forks.
7. Add salt to taste.
8. To thicken the soup, you can add tapioca or other starch to the cooking liquid