Why déjà vu? Because somewhere in your memory lurks a delicious home cooked stew you’ve never forgotten, or an idealised image of what one would be like, and when you smell this slow-cook ragu cooking, you get a strange sense you’re about to be delighted. Again!
Seriously, if you could bottle up the smell of this ragu cooking and use it at open house inspections, you’d have more house sales. It smells of home. Of care and comfort. Of the promise of heartiness and warm hugs.
What makes it even better is that the recipe, Donna Hay’s Slow Cooked Beef Ragu is chef’s-kiss-easy no-brainer, always impressive, and as delicious as it smells.
A few things I’ll add to the discussion. My slow cook is much longer than Donna’s slow cook because of my squeamishness re textures. I prefer the meat super broken down. Donna’s total time in the oven is 2.5 hours. Mine is 4 hours. A slow cook can be as long as you want, though, if the oven is low enough and there’s enough liquid to stop it drying out.
Donna initially roasts for 2 hours. I do it for 3 hours, at a slightly lower temperature. At three hours, use two forks to pull the meat apart. It should pull apart, without falling apart, while retaining some fat. Discard any obvious REALLY fatty bits. Then back in the oven for at least another half an hour, and then, with the forks, it should very easily shred ie fall apart. If not (unlikely), give it a little more time.
“If you could bottle up the smell of this ragu cooking and use it at open house inspections, you’d have more house sales.
My other tips: I use 1.2 kg of chuck steak, because I end up throwing out maybe some fattier bits that other people may enjoy, so I overcompensate on volume.
I use 2-3 diced carrots (because why not), sweating them off with the onion. I often throw in another half a cup of wine at the three hour mark, because of the longer cooking time, and I like extra sauce (especially if I’m planning on freezing), plus I like the deeper flavour.
One other thing. It’s old-fashioned, but I like to cover my stews with foil, rather than a lid. I find it helps with the over-browning thing. I cover the stew throughout the cooking time. Et voilà!
Summary
| Donna Hay – Queen | Stewed Pears – Disciple | ||
| Total oven time | 2.5 hours at 180C | 4 hours at 175C | |
| Breakdown of oven time | 2 hours covered then 30 min uncovered, then shred meat | 3 hours covered, roughly pull meat apart, then 30-min to 1 hour covered, then shred | |
| Beef brisket/chuck steak | 1kg | 1.2kg | |
| Extra vegetables | – | 2-3 diced carrots | |
| Red wine | 1 cup | 1.5 – 2 cups depending how spicy I feel |
Good bread and good drink, a good fire in the hall,
Brawn, pudding, and souse, and good mustard withal.
Beef, mutton, and pork, and good pies of the best,
Pig, veal, goose, and capon, and turkey well drest,
Cheese, apples and nuts, and good carols to hear,
As then in the country is counted good cheer.
-Thomas tusser, “christmas cheer” (1557)
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