Sun of a Gun Beef Stew

Sun of a Gun Beef Stew

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins
  • Yield: 1batch

    • About This Recipe

    “This stew was a mainstay for many chuck wagon cooks of the early cattle drives. It was often used at social gatherings when visitors would bring a variety of ingredients. This recipe has been modernized for convenience but should be cooked in a well-seasoned cast iron kettle. It can be cooked over an open campfire, charcoal, or on a modern stove.The recipe comes to us from Scottsdale, Arizona’s Festival of the West.”

    Ingredients

  • 2lbslondon broil beef, chopped into small squares
  • 6potatoes, peeled and chopped into small squares
  • 1 (10 3/4 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
  • 1largeonion, chopped
  • 1clovegarlic, minced or pressed
  • 2cupscarrots, peeled, chopped
  • 1cupcelery, chopped
  • 1cupwhole kernel corn
  • 1cuppeas( fresh, frozen or canned)
  • 1/4 cupbroccoli, chopped(optional)
  • 1/4 cupturnip, chopped(optional)
  • 3quartswater
  • 1/2 cuppearl barley( found in the dried bean section of the grocery store)
  • 3teaspoonssalt
  • 2teaspoonsblack pepper
  • 3wholebay leaves
  • 4teaspoonsparsley, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoonbasil
  • 1/4 teaspoonoregano
  • to tastecornstarch
  • to tastecooking oil( as necessary)

    • Directions

  • Heat oil in Dutch oven or large skillet. Add garlic and chopped beef.
  • Brown beef on all sides.
  • Add onion, stewed tomatoes, and 3 quarts of water.
  • Add seasoning, tomatoes, potatoes, and onion and simmer for 2 hours watching carefully to be sure the pot doesn’t go dry.
  • Add vegetables and pearl barley and simmer covered for 1 hour.
  • Add water as needed.
  • Thicken stew with cornstarch.

    • Reviews

  • “Wow! This was so good my 7yo even ate the onions! Definitely a keeper. I browned the meat, coated in flour, and softened the onions in my wok with olive oil. Then threw everything in the slow cooker. I skipped broccoli and peas as I intend to freeze the ample leftovers and those would get too mushy. For the liquid I threw a bottle of amber ale (Keith’s Red Amber) in the wok after frying scraping up the bits, then added consommé to make up the rest of the liquid. And mmmm so yum :D! ETA: I was going to make & review this for Feb TOTM tag game when I realised, I’ve already done so lol (and spelled flour wrong)! Spelling corrected and will definitely be making again :-)”

  • “An excellent stew that tastes better the next day and freezes well. I used wild game as that is what is in my freezer. Otherwise the recipe is the same.”

  • “This fabulous!I made it last Christmas and everyone loved it!Really has a delicious flavor!I skipped the turnips, and always go a little crazy on the carrots.I wish I could give this more than five stars for just how good it was!Amazing!”

  • “I love this recipe. With some personal taste changes to the recipe – it was easy to follow and the flavor was so good. The meat melted in our mouths. Even my kids liked it (WOW!) Thank you.”

  • “Excellent.I followed the advice given in some earlier reviews and added Worcestershire sauce and paprika.I also added 6 large mushrooms, sliced.I will make this for my wife’s outdoor birthday party this month!”

  • “This was amazing, I loved it so did my husband. Unfortunately I did not have all the ingredients such as brocolli, pearl of barley or celery.I used stock water and also rolled the beef in flour, salt and pepper as suggested by Lazy Chef 2, it was delicious and definitely an autumn winter staple in our household, many thanks.”

  • “I’ve made this a dozen times and can’t believe I forgot to rate it!I have made some changes from the original recipe posted that we love.I don’t add the broccoli, turnip and barley.I add diced tomatoes with jalapenos, 1 cup of green beans, use beef broth instead of water.I aded 2 tsp worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp kitchen bouquet, 1 tsp of paprika, 1 tsp salt free all purpose seasonings and a sprikle of old bay.I also coat the beef in flour, pepper and the paprika before adding to the pan.I have made this in the crockpot with good success as well.Thanks so much for posting this marvelous recipe…I will continue to make this often!”

  • “Top notch hearty flavor nice mix of levels of complexity. I used Chuck roast and substituted parsnips for turnips. I also added chicken stock and button mushrooms.WOW”

  • “sounds good , i will make it. but i know itsgonnabegood”

  • “Very tastey! I did change a couple of things though. I added 2 cloves of garlic and used beef boullion in the water (also did not add salt since boullion is salty). I did not have a full 2 lbs of london broil, so I was afraid of not getting enough beef taste. Next time, I will use some beef stock instead of the boullion and probably 2 cups of corn. I loooove corn in beef stew.But overall, the spices and tastes were great. Great starting off point to make this recipe a little more to my taste.”

  • “Very good stew.However the beef was overcooked and very dry at the end.Next time I will probably only cook it for 1 hour initially, and reduce the S&P to 2 tsps.”

  • “Fairly easy recipe. Cook it on a crockpot instead (because I didn’t realize this was for dutch oven which I don’t have). Browned meat and onions, then threw it into pot with everything else and cooked on high for 5 hours. Delicious! Thanks for sharing.”

  • “Very good stew. I used less liquid and it was too salty; I will use less salt next time.”

  • “My only regret was cutting this recipe in half because I cook for two.We would have happily eaten this for a couple more days!When I make this again (and I will!) I will cook up the full pot and freeze half. I left out the potatoes and addedfrozen turnip greens with diced turnipsto make up the veggie volume with excellent results.I also had great fun cutting the meat up into the little squares.Thank you Riffraff!”

  • “In all honesty, this recipe is what you make of it.I threw in any vegetables I had rather than buy what was listed on the recipe.I used a mixture of beef stock and water. That is the idea.I cooked mine in a slow cooker as it suits me to put everything in the cooker and walk away, come back to thicken and serve.Simple, hearty,yummy & nutritional.A must have winter meal to protect you from the winter bugs.”

  • “Great stew and very meaty with two lbs of london broil. I used two cloves of garlic but no broccoli or turnips. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Definately a hearty, tasty and filling meal.”

  • “Wonderful stew. Couple of hints…Peel Red Skin Potatoes, they hold up much better in recipes that have long cooking times. Make it the day before and chill all night.Add the Corn Starch when you heat it up the next day. I also did not use broccoli or turnips, there was plenty of other veggies.Make a salad and some rolls and Yum!! You’ll keep eating even though your full.”

  • “All I can say is…WOW!!! What a delicious recipe! It far exceeded my expectations, will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe.”

  • “I wish I had a Dutch Oven!I halved all the ingredients except the tomatoes, onions & garlic, and omitted the optionals & celery so that all would fit into my 5 qt crockpot (4 hrs on high).I also went just shy on the pepper AND threw everything in at once.The stew had a very pleasant flavor and was hearty & wholesome to say the least.This will certainly fill a hollow leg and, even halved, will satisfy an army of hungry cowboys!!”

  • “Really good on a cold day.I switched the peas for green beans, personal preferance, and didn’t add turnips or broccoli.I also didn’t use London broil, was in a hurry so just bought already cut stew meat and it came out really tender. This won’t be the last time we’ll be enjoying this stew.”

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