Every week or so my grandfather likes to cook steak. He needs his protein! Until recently he had been living alone and his favorite, most convenient way to do this was with one of those indoor George Foreman types; squeeze it flat till it's cooked grills. Not my favorite thing but they sure are great for apartments like the one he was living in and super easy for someone who doesn't want to mess with fire and outdoor grill mess.
Anyway, he brought it along with him when he moved in with us. Good thing because we need a new outdoor grill! I think the last one we had ended up getting a birds nest in it and it got tossed.
It was steak night and for some reason, the steaks just came out super tough. They had been marinated and tenderized but they were so tough my grandfather couldn't chew it without hurting his jaws. He told me to try to salvage the meat somehow because he hated to throw it away. Thus, the Leftover Tough Steak Stew was born.
It's a pretty traditional stew except instead of stew meat you use that tough steak you'd hate to throw away. It turns out super tender, falling apart with the touch of a fork. Yum!
Leftover Tough Steak Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp red wine
- 1 cup beef stock or broth
- 1/3 cup peas
- 1/3 celery sliced
- 1 lb tough steak cubed
- 1 tbsp flour + extra
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup baby carrots
- 4-5 golden potatoes cubed
- 1 tsp parsley fresh or dried
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 packet Lipton beefy onion soup mix
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- In a plastic bag shake the meat with salt and 1 tbsp. flour until well coated.
- Over medium high heat, warm the olive oil in a skillet until hot. Brown the steak and move to the crock pot.
- Add carrots, potatoes, celery, and pepper to the crock pot. In a bowl, combine the soup mix and water until well blended; pour into crock pot.
- In the original skillet, melt the butter and sauté onions until clear; add to crock pot. Deglaze the skillet with the red wine; loosening food bits with a spatula. Turn off heat and pour wine mixture and beef stock into crock pot.
- Cover crock pot and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce the heat to low and cook for six hours or until meat is tender.
- Once meat is tender, add in additional flour and peas. Cook uncovered for 15-30 minutes or until thickened to your desire.
This recipe calls for a teaspoon of minced garlic. Yes, I could have used jarred garlic or even powdered but I wanted it to be super fresh. I used my Alpha Grillers Garlic Press ($15) and Peeler Set to get the freshest garlic possible.
The Alpha Grillers Garlic Press and Peeler Set is super easy to use. Place a clove of unpeeled garlic into the silicone tube roller. On the counter or cutting board (would be easier on the counter as you can tell from the video), roll the silicone tube firmly back and forth. Pour out a peeled clove of garlic that's ready to be pressed or cut. Place the peeled garlic clove into the Alpha Grillers Garlic Press and squeeze. Couldn't be simpler, huh!?
The Alpha Grillers Garlic Press can also press unpeeled garlic cloves if you wish. This takes a bit more force but it does it perfectly.
The Alpha Grillers Garlic Press is not some cheap kitchen gadget. It feels extremely durable and sturdy being made out of solid stainless steel. It has weight to it and gives you the peace of mind that it's not going to break any time soon. And if it does it has a lifetime guarantee! The solidness the press has to it makes it extremely easy for even someone with little hands (like me) to press garlic with it.
It is also easy to clean- just run water through it. It's also dishwasher safe so you can pop it there too to clean any crevasses you may have missed. AND It comes in a great box making it a great gift for the chef in your life! It's a great set and I would recommend it to anyone who loves garlic (or even ginger). My house smelt like garlic bread for several hours after pressing my garlic, some may not like that but I thought it smelt good! No vampires lurking around here.
I’ve totally done this! Tough meat can be ‘salvaged’ by just cutting it up and cooking it more in a soup or stew. This stew sounds good, too.
We also sometimes cut it into little pieces and cook it in eggs
What a great idea for a recipe and using steak that din’t turn out as good as you hoped. I have a few garlic presses and tools; some are better then others. Regardless, to say use them all the time would be an understatement.
Thanks Susan! I hate when meat turns out tough but now I have a fail safe. And garlic is yummy so the presses are so nice for fresh garlic!