Gordon Ramsay’s Easy Beef Stew | Gordon Ramsay's Recipes

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March 18th, 2009 by Foodie

Gordon Ramsay cooked this recipe for some construction workers on the F Word recently. He goes really fast, and it’s hard to make sure I’ve got all of the ingredients right, but I think I’ve got it. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.

*edit: I made this stew a few nights ago and it was unbelievable! Get down to the farmers market and pick up the ingredients, you won’t regret it.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Top Sirloin (or better) cut into large chunks
2-3 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
1 Onion
1 lb. Mushrooms (quartered)
Yellow Mustard (for brushing meat)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Red Wine Vinegar (few good glugs)
1 Tbs Tomato Puree (or tomato paste)
1 Tbs Creme Fraiche (or substitute with sour cream) <– it’s pronounce Crem Fresh
2 Cups Beef Stock
Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
Olive Oil

Cooking Instructions:

The secret to making this dish fast and tasty is to cook everything in the same pan.

Add the onions, garlic, and thyme to a large heavy pan and cook until the onions are translucent; set aside on a plate. Quarter the mushrooms and sautee till soft; set aside on the same plate as the onions.

Rub your meat with salt and pepper then add to simmering hot oil. Brush the meat with yellow mustard. Brown meat on all sides, then set aside on your handy plate from earlier.

Pour some red wine vinegar into the pan and then add tomato puree. Mix in beef stock and creme fraiche. Stir well and bring to a simmer, then put the meat back into the pan. Pour all of your other cooked ingredients back into the pan and heat thoroughly while stirring. Add Cilantro and stir for 60 seconds.

Your done! If you’ve hauled ass, then it’s only been about 25 minutes and it’s time to eat!! Serve with some rustic bread and don’t forget to let me know how it turns out! I’ll be making this for dinner in a couple of nights (tomorrow is more shepherd’s pie)!

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25 Responses

Alyssa writes:
March 30th, 20095:02 pmat

Quick question: Isn’t stew meat pretty tough unless you cook it low and slow for a couple of hours?
Foodie writes:
March 30th, 200910:50 pmat

You are correct. I was thinking of Top Sirloin as stew meat. I forgot that cheap is a matter of perspective. When I think of a good cut of meat, I think New York, or Filet. When you’re used to buying New York Steak, Top Sirloin seems pretty cheap. I’ll update the recipe to reflect the point you’ve made. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.
Alyssa writes:
April 1st, 20099:45 amat

No problem. I’ve never seen a stew recipe that called for anything other than chuck, and I just couldn’t imagine cooking chuck for such a short amount of time. It’d be like trying to eat chewy tough little nuggets.
Matthew writes:
April 9th, 200912:57 amat

After reading the above posting I got to thinking…I remember beef stew from the days my mom would make it, and part of the reason I enjoyed these meal was because of cooking time. I was always rewarded with a deep tasting, hearty meal. Obviously, this is something any decent cook/chef would or should know…you cannot develop flavors without proper time. Stews are not meant to be quick fix meals. That is why this dish TYPICALLY uses “cheaper” cuts of meat, because as it cooks the 5-7 hrs. these meats turned into velvety cubes. Your line about hauling a** is in stark contrast to why you would be making beef stew in the first place. If you want a quick meal, Campbells makes a canned version.
Foodie writes:
April 9th, 20091:33 amat

I agree the preparation for this stew is quite a contrast to what most of expect when cooking stew.

I’m sure your Mum’s stew is wonderful and this dish won’t come close in prep time, but please give it a try.

Since posting this recipe I’ve cooked it several times and never have I received a complaint. The meat doesn’t turn into “velvety cubes”, but the stew still develops a deep, hearty taste. Just a few nights ago I prepared this for my fiance and we were both commenting on how it’s “stick to your ribs” food. For those of us who wish to make a delicious stew in a matter of minutes instead of hours, it presents a MUCH better alternative to Cambell’s. Bleh, yuck on Cambell’s Beef Stew!
Foodie writes:
April 15th, 200910:00 pmat

I just found a quote from Gordon Ramsay which reflects our conversation here.

Seasoning is especially important for fast dishes, which don’t have long to develop a depth of flavor. I season a dish several times during cooking and always taste to check it at the end.
susan writes:
June 28th, 200910:51 amat

incredibly good and easy….cooks together in no time and taste like my mom’s that takes hours to cook…gordon and jean baptiste would be proud
Honey Simon writes:
July 23rd, 200910:03 pmat

I’m not sure if I made a mistake or what but this was really more like a soup than a stew.
Foodie writes:
July 24th, 200912:45 amat

You must have made a mistake. Did you use Creme Fraiche? It doesn’t turn out quite as thick if you sub with Sour Cream. Please check the recipe again and give it another go. This is really one great tasting quick dish!
cksk writes:
August 22nd, 20099:09 amat

I made this for my 11 year old daughter who isn’t much of a beef eating child and we all loved it including her. The meat was very flavorful, you didn’t need a side dish exspecially if you had the bread, and it was hearty. It took though longer than 25 minutes from start to finish and I don’t think there’s anyway of hauling a#* when making it either. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Foodie writes:
August 24th, 200911:20 amat

Thanks for the good feedback. This is one of my favorites. You’ll get faster at making this, If you make it more than once. Knowing some good shortcut techniques for cutting the mushrooms and onions helps cut the time considerably. Perhaps I’ll post a good onion cutting technique next.
Rachael writes:
November 13th, 20098:25 pmat

Gogeous!!! Fresh herbs are so delightful! This was delicious and fast! Thank you!
donna writes:
December 28th, 20094:01 pmat

This recipe is very quick and easy. Very tasty and leaves enough room to play with the ingredients. Yummy, yummy, yummy. Thanks Gordon
clay montgomery writes:
January 30th, 20102:42 pmat

will it still be good if i add potatos?
Don Culp writes:
March 10th, 20108:14 pmat

Good recipe I fixed it and enjoyed it much
VINCE writes:
September 3rd, 20107:46 pmat

I LOVED THIS RECIPE EASY FAST AND DELICOUS THANKS GORDON
David writes:
September 19th, 20109:58 amat

How would i go about doing this in a slow cooker thanks David
Helen writes:
October 1st, 20107:47 amat

it would have been great if i had overdone it on the red wine vinegar!
Beej writes:
November 16th, 20105:58 amat

one way to speed this recipe up even more would be to use pre- cut onions and mushrooms- carrots-etc (waitrose have a good selection)
if you wanted to add spuds then i would peel and cut into bite size then pre-cock in microwave for a few mnutes to soften and then add together with the meat at the end.
i have only made this recipe once but found and like others here i found it lacking the rich-thick sauce that i prefer to have in my stews- this usually comes about with slow cooking stews so as this one is an express stew i added some beef gravy granules to thicken it.
next time i will use a red wine rather than a vinegar and maybe coat the beef in some seasoned flower before frying as this may help to thicken it more.
hats off to GR for the idea
Christina writes:
December 30th, 20102:49 pmat

Home school mom here with a family to feed and 10 inches of snow outside. Didn’t have creme fraiche or sour cream or mushrooms or buttermilk or yogurt in house. Its the end of the month. I followed the recipe except for what I didn’t have and every time you wrote “put it on a plate” I put it in the crock pot. Poured 1 can cream of mushroom in the crock pot with some chopped potatoes and carrots. Left it in the crock pot for several hours. Meat was nice and tender for dinner. Hope I didn’t totally defile the recipe.
tony m writes:
March 15th, 20112:45 pmat

i was one of the builders on the programme. ingredients look fine.
tony m writes:
March 15th, 20112:52 pmat

and you missed the pancetta
Cindy writes:
June 24th, 20118:04 pmat

Made this last night, so simple and definitely easy and tasted amazing!
Teresa Ray writes:
September 3rd, 20111:54 pmat

Did I get this right? It has only mushrooms, onions and beef as solids? Seems kinda skimpy for a stew. Would it be alright to add other veggies?
Pete C writes:
September 9th, 20113:20 pmat

I am just about done with the simmer right now, and tasting as it was cooking it is really flavorful. Easy, not intimidating…..I enjoyed it! I am serving it tho over egg noodles…..