Juicy and fragrant beef stewed with gravy can decorate any side dish. Small tricks in the preparation of this capricious and demanding meat allow you to make its slices tender, almost melting in your mouth. Several types of gravy proposed below diversify the preparation of the dish, complementing or softening the taste of beef.

Classic Beef and Gravy Recipe

Stewing meat with a minimum number of seasonings and spices will preserve the natural taste of the product and allow the hostess to boast of the remarkable skill that cooking this dish requires.

For stewing use pulp - scapula, neck, a large piece of the hind leg, the so-called "apple".

Four servings will need approximately 600 grams of meat, cleaned of bones, films and fat.

In addition, you need:

  • onion - 1 or 2 onions, for an amateur;
  • garlic - a pair of cloves;
  • flour - a tablespoon;
  • vegetable oil for frying;
  • pepper and salt to taste.

Beef is cooked in two stages. First fry, then stew for a long time on low heat.

In the cooking process, you need to pay attention to several important details:

  1. The meat is cut across the fibers in even cubes. A raw piece should weigh at least 30 - 40 g, since during the heat treatment it will lose 30 - 40% of the volume.
  2. Before you start cooking, beef needs to be dried with a napkin or towel. Wet meat will “shoot” in hot oil.
  3. The frying pan should be very hot so that the protein on the surface of the pieces curls very quickly and seals the meat juice inside. Only in this case the beef will be tender and juicy. If the process goes right, the meat will turn white first, and then a golden crust will appear.Pieces must be constantly turned so that they are browned on all sides evenly.
  4. The beef is fried until the liquid formed in the pan evaporates so that drops of coagulated blood do not get into the gravy.
  5. After that, coarsely chopped onions are added to the pan. It should soften slightly and become transparent.
  6. The flour is heated in a separate dry frying pan to a slightly yellowish color and diluted in two glasses of hot water.
  7. The liquid is poured into the meat and brought to a boil.
  8. Add salt and pepper. Salt draws juice from products, so it is important to add it at the very end and together with water.
  9. The meat is cooked over low heat under a lid.

Young beef stew 1 - 1.5 hours. If the meat of an old animal is used, the cooking time is increased to 2 - 2.5 hours. Fiber should be easily separated from the finished meat. Before serving, the dish should “rest” under the lid for another fifteen minutes, so that the gravy is infused and thickened.

Cooking in Tomato Sauce

Gravy with tomatoes will turn out a little spicy, with a pleasant acidity.

For the sauce, prepare in advance:

  • tomatoes - 4 - 5 pcs.;
  • salt - 10 g;
  • sugar - 30 g;
  • soy sauce - 50 g.

Tomatoes are blanched in boiling water, peeled and mixed with the rest of the ingredients. You can use ready-made tomato paste, but then it costs less to salt the meat.

For half a kilogram of beef you will need:

  • carrots - 1 pc.;
  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.;
  • vegetable oil for frying;
  • a mixture of peppers, salt.

The vegetable mixture in tomato sauce will turn out quite thick. It is not necessary to use flour in this recipe.

  1. Slices of beef fried over high heat.
  2. Bulgarian pepper, carrots and onions are separately fried.
  3. Vegetables and meat are poured with a glass of boiling water. Add salt and pepper.
  4. The meat is stewed almost until cooked.
  5. It is poured with sauce and boiled for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Stewed Meat

A properly balanced sauce will add piquancy to the meat, while maintaining a soft taste.

For gravy prepare:

  • wine vinegar 3% - 20 g;
  • mustard - 5 g;
  • sugar - 60 g;
  • tomato paste - 60 g;
  • ground rye crackers - 60 g;
  • flour - 30 g.

For three to four servings you will need:

  • beef pulp - 500 g;
  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • carrots - 1 pc.;
  • salt, pepper to taste.

The sauce is mixed separately during the preparation of meat.

  1. Slices of beef brown over high heat.
  2. Add vegetables and fry for another 10 minutes.
  3. Add 100 ml of water so that the meat does not boil, but also does not dry out.
  4. For 15 to 20 minutes until ready, pour the sauce, try on the amount of salt. If necessary, add salt and pepper.
  5. Beef with vegetables is cooked under cover.

To surprise guests, gravy popular since Soviet times can be replaced with sweet and sour sauce of traditional Chinese cuisine:

  • soy sauce - 60 ml;
  • tomato juice - 60 ml;
  • lemon juice - 30 ml;
  • liquid honey - 2 tablespoons;
  • garlic - 2 cloves.

This sauce is also poured into the stew 20 minutes before being cooked and served with beef.

Cooking meat in a creamy sauce

A special combination of flavors creates meat juice with dairy products.

Under the influence of temperature, the acid disappears, leaving the meat a delicate creamy aftertaste.

For gravy to beef, you can use sour cream, kefir or fermented baked milk. The fatter the dairy product is, the more caloric and tender the taste of the dish.

For 600 g of meat you will need:

  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • sour cream - 150 g;
  • vegetable oil for frying;
  • salt.

The preparation and cooking time is record short.

  1. The meat is slightly steamed. It is not worth browning it strongly, in sour cream it will in any case retain juiciness and aroma.
  2. Onions are heated with the meat until transparent for 3-4 minutes.
  3. Sour cream is added and salt is added.

Young meat will be ready in 50 minutes. In the process of cooking, you need to check the liquid level and, if necessary, add 50 - 100 ml.

Large beef stew with gravy

During cooking, beef loses 30 - 40% of the volume.You need to cut it into cubes with an edge of about 4 cm, so that large pieces are obtained in the finished dish. Cooking time will have to be increased so that the products are properly stewed.

Beef stewed in large pieces will turn out juicy and soft if lightly marinated beforehand.

The meat will not be digested and will acquire a piquant taste with a classic red wine marinade:

  • wine - 1 tablespoon;
  • wine vinegar - half a tablespoon;
  • sugar - 2 tablespoons;
  • rosemary, cloves and mustard - a quarter teaspoon each;
  • onion - 1 pc.

The ingredients must be heated, almost brought to a boil. Cool and mix with finely chopped onions. This amount is enough for 1 kg of meat.

  1. Beef is kept in the marinade for at least two hours.
  2. Before frying, the meat liquid is drained, the pieces are dried on a napkin.
  3. Beef brown for 15 minutes over high heat. Each piece is turned over several times with a spatula.
  4. Coarsely chopped carrots, onions and peppers are added to the meat, sprinkled with salt and flour. The whole contents of the pan are poured with hot water and stewed over a small fire for 1 - 1.5 hours.
  5. Before cooking, you can add your favorite spices and herbs to taste.

Hungarian beef goulash

This national dish does not require a side dish. Traditional Hungarian goulash looks more like a thick tomato soup, in which meat and vegetables are almost equally divided. It can be served on the first or second, as an independent dish.

For 800 g of beef, take:

  • potatoes - 0.5 kg;
  • tomatoes - 700 g;
  • Bulgarian colored pepper - 1 pc.;
  • a stem of celery or parsley - 1 pc.;
  • carrots - 1 pc.;
  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • garlic - 1 clove;
  • paprika - 1 tablespoon;
  • caraway seeds, salt, pepper.

The meat and vegetables are cut into large pieces of almost the same size, after which they follow a simple algorithm of actions

  1. The meat is fried over high heat.
  2. Carrots and onions passer separately. Add to the meat.
  3. A few tablespoons of water are poured into the beef, and the pan is covered with a lid.
  4. After half an hour add bell pepper.
  5. Stew vegetables with meat for 5 - 10 minutes and transfer to a deep pan or cauldron.
  6. In the remaining fat, tomatoes and garlic, passed through the press, are blanched. After 5 to 10 minutes with active stirring, they turn into mashed potatoes. Tomatoes can be wiped through a sieve so that pieces of peel do not get into the goulash.
  7. The resulting tomato puree, potatoes, celery and caraway seeds are added to the meat.
  8. Goulash stewed over low heat for at least 1.5 hours.

Vegetables must retain their shape, so mix the dish especially carefully.

Beef goulash with gravy

A simple option for goulash is beef stewed with a small amount of vegetables and tomato paste.

For half a kilogram of meat you will need:

  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • carrots - 1 pc.;
  • flour - 1 tablespoon;
  • tomato paste - 2 tablespoons;
  • vegetable oil for frying;
  • salt, spices to taste.

It will be convenient to cook if you use two pans at once: deep and wide.

  1. Heat a wide frying pan with vegetable oil and put out the beef pulp, cut into large cubes.
  2. Meat, constantly turning the slices, brown for 15 minutes until golden brown. After this, transfer the beef to a deep pan.
  3. In fat, where the meat was fried, sauté carrots and onions.
  4. Transfer vegetables to meat.
  5. Pour at least two glasses of hot water into a deep pan. Add salt and spices. Simmer for about an hour.
  6. In a wide frying pan in the remaining oil, pass the tomato paste. Add some water and flour to it.
  7. Pour the tomato paste into the meat. Simmer for 5 minutes so that the gravy does not lose color.

Like in kindergarten

Cooking beef stew with gravy according to technological maps for DOW eliminates the use of spices, peppers and marinades. For seasoning, only tomato paste and bay leaf are allowed. Therefore, the taste of the dish is especially delicate and soft.

Foods in four “adult” servings:

  • beef - 500 g;
  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • carrots - 1 pc.;
  • tomato paste - a tablespoon;
  • wheat flour - a tablespoon;
  • butter - a tablespoon;
  • bay leaf - 1 pc.;
  • salt to taste.

Goulash is supposed to use a spatula, brisket or knuckle from cutting beef in a preschool educational institution.

  1. Cubes of meat of 20-30 g weigh are fried over high heat until golden brown.
  2. The tomato paste is sautéed in butter and spread in a pan.
  3. Beef is poured "top" with hot water and stewed under the lid for an hour.
  4. In butter, chopped onions and carrots finely chopped, then stew vegetables with meat for half an hour.
  5. The flour warms up in a dry frying pan for no more than a minute, so that it does not have time to darken. After that, it is bred in a small amount of hot water and poured into the stew 10 minutes before being cooked.
  6. Put bay leaf in the prepared meat and bring the dish to a boil.

In a slow cooker

Beef in a slow cooker is prepared in accordance with all the processing requirements of this capricious product. Modern kitchen appliances allow stewing meat for a long time, without fear that it will dry out or burn. During cooking, you do not need to look under the lid all the time, releasing the steam necessary for proper extinguishing.

For 600 g of beef you will need:

  • onion - 1 pc.;
  • garlic - 2 cloves;
  • tomato paste or soy sauce - 3 tablespoons;
  • vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons;
  • butter - a tablespoon;
  • flour - a tablespoon;
  • pepper, salt.

Beef needs to be browned and then darkened in a little heat, so two multi-cooker modes will be used.

  1. First set the mode "Frying", the type of product - "Meat".
  2. At the bottom of the bowl heat the vegetable oil. Sliced ​​in small pieces (about 2 cm each) beef is lowered into a bowl and lightly fried for about ten minutes.
  3. When the pieces of meat get a golden crust, pour sauce or tomato paste to them, add butter to soften the sauce. The lid is covered for 15 minutes.
  4. During this time, chopped onions. During cooking, it will completely dissolve in the gravy, so it does not matter what size the pieces will be.
  5. Onions are fried with beef until tender. The "Frying" mode is turned off.
  6. Flour and salt are diluted in hot water. The liquid is poured into the meat. Extinguishing mode is activated.
  7. After an hour, the meat is checked for readiness. Young beef during this time should become soft, more mature meat can be stewed for another half an hour.
  8. Garlic and pepper are added to the finished dish, mixed and allowed to “rest” under the lid for 10 to 15 minutes. During this time, the meat is saturated with the aroma of garlic, and the gravy thickens.

Beef with gravy is a dish loved by many since childhood. For the hostess, this is a great option for a quick and simple dinner, which does not require special culinary skills, but always turns out to be delicious.

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