Foodies,
Made a beef stew today using beer as my braising liquid and seasoned with Vintage Port. Deelish.
I started by seasoning beef stew chunks with Lawry’s seasoned salt, fresh ground pepper and smoked paprika and then tossing them in flour. I sauteed these in a Dutch oven until nice and browned.
Then I diced half a large Vidalia onion and 3 large garlic cloves and sauteed them in the leftover drippings and some extra added virgin olive oil. I returned the beef to the pot and added a tall boy of Heinekin beer. I brought this a boil and then lowered to a gentle simmer and let it braise for 4 hours.
After this, I added some whole cremini mushrooms, baby carrots and forgoed the usual potatoes for some cauliflower instead. I let this simmer for 10 minutes more and then came the seasoning: 1 tsp each of Worcestershire and liquid smoke, 1 tsp chipotle powder, and 2 tsp rosemary followed by a 1/4 cup of Delaforce 1997 Quinta da Corte VIntage Port.
Let this simmer for 5 minutes more and then thickened with a cornstarch slurry. Absolutely delicious stuff going on a bed of brown basmati rice for dinner.
Tran, I’m not sure how old you are – but I wonder if you looked at your Lawry’s Seasoned Salt label? If it’s more than a few years old, it’s largely composed of MSG. Not that that is entirely bad, the flavor of, for example – that stuff you make with Cheerios and Chex and Worcestershire Sauce and bake in the oven – that mostly carries the flavor of Lawry’s and with MSG it tastes good, without it, not so much. Chex Mix?
I suppose my point is that putting VINTAGE Port into your dish seems a bit wasteful to me, when today’s Ruby Ports are so good, and LBV Ports (whatever they are calling them these days, Vintage Character??) are even better. Why did you choose Vintage Port? Also Paprika is a major ingredient in Lawry’s both old and new.
If you wanted something really traditional, a beef stew composed mostly of beer and onions has been made in Flanders since before Christopher Columbus. Stovery in Flemish, or Carbonnade a la Flammande in French. Cattle, onions, and beer are readily available in Flanders and it’s a classic.
I chose Vintage Port becaues the bottle had already been open. No wastage, I assure you, I have finished every last drop of it. The Lawry’s Seasoned Salt was a new bottle, I am aware of the unbelieveably high amounts of MSG the old mix used to possess. In fact, I think it actually left the market here in Canada for a while because of it before being reintroduced.
Ah. If vintage Port is “what’s open” then it makes perfect sense…