What to eat in a Nor'easter
Marblehead Beef Stew with Gin
serves 6
February 12, 2020, the thermometer reads high forties and the seas beyond my desk read quiet, but recently those waves have delivered olympic versions of themselves in height and force, enormous muscled rollers arriving in Folly Cove from the North East, and landing on our rocks seconds apart. They smash tons of water at granite. That energy transfer means explosive white seawater shooting upward higher than the second stories of the Folly Point homes perched on the cliff above.
While today is calm and the ice on the trails in the woods may be melting, winter isn’t over. If you live in the Northeast, or in any place with a powerful show of winter, you will need this stew, first published in my cookbook, In Cod We Trust.
In one Marblehead community cookbook I own, there is a recipe for “One Pot Fish Chowder, with Gin.” In another there is this wonderful, slow-cooked beef stew recipe, brimming with wild mushrooms, finished with that seemingly favorite local spirit, gin.
Maybe the ghosts of privateers haunt the knobby kitchens of 18th century homes on Marblehead’s Front Street, inspiring the bottle to tip into more than just a bar glass. Or maybe the sunset salutes, capped by cold cocktails, upon the decks of Marblehead’s multiple Yacht Clubs have allowed the cocktail to tipple into Marblehead pots. Or maybe Marblehead folks just know how to freshen a recipe. This stew is simply one of the best beef stew recipes out there; one guest thought a faintly cold, clean taste came through the three hours of simmering red wine, beef, carrots and mushrooms. That would be the gin. Gin in evidence or not, this is decidedly the ideal meal to say “pshaw!” to a Massaachusetts Nor’Easter.
Ingredients
3 - 4 pounds chuck beef
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups onions, cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
3 cups carrots, peeled, and cut on the diagonal into 1 inch chunks
3 cups wild mushrooms roughly chopped
1 28 ounce can tomatoes, undrained
4 teaspoons chopped garlic, divided
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup gin
2 cups red wine
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250 degreesF.
Trim most of the fat from the meat. Cut the meat into approximately 1 inch cubes.
In a large casserole dish or a soup pot, one that can go in the oven, add the oil.
Dredge the meat in the flour mixed with salt and pepper, and lay it into the pot. (There is no browning.)
Add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the pot. Sprinkle over 3 teaspoons of garlic, the seasonings, gin, and wine.
Cover, and bring to a simmer on top of the stove.
Once simmering, remove pot to the oven, and let cook for 4-5 hours. Test for meat tenderness. It should begin to fall apart, and carrots should be cooked through but not mushy. .
This is best made a day in advance. When reheating, add the last teaspoon of fresh garlic, the parsley, and taste for salt and pepper.
