Stewed Beef or Rump Steak is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of beef pieces that are fried to colour and stewed with vegetables in a ketchup-flavourd stock thickened with flour. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Stewed Beef or Rump Steak.
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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 or RUMP STEAK (an Entree).
666. INGREDIENTS.—About 2 lbs. of beef or rump steak, 3 onions, 2 turnips, 3 carrots, 2 or 3 oz. of butter, 1/2 pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 ds. of pepper, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of flour.
Mode.—Have the steaks cut tolerably thick and rather lean; divide them into convenient-sized pieces, and fry them in the butter a nice brown on both sides. Cleanse and pare the vegetables, cut the onions and carrots into thin slices, and the turnips into dice, and fry these in the same fat that the steaks were done in. Put all into a saucepan, add 1/2 pint of water, or rather more should it be necessary, and simmer very gently for 2-1/2 or 3 hours; when nearly done, skim well, add salt, pepper, and ketchup in the above proportions, and thicken with a tablespoonful of flour mixed with 2 of cold water. Let it boil up for a minute or two after the thickening is added, and serve. When a vegetable-scoop is at hand, use it to cut the vegetables in fanciful shapes, and tomato, Harvey's sauce, or walnut-liquor may be used to flavour the gravy. It is less rich if stewed the previous day, so that the fat may be taken off when cold; when wanted for table, it will merely require warming through.
Time.—3 hours. Average cost, 1s. per lb.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1kg steaks (rump or stewing) cut thickly and cubed
90g butter
3 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 turnips, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
300ml water
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 dessert spoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp plain flour
Method:
Melt the butter in a pan, add the steak cubes and fry until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Stir in the onion, carrot and turnip pieces into the butter remaining in the pan and fry for about 8 minutes, or until the onion is lightly browned.
Turn the vegetable mixture into a saucepan then add the beef and pour in 300ml of water. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and cook gently for about 150 minutes. When the stew is nearly ready skim the surface thoroughly and add the salt, black pepper and ketchup.
Whisk in the plain flour until smooth and cook until the sauce is thickened. Serve hot.
