Sake Beef Stew

You'd think that beef stew wouldn't be appropriate for the month of May, but we have average temperatures much lower than any that have been seen in the past 27 years in Chicago, so looking forward to a pot of beef stew is JUST RIGHT.

I'm no stranger to cooking with wine, so I thought I'd branch out a bit and give the hearty beef and onions a slightly sweeter taste by cooking them in sake.

Sake in Beef Stew

Traditional with a flair

ANY time of year!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs grass-fed chuck-eye roast cubed for stew
• 1 large onion
• 5 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 8 medium red potatoes
• Vegetable broth
• 8 oz frozen peas
• Water
• black pepper
• salt
• 1/2 cup sake
• 5 Tbsp flour or other thickener

1. Brown half of the onion (coarsely chopped) and beef in a skillet.  Drain the juices into a crockpot or stockpot.  Whisk flour into this juice and set aside.  Continue cooking and draining, until the beef and onion have created a crispy crust-like coating on the pan.  Dump the onion and beef in the pot and add a bit of water to the skillet to deglaze.  Scrape crust-like coating and water into the stockpot.  Add sake.
2. Cube the onion and potatoes.  Add potatoes, onion and carrots to the pot.  Cook, uncovered until juices are at the bottom of the pot.  Add vegetable broth and water to cover and cook, covered, on medium for 90 minutes.  If in a crockpot, cook on high.
3. 15 minutes before serving, add the frozen peas, salt, and pepper to taste.

Enjoy with bread and butter or over mashed potatoes or rice.

This dish can be made gluten-free by using a thickener besides wheat flour.