Adding a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce to beef stew before it simmers guarantees a richer gravy and more flavourful dish, according to recipe writer Katherine McPhillips.
Writing for the Daily Express, McPhillips explains that beef stew can often turn out bland and boring if all ingredients are simply thrown into a pot, but Worcestershire sauce is a common kitchen ingredient that solves the problem. She notes that cooking meat, vegetables and stock together releases liquid, which can dilute the gravy and make the meal flavourless.
Why Worcestershire sauce works
McPhillips says beef on its own is savoury but is a fatty meat that can dull other flavours. The acidity of Worcestershire sauce helps cut through the fattiness, bringing out the beef's natural richness. The sauce also contains fermented ingredients like anchovies, which contain glutamate, helping deepen the flavours of the other ingredients and make the stew more savoury and satisfying.
Using Worcestershire sauce makes the beef taste meatier and enhances the vegetables and tomato puree, resulting in a better-seasoned dish. McPhillips adds that she has made several versions of beef stew over the years but has discovered Worcestershire sauce is the only way to really enhance the gravy and make it the best dish for a chilly autumn evening.
Ingredients and method
McPhillips provides a full recipe for a richer beef stew. The ingredients include 700g of stewing beef cut into chunks, 500g of cut potatoes (optional), one large onion, three carrots, two stalks of celery, three garlic cloves, 600ml of beef stock, 150ml of red wine (optional), two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, two tablespoons of tomato puree, one tablespoon of plain flour, one tablespoon of Dijon mustard, one teaspoon of garlic powder, one teaspoon of dried rosemary, one teaspoon of dried thyme, two bay leaves, one tablespoon of cornflour, olive oil and black pepper.
She notes that she does not add potatoes to her stew as she prefers to serve it with mashed potatoes, and that Worcestershire sauce already contains salt, so she does not add any extra. The method involves coating the beef in flour and garlic powder, browning it in olive oil, then adding onions, carrots, celery, garlic and tomato puree. After adding the stock, the Worcestershire sauce, red wine, Dijon mustard, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme are stirred in, and the stew simmers for at least one and a half hours, up to two and a half hours, until the beef is tender.
Near the end of cooking, a paste of cornflour and cold water is stirred in to thicken the gravy, and the stew cooks for five more minutes. The bay leaves are removed before serving. McPhillips recommends serving the stew with mashed potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.
