Warm Up with Our Homemade Cider Beef Stew

As the snow begins to fall in the gardens, at the E.J. Bowman House we light the fireplace and cozy up for a warm winter meal of homemade cider beef stew. This recipe is one of our favorites here at the bed and breakfast and we wanted to share it for all of you to enjoy.

You can find many of the ingredients for this stew at the Lancaster Central Market, the longest operating farmers’ market in the country. The market offers a variety of stands where you can purchase local grass-feed beef, Kauffman’s delicious apple cider, and quality vegetables. We like to serve this stew with fresh bread from Ric’s Breads. Ric’s offers an assortment of hearty breads and rolls, baked fresh and perfect for dipping in the cider beef stew.

Make this stew at home and enjoy the wonderful flavors from thoughout Lancaster County.

Homemade Cider Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 3 T. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme, chopped
• 2 lbs. beef stew meet, cubed
• 3 tsp. cooking oil, olive oil is great for this recipe
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 T. vinegar
• 4 carrots, quartered
• 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 1 apple, chopped, Granny Smith apples are a great option

Directions:

Combine flour, salt, pepper and thyme, toss with the meat to coat. In a Dutch oven, brown meat in hot oil. Reduce heat, simmer covered until meat is tender, about 1-2 hours.

Add vegetables and apple. Cook on simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20-30 minutes. This recipe makes 6-8 servings.

Serve with hearty bread and enjoy!