How to Make Stew

Asserting the importance of cooking any stew at temperatures below the boiling point, the book then provides useful data on ingredients and equipment. Chapters based on the main protein ingredient, or on vegetables, follow, with master recipes and variations. Thus "Meat Stews" provides a basic blueprint plus recipes that include Beef Stew with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions; Irish Stew; and Pork Stew with Prunes, Mushrooms, and Cream, among others. Seafood lovers will want to try Sicilian Fish Stew and vegetable fans will love Spring Vegetable Stew with Fennel and Asparagus, one of a number of delicious vegetable-based recipes. Throughout, underlying techniques are explored and illustrated (useful charts depict the provenance of various animal cuts), and sensible tips abound (avoid packaged stew meat, which may be made up of irregularly shaped end pieces from different muscles, for example).

A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library series. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm

This book offers sensible information about the qualities that make a stew a stew. It offers a general format for making a stew, and I found the recipes to be flexible. I added some extras to the above recipe, and still enjoyed my end-product very much.

I initially made this purchase, because of the quality of product and information that Cook's Illustrated has provided me over the years. I find that the information is precise and simple enough to improve anyone's cooking level. C.I. will help you simplify the choices made in purchasing items ranging from cookware and appliances, to cookbooks and various food items/products. Thank you.