Stewed Beef with Oysters is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of cold roast beef pieces that are fried and finished with onions in a port wine sauce with oysters. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Stewed Beef with Oysters.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
STEWED BEEF WITH OYSTERS (Cold Meat Cookery).
668. INGREDIENTS.—A few thick steaks of cold ribs or sirloin of beef, 2 oz. of butter, 1 onion sliced, pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 glass of port wine, a little flour to thicken, 1 or 2 dozen oysters, rather more than 1/2 pint of water.
Mode.—Cut the steaks rather thick, from cold sirloin or ribs of beef; brown them lightly in a stewpan, with the butter and a little water; add 1/2 pint of water, the onion, pepper, and salt, and cover the stewpan closely, and let it simmer very gently for 1/2 hour; then mix about a teaspoonful of flour smoothly with a little of the liquor; add the port wine and oysters, their liquor having been previously strained and put into the stewpan; stir till the oysters plump, and serve. It should not boil after the oysters are added, or they will harden.
Time.—1/2 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 1s. 4d.
Seasonable from September to April.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
4 thick slices of cold roast beef
60g butter
1 onion, sliced
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
70ml port wine
1 tsp plain flour
20 oysters, scrubbed, bearded and shucked
300ml water
Method:
Melt the butter in a pan, add 2 tbsp water then use this to fry the beef until lightly browned. Add the 300ml water, along with the onion and season with salt and black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and simmer very gently for 30 minutes.
Mix the flour to a smooth slurry with 2 tbsp of the port wine and whisk into the liquid in the pan before adding the remainder of the port and the oysters (strain the oyster liquor and add this as well).
Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the oysters are plump and just cooked through (be careful not to allow the liquid to boil). Serve hot.
