Rich, hearty, and delicious are just three adjectives used to described this stew. A perfect meal for those chilly nights or when you need a one-pot meal after a busy day. Another great plus for this stew is that it is easy on the budget. In fact, this stew was born from thriftiness. This recipe is a list of inexpensive and easily procured ingredients; beef chuck roast, cheap veggies, and water for the stewing liquid.
This stew comes together easily. First, the meat is browned and the carrots, onion and allspice are cooked in the pot. After the veggies have cooked about 2 minutes, the tomatoes, water, ham hock, barley, thyme, beef, and salt are cooked in an oven for 1 3/4 hours. The Dutch oven is removed from the oven and potatoes, turnip, and green beans are added to the pot. The stew is returned to the oven and cooked another 45 minutes. Finally, the cabbage is added and the stew is cooked another 15 minutes before serving.
A delicious and inexpensive meal awaits your family.
Mulligan Stew
From "Cook's Country" Magazine
Ingredients:
1 (4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths (2 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
5 1/2 cups water
1 (12-ounce) smoked ham hock
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (8-ounce) turnip, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage
Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes, reducing heat if pot bottom becomes too dark. Transfer beef to plate, Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef.
2. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, carrots, onion, and allspice to now-empty pot. Cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits, until onion is just softened, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juice and cook until nearly dry, about 8 minutes. Add water, ham hock, barley, thyme, beef and any accumulated juices, and 1 teaspoon salt. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook for 1 3/4 hours.
3. Remove pot from oven; stir in potatoes, turnip, and green beans. Cover, return to oven, and cook until potatoes and turnips are nearly tender, about 45 minutes. Remove pot from oven, then remove ham hock from stew and let cool for 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred meat from ham hock, discarding skin and bones.
4. Stir cabbage and ham hock meat into stew. Cover, return to oven, and cook until all vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Serves 8
