Grass-Fed Beef Stew Skillet Pie

Clean Comfort Cooking with New Morning Market

Grass fed cows free-roam the fields of their ranches and eat a diet of fresh grass. Grass fed and grass finished beef, like Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed 100% Grass Fed Beef, are never fed grain of any kind, resulting in less marbling of the meat and a more rich and natural flavor.

The flavor and texture of grass fed beef is enhanced by special cooking techniques such as reverse searing steaks, braising roasts and stew cuts, and using high heat for grilling or pan-frying burgers.

The experts in our meat department are available to help you find the perfect cut and walk you through their pro cooking tips. We’ve also gathered some expert info from our partners at Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed 100% Grass Fed Beef as well as our favorite tried and true recipes to share with you.

Happy Cooking!

Julie Droege is the Communications Director at New Morning Market and a home cook with 20+ years in the natural foods world. Her favorite cooking partner is her 11-year-old daughter, Lena, who always provides inspiration and brutally honest feedback for all of her dishes. Julie promises to share only the recipes that get two thumbs up from Lena.

Grass-Fed Beef Stew Skillet Pie

Ingredients

2 pounds grass fed beef stew meat
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt & pepper
About ¼ cup potato starch (see Cooking Tips below for more information.)
1 package pre-cut Mirepoix from New Morning Marlet’s Produce Department
3 large carrots, sliced
2 Japanese white sweet potatoes, cubed
3-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups of full-bodied red wine
1 cup of ruby port
4 cups grass fed beef bone broth
1 bouquet garni (4 fresh bay leaves,10 sprigs of thyme, 3 spring of sage, and 3 springs of rosemary bundled and tied together with butcher string).
1 one large parmesan rind (see Cooking Tips below for more information.)
1 2-pack of Pre-made (frozen) Maine Pie Co. gluten free pie crusts
1 egg yolk
Coarse sea salt

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Step 2

Heat oil to medium-high in a Dutch oven.

Step 3

In a medium sized bowl, toss meat with salt and pepper (about ½ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp of pepper), then add the potato starch until each piece of stew meat is lightly dusted.

Step 4

Place pieces of stew meat in the oil one by one without crowding the pan – you may need to do this in batches. Sear about 3 minutes per side or until each side has turned a rich roasted brown. Add more oil if needed during the browning process. Transfer cooked pieces to a plate and set aside.

Step 5

Once all of the meat is browned and removed from the pan, add the Mirepoix mix, garlic, sliced carrots, and potatoes. More oil may be needed at this point to lightly coat the bottom of the Dutch oven. Season the vegetable mixture with ¼ teaspoon of salt, and dash of fresh ground pepper. Saute until fragrant, about 5 min, stirring regularly and scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Step 6

Pour the red wine and the port in the Dutch oven, over the veggies, and bring to a slow simmer. Boil until the liquid is reduced by about ⅓.

Step 7

Add the browned stew meat and bone broth, then bring the mixture to a rapid boil.

Step 8

Add the bouquet garni and parmesan rind

Step 9

Turn off heat, place the lid on the Dutch oven and transfer to a 300 degree oven. Cook for 4 hours.

Step 10

Remove from the oven, remove the lid, parmesan rind, and bouquet garni, and cook over medium heat on stove top until the liquid thickens and the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.

Cooking Tips

Dusting your seasoned stew meat with potato starch will help add a nice brown crisp to the meat and help seal in the juices of grass fed beef. It also serves as a thickener for the stew.

Parmesan rinds are often discarded by home cooks, but they add a rich, savory, and somewhat nutty flavor to simmer dishes. Rinds are available for purchase at New Morning Market, as are fresh parmesan wedges with the rinds intact. Slow simmering these rinds releases the flavor and serves as a boast-worthy secret ingredient to this dish.