Beef Stew with Biscuits

This is the kind of meal that makes a cold evening feel right. Flour-dredged beef round steak seared until browned, then simmered with onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and brown gravy until the meat falls apart tender. Spooned over freshly baked biscuits that soak up every drop.

Searing the beef in batches over high heat is what builds the stew’s flavor foundation. That flour coating browns in the hot oil, creating fond on the bottom of the pot that dissolves into the liquid and thickens the gravy naturally. Don’t crowd the pot. Too many pieces at once drops the temperature and steams the meat instead of browning it.

The stew gets its body from three sources: the flour dredge, the brown gravy, and the tomato paste. Four beef bouillon cubes dissolved in water provide a quick, concentrated stock that would otherwise take hours of bone simmering.

Peas go in right before serving so they stay bright green and pop with sweetness against the rich, dark gravy.

The baking powder biscuits bake in 12 minutes at 425°F (220°C). Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs, then mix in the milk and egg just until the dough comes together. Overworking kills the flaky layers.

Pro Tips

• Cut the vegetables on a bias for more surface area and better absorption of the stew flavors.
• Simmer on low heat. Hard boiling toughens the round steak instead of tenderizing it.
• Remove the bay leaf before serving. Always.
• Split the biscuits open and ladle the stew directly into them so the gravy soaks into both halves.

Variations

• Add cubed potatoes with the carrots for a more traditional stew.
• Drop the biscuit dough directly on top of the stew for the last 15 minutes for a pot pie-style topping.
• Stir in a splash of red wine with the water for deeper, more complex flavor.