Demonstration 6 - Stew it up!

Well, whereas I am not so picky about what I eat in the morning in terms of sweet or savoury, today's morning demonstration class might not have been for everyone. Because if you are just on the sweet side of things, entering a class room that smells of stew at 9:45 in the morning might not be your thing.

But actually the class was not just about how to make stews but also about meat. Learning which cuts to use, well, basically learning which ones there are to begin with.

And what the meat's tenderness depends on, e.g. age of animal, amount of excercise, rearing method (yes, yes, there have been studies and happy cows produce meat that is more tender, believe it or not! But hey, I guess they are just mammals, too...), storage and hanging, freezing and even what they are fed.

But after all this theory, we went on to be demonstrated the cooking of some very delicious stews. And then - luckily - the tasting of them as well. My favourites were the Beef Stew with Dumplings:


and also the Oxtail Stew. I actually never had it before:



The meat so tender it basically fell off the bone. Plus we tasted a very typically French dish called the Lamb Daube.


Here the meat is marinated overnight in a redwine marinade which gives it a deep and rich flavour. It was served on some toasted French bread which soaked up the sauce nicely and came with some onions and bacon.

And then last, but not least the very English dish of Shepherd's Pie - this we will actually start cooking tomorrow.