Beef bone Stew

[Frantz]

So last weekend I tried out a beef bone stew when I was camping with my girlfriend's family. I have never made it before, so I found a recipe online and went with that. I ended up feeding about ten hungry campers, so it was a lot of fun! Since I'm pretty new to this whole thing, I learned quite a bit as well.

When I pulled my grill off my truck bed, I got a lot of crap and people saying that I was cheating by bringing a grill to camp with, but by the end of the trip, EVERYONE was cooking their food on my grill. I just kept adding more charcoal to the grill, and it ran for about 2 days straight! I was surprised by how few people had experience with charcoal grilling. Everyone was interested in my experience with it and was asking a ton of questions. I think by the end of the trip, 2 or three people told me that they were going to get a charcoal grill- it was great! Anyway, my beef stew...

I tried to plan as much as I could since I had limited supplies at the camp site. So the night before, I bought a roast and cut it up into steaks. I packed them in some Tupperware with salt, pepper, and garlic. I also cut up all my veggies, onion and garlic. I used about 6 large potatoes, a few carrots, and celery.



I got to the site and first seared the steaks- I put them on the grill under hot fire for only a few minutes on either side so the insides were uncooked still. I then took about 2 1/2 lbs. of beef bone and quickly seared them as well. In the meantime, I put my cast iron pot (Dutch oven? No idea, I'm new!) on the indirect side of the grill and began cooking the onion and garlic in olive oil. I tossed in all of the cut up ingredients along with about 15 boiler onions.




I then topped off the pot with water, more salt, pepper and garlic powder, and kept it over indirect heat. I closed the lid and periodically checked to make sure it stayed at a simmer. About 3 hours later, it was ready to go!



My girlfriend snapped a picture of me prepping the grill and my dog scavenging the area for any leftover food (good way to keep the area clean).


Everyone loved it! The beef bone made the broth so flavorful and the grill gave the stew a really nice smokey flavor. My girlfriend's mom has 8 kids, so she was thankful for someone else to cook a meal so she could relax for once. I think next time I will use more seasoning in the actual stew though. I'm not sure what kinds of spices, I may just mess around with others. Any other suggestions from you guys for future cooks on this are welcome!


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[1buckie]

Tremendous STORY !!!!!!

This right here:  "but by the end of the trip, EVERYONE was cooking their food on my grill."
was the first clue...............
Good show, demonstrating to others how well a Weber can do in any situation !!!

Great  looking stew, reminds me of the things my Grandpa used to fix up....
He would bury the D. O. down in the campfire coals is really the only difference !!!!

Made points with Mom for taking over the cooking some, fed people good, rich stuff, taught Weberology, had fun, tried something new & different, helped clean up the campsite....this is a long list & like said a GREAT  story !!!

As far as spices, I try to go more with savory things for beef, seems a good general rule.....a little ground celery seed, dried rosemary, you could add a little beef base to the water you're adding in, but go careful as it's pretty concentrated, maybe a small amount of a favorite beef rub that you like the taste of......add in just a little of these things at a time so it doesn't overwhelm the basic goods......that rich taste is from the marrow in the seared bones most likely....folks pay high dollar in restaurants for that, ya know !!!!!

Some folks will add in biscuits on top the last 20 minutes or so & let them bake against the lid, takes a bit of practice to get it right, but a nice addition............


Again, way to represent, man !!!!!

[G$]

Posts like this are grate.  And that last picture reminds me of the ones we see from the late 50s and early 60s of the guys grilling on the webers.    Sepia tones, here we come!

[MacEggs]

I agree ... Awesome post!  Nicely done, and keep at 'er. 

[landgraftj]

Awesome story! Now we just need you to remove that Indiana sweatshirt and replace it with the Illini!

[Frantz]

Hey thanks Buckie! I'll have to try those spice tips out next time. Glad I hit all the bases- it was definitely a great experience that was so much fun.

Now we just need you to remove that Indiana sweatshirt and replace it with the Illini!

Ha! I went to IU for undergrad and grad school, so I'm a Hoosier for life!

Thanks for the encouragement guys- it's all a new experience that I'm having so much fun with. I'm grilling almost nightly and driving my neighbors nuts haha!

[1buckie]

You bet, man !!!!!


Encouragement is where it's at & you did grate !!!!!

[pbe gummi bear]

Hey thanks Buckie! I'll have to try those spice tips out next time. Glad I hit all the bases- it was definitely a great experience that was so much fun.

Now we just need you to remove that Indiana sweatshirt and replace it with the Illini!

Ha! I went to IU for undergrad and grad school, so I'm a Hoosier for life!

Thanks for the encouragement guys- it's all a new experience that I'm having so much fun with. I'm grilling almost nightly and driving my neighbors nuts haha!

Keep up the good work! It's never too late to start being a year-round griller. Do you have a camp dutch oven?  A few guys here are able to cook on the do with the charcoal directly over and under it- It'll free up the grill or you can leave it back home like your family wanted  . Nothing wrong with cooking on fire though. Check this thread out: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/dutch-ovens/msg100412/#msg100412 I still have no DO.

[SixZeroFour]

Frantz, your stew looks delicious man! Sharp looking dog as we'll!

[Frantz]

Keep up the good work! It's never too late to start being a year-round griller. Do you have a camp dutch oven?  A few guys here are able to cook on the do with the charcoal directly over and under it- It'll free up the grill or you can leave it back home like your family wanted  . Nothing wrong with cooking on fire though. Check this thread out: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/dutch-ovens/msg100412/#msg100412 I still have no DO.

Oh this thread is awesome! I don't have a DO that can hold charcoal directly on the lid, but I may have to get one of those! That's also a really good idea on placing it on the bottom grate to free up some space. Might also catch a few drippings from other cooks

Frantz, your stew looks delicious man! Sharp looking dog as we'll!

Thanks! This is my youngest dog - an 8 month old English Creme golden retriever. He's a pretty good vacuum cleaner and keeps my area licked up pretty well, haha!

[Idahawk]

Killer cook , I do a lot Dutch oven and camp cooking , the Weber is the only way to go at camp ! Great job

[Metal Mike]

Always good times learning here...

Thanks for the encouragement guys- it's all a new experience that I'm having so much fun with. I'm grilling almost nightly and driving my neighbors nuts haha!

it'll taper; still 3-5 times per week tho, gotta save time for leftovers   

[Frantz]

it'll taper; still 3-5 times per week tho, gotta save time for leftovers   

Yeah, I've expected it to calm down a bit. I've been doing about 4 times a week for the past 2 weeks. If I had meat to grill every single night though, I would! It just gets a little pricey to do it that often, haha!