Pushing the boundaries of whatÂ’s relevant, I thought IÂ’d give you a recipe this time. A quick look at the ingredients will tell you that this is definitely _not_ suitable for vegetarians.

Steak & Murphys Stew
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 to 60 minutes the night before
Cooking time: 3 hours


Ingredients

- one and a half to two lbs (750g to 1 kilo) of stewing beef (must be a rough stewing beef, if you use a more expensive cut itÂ’ll get overcooked);
- 1 pint (450ml) of stout (I’ve done some experimenting, Murphy’s Oyster is best – _if_ you can get it, regular Murphy’s is also excellent. Don’t use Guinness – they wouldn’t give me a free bar towel )
- half a pint of very strong beef stock (2 red OXO cubes is ideal);
- 2 ounces (50g) of plain flour;
- 2 large carrots;
- 1 large onion;
- Ground black pepper.
- Optional: half a pound (250g) of prepared lambsÂ’ kidneys. WhatÂ’s wrong with Kidneys BTW? TheyÂ’re rich in iron, rich in oil Â… rich in LambÂ’s p~~~
- For the topping: 8 ounces (250g) self-raising flour, 4 ounces (125g) beef suet, salt, pepper, mixed herbs, + about half a cup of water.

Serve with: broccoli (about 1lb/500g)
or, if youÂ’re more adventurous,
Brussells sprouts (around 60),
Roast potatoes & parsnips (1lb/500g of each). These take a lot more looking after though.


Preparation

The night before cooking, mix up your beef stock & leave to cool.
Chop the beef up into inch and a bit (3cm) pieces & throw them into a large casserole pot. Peel & roughly slice the carrots, finely chop the onion & throw them in too.
Put in the flour in & give it all a stir.
Open & pour in the stout, add the stock & stir again.
If youÂ’re adding the kidneys, _donÂ’t_ put those in with the stew at this point.
Depending on climate, either leave the pot in a cool place overnight, or put it in the fridge. If you do put it in the fridge, you need to remove it to return to near room temperature before you start cooking – this can take a couple of hours.

For the topping, mix the suet & flour in a bowl & add mixed herbs, a pinch of salt & a few grinds of pepper. DonÂ’t add the water at this point.

You can also prepare your veggies at the same time, broccoli just needs separating into florets, potatoes need peeling & chopping into 2” (5cm) pieces, parsnips need peeling & slicing lengthways into 2 or 4, depending on size. Brussels Sprouts need the outer leaves removing & the stalk chopping back a little. Sprouts & broccoli can be left alone overnight, taters & parsnips need to be soaked in water.


Cooking

If youÂ’re adding the kidneys, put these in the stew now & stir in.

Cook on the middle shelf of your oven, preheated to gas mark 5 (190C, 375F) for 2 and a half hours.
If youÂ’re doing parsnips, put them in a dish, pour vegetable or sunflower oil over them, and put them on the top shelf of the oven 90 minutes after the stew has gone in. Taters you can treat the same, but they need slightly longer to cook, so put them in 1 hour after the stew went in.

Potatoes & parsnips need turning & basting every 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Stirring the stew only needs to be done hourly.

Towards the end of the 2 and half hours, add water (a couple of spoonfuls at a time) to the dry topping mix. Add only enough water to hold the mix together, donÂ’t make the mixture too wet. Pat the mix out into a shape roughly the same size as the stew pot, then very carefully place it in the pot & return it to the oven. Put the timer on for another half hour, after which the stew will be ready.

During this time, get your broccoli or sprouts boiling – they take 8 to 12 minutes. If they finish before the stew, drain off the water to stop them overcooking.


Serving

Â… is a little awkward. Run a knife round the edge of the pot to separate the topping, then cut the topping into quarters Â… I use scissors for this bit. Ideally, you want a pile of stew with the topping over it, but youÂ’ll have to cheat to achieve this for the first portion.


Conclusion

If you did plenty of taters, parsnips & sprouts, youÂ’ll hopefully have enough left over to add some mash & make bubble & squeak the next day. Save the oil you cooked with for frying it up, it adds a lot of extra flavour. More details in a forthcoming article!

So, whatÂ’s the relevance to modding here then? Well, if you keep the veggies simple, thereÂ’s very little work to do when it comes to the cooking. This gives you plenty of time to do some modding, or, as Taz suggested, watching Â… umm Â… a _certain sort_ of video

What is it with Brits and thier diets concerning organs that are better left alone?

You do understand that it is the kidneys that filters your blood, takes out the bad stuff, and turns that stuff into the yellowish fluid that you relieve yourself of every morning in the privy?

Mmmm ..pi55y meat pie! Yummy!

Quote: Originally posted by FoeHammer What is it with Brits and thier diets concerning organs that are better left alone? You do understand that it is the kidneys that filters your blood, takes out the bad stuff, and turns that stuff into the yellowish fluid that you relieve yourself of every morning in the privy? Mmmm ..pi55y meat pie! Yummy!

Yes Foe' I referred to it as p~~~ in the article, and that's why I said they were _optional_.

I could ask why you Yanks are such poo-says when it comes to offal ... but I'm too polite

Quote: Originally posted by Jonny English I could ask why you Yanks are such poo-says when it comes to offal ...

Err, because it's OFFAL!

Save for the pi55y parts, it doesn't look too bad.

i love your references to bubble and squeak and suet and such forth Remeber we are Americans we dont know what the heck that stuff is, unless you are a chef like me and know the virtues of the lesser meats (aka organ!)

Personally, I'm game to try anything once. Had some sweet breads to die for at the Ritz in Amelia Island, Florida. Been craving them ever since. Now that being said, I gotta admit, Foe does have a point. Haggis anyone?

The best parts of meat are often times the one's that make us American's stomaches churn. I'm here to tell you the tongue, brain, and stomace are the most underappriciated parts of a bovine. Take your stinkin' T-bone steaks, I'll take the cow's tongue any day. That is fine eatting!

Quote: Take your stinkin' T-bone steaks, I'll take the cow's tongue any day.

OK I will.

I don't want to taste anything that use to taste back.