Veal stew recipes are delicious dishes with rich flavors.
They’re usually prepared using beef bones as their base, but they also use other meat such as chicken or lamb.
The name “stew” comes from an old English word meaning “to boil slowly”.
This makes sense because a traditional way to prepare veal stew is by simmering it over low heat until all the fat has been rendered out, which takes several hours.
Then you add your favorite vegetables along with any spices or herbs, like rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.
There are many variations on this dish, so here I will share my own recipe.
But first, let’s find out what exactly is a veal stew!
1.What Is Veal Stew?
A veal stew is a type of stew that uses only veal (or calf) meat as its main ingredient.
The meat is cut into small pieces and cooked with onions, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh parsley, dried basil, salt, pepper, and other seasonings.
You may substitute other meats like pork or rabbit if you prefer.
Also, there are some versions where the vegetable broth is replaced with red wine, cream, milk, or even beer.
So, while we don’t eat veal every day, sometimes it’s good to have it in our diets.
If you want to learn more about how veal is raised and slaughtered, read our guide to veal farming.
How does a veal stew differ from a beef stew?
- Beef stews are often made with beef bones, whereas veal stews are typically made with calf bones.
- They both contain similar amounts of liquid in the form of stock or water.
- Both types of stews are served with rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, bread, or crusty French bread.
Is veal stew healthy?
While veal stew isn’t considered one of the healthiest foods out there, it still contains nutrients that make it better than most other types of food.
For example, it provides vitamin B12, riboflavin, niacin, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, pantothenic acid, and folate.
It also includes vitamins A and D, thiamine, biotin, choline, and protein.
So, even though it doesn’t include a lot of fiber or omega-3 fatty acids, it’s still a pretty nutritious option when compared to other kinds of meals.
2.What Are The Ingredients In A Veal Stew Recipe?
A good veal stew recipe should include some of these main ingredients:
- Beef marrow (optional)
- Bones
- Chicken
- Lamb
- Vegetables
- Herbs
- Spices
- Flavorings
If you want to go really fancy, try adding truffles, mushrooms, olives, or even anchovies!
If you have no idea where to start when making a veal stew recipe, just follow our step-by-step guide below.
3.How Long Does It Take To Make Veal Stew?
It depends on how much time you want to spend cooking your stew.
If you have a large pot, then you could cook it overnight in a slow cooker.
However, if you don’t have that kind of space, then you should consider making it in a pressure cooker instead.
- Slow Cooker – about 8-10 hours
- Pressure Cooker – 3-5 minutes at high pressure + 10-15 minutes at medium pressure
If you choose to go the slow cooker route, the steps below should help guide you through the process.
You may need some additional equipment, though, depending on what size pan you plan to use.
- 1 lb (450 g) boneless veal shoulder
- 6 cups (1440 ml) water
- 12 oz (340 g) carrots, cut into 1/2 inch (12 mm) pieces
- 8 oz (225 g) potatoes, cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) red wine
- 2 tbsp flour
Step One: Place everything in a 5 qt (4.7 L) slow cooker except for the veal shoulder.
Cover and set aside.
Step Two: Once the liquid boils, turn off the stovetop burner, cover, and leave it alone for 4 hours.
Step Three: Add the veal shoulder and continue cooking for another 6 hours.
Step Four: Check the temperature of the stew every hour.
When it reaches 165ºF (74ºC), remove it from the oven and allow it to cool down completely.
Step Five: Remove the meat from the bone and shred it.
Return it to the broth.
You should serve this veal stew with crusty bread, fresh green beans, and roasted potatoes.
4.What Is The History Of Veal Stew?
It’s simple enough.
The word stew means “a liquid food cooked together with vegetables and sometimes meat”.
So essentially, it is just a type of soup that uses stock instead of water.
But there was once a time when veal stews were considered luxurious foods reserved only for royalty.
In fact, some historians say that the dish originated during the Roman Empire (around 300 B.C.), where chefs would cook the meat with roots, fruits, and nuts.
This tradition continued through medieval times, and then became popular again during the Renaissance period (1500-1600).
During this era, chefs began adding more vegetables to their broth, including parsley, leeks, carrots, turnips, and peas.
By the late 18th century, most people believed that veal stew should contain no less than two pounds of meat per person.
However, the British Royal Household still served veal stew without meat.
And even after the Industrial Revolution took place in the 19th century, veal stew remained one of Britain’s national dishes.
5.How Did The Recipe For Veal Stew Come About?
Before we get into the actual recipe itself, let us look at how the original version came into being.
- The word “veal” refers to young calves that have not yet reached puberty (the age when females start producing milk). Most people don’t eat the older male calves because they contain too much testosterone and lack estrogen – these hormones make them very aggressive.
- When cows produce more milk than necessary, excess cream rises to the top of the container where it separates from the rest of the milk. The cream is then skimmed off and sold separately.
- To save money, farmers often sell the leftover bones to butchers who grind them up and mix them with water to create stock. However, most people prefer eating the meat directly rather than buying stock, which can cost extra.
- Calf’s heads, feet, and necks used to be thrown away after slaughter. Nowadays though, they are ground up and mixed with water to form a soup called calf’s head broth.
- In England, a common dish was to buy a whole leg of mutton, cut it open, and remove the bone marrow before cooking it. These days, however, the meat is simply cooked without removing the bone marrow.
- For centuries, cooks would take one large piece of fatty meat, place it in a pot, cover it with boiling water, and cook it until it became tender. When the meat had softened, the chef would pull it apart and serve it with lots of gravy.
Now that we know a little bit about the origins of our classic veal stew recipe, let’s learn how to make it!
6.How Popular Is Veal Stew?
According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), there were around 2.8 million pounds of veal consumed in 2017.
That number includes both fresh and frozen cuts, but not ground beef.
The highest demand for veal came from New York State, followed by California and Texas.
In 2016, veal consumption was up slightly compared to 2015.
However, the increase wasn’t significant enough to make a dent in the overall market.
There are very few vegetarians in America – only 4% of people identify themselves as vegetarian.
So even though the numbers aren’t great, we know that Americans love our meat products, including veal stew.
7.What Are Some Of The Benefits Of Eating Veal Stew?
A lot of people consider veal stew to be one of the healthiest and most nutritious meals you can make at home.
The reason why is that there’s not much waste involved during its preparation, since the cuts used often have plenty of usable meat left after being trimmed.
Another benefit of making veal stew is that it’s super easy to customize to suit whatever dietary preferences you might have.
You can easily substitute ingredients like beans or rice if you don’t eat those things.
And finally, veal stew is full of protein, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin B12, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, and sodium—all essential nutrients needed for good nutrition.
8.What Are Some Of The Drawbacks Of Eating Veal Stew?
You may not know that there are different types of veal stews available, depending on where you live.
In certain countries, people don’t eat veal at all.
Others only consume veal if it is cooked with fish or poultry.
There are even vegan versions of these stews.
This means that many people around the world have no idea about how to make veal stew.
Some people think that it is just another type of stew, while others believe that it is a very fancy food item.
But regardless of where you come from, we can agree that veal stew is one of those comfort foods that everyone loves.
If you haven’t tried it yet, you should definitely give it a try soon.
Here’s why…
9.How Can Veal Stew Be Served?
This veal stew is great served with bread and butter, mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, or pasta.
Serving suggestions for veal stew
- Vegetable soup
- Creamy polenta
Tips for serving veal stew
- You could serve this veal stew with a green salad on top. You’ll need two servings of greens per person.
- If you don’t want to make your own gravy, there are plenty of stores nearby where you can get store-bought versions.
- To keep your veal stew warm, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. Place it into a pot filled with hot water until ready to eat.
10.What Are Some Of The Different Ways That Veal Stew Can
A veal stew can be made in a variety of different ways, depending upon how much time and effort you want to put into preparing it.
The best method depends on whether you have a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, or even just a large pot on top of the stove.
- Slow Cooker Veal Stew Recipe – If you don’t mind waiting around for things to cook then this is the easiest option. You can simply place everything into a slow cooker set at high temperature, and leave it alone while it does its thing. When done, serve it up alongside rice and potatoes.
- Pressure Cooker Veal Stew Recipe – This one requires minimal work. Simply place your ingredients in a pressure cooker, seal the lid, and turn the heat down to medium. Once the pressure reaches 15 psi (1 bar) reduce the heat to low and wait 10 minutes before releasing the pressure manually or letting it naturally release itself.
- Pot Roast Veal Stew Recipe – For those who prefer a more hands-on approach, there is no need to purchase expensive equipment. Just make sure that you have enough room in your oven so that you can fit a large Dutch oven inside. Place your meat and veggies in the bottom of the pan, season them well with salt and pepper, pour in about 1/3 cup of water, cover with foil, and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the foil halfway through cooking time, stir frequently, and check if the liquid needs adding periodically. When the meat is tender and falling apart, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing the bone, shredding the meat, and returning it to the broth. Serve warm with mashed potatoes and gravy.
- Rabbit Veal Stew Recipe – Rabbit leg is a great substitute for veal in this recipe. It adds a nice flavor profile without being too gamey. Use this recipe for rabbit legs instead of beef or pork when making this classic dish.
- Chicken Veal Stew Recipe – Chicken works really well in this recipe. Make sure you choose organic poultry whenever possible, and follow the same instructions as above.
- Lamb Veal Stew Recipe – Lamb leg is another good choice for this recipe. Follow these instructions carefully.
If you would rather eat vegetarian than not, check out our vegan options below.
Equipment
- The pot
Ingredients
- 600 g stewing Veal
- 500 g potatoes
- 1 small carrot
- 1/2 stick of celery
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 6 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil.
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a big pot over a medium heat. Add onions and garlic; stir-fry and simmer until onions are soft.
- Place the meat in the pot and brown it evenly.
- Add the white wine and tomato sauce. Add pepper and salt to taste when seasoning. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the vegetables are soft.
Video
Nutrition
My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.