Meat Stew

We’re back! We’re finally back! And you know what? It feels good.

Now, raise your hand if you, like me, prefer winter to summer. Really? That few? Come on! Winter is way better than summer. With that delightfully chilly weather, sweaters and sweatshirts, heated blankets, hot cocoa, and warm, thick soups. It’s the best time of year for most of my favorite things and I love it! Plus, there’s nothing like sitting near a window watching new-falling snow, reading a book under a cozy blanket, and drinking delicious hot chocolate. I’d take that over blistering heat and sweaty armpits everyday.

But enough about me, let’s get on to this stew, surely something we can all appreciate in the next few cold weather months.

Meat Stew

So this recipe is a bit of a departure from the photo. Yes, they really just show three pictures of meat stew with varying degrees of large chunks. But I didn’t want to bore you or your tastebuds with a new take on my new favorite stew recipe. And since Link himself can make this with bird, let’s go along that route and make a thick, creamy chicken and wild rice soup.

I start with chicken breast. I mean, yes, the recipe calls for drumstick, but who has time to scrape meat off the drumstick bone? Certainly not me! So chop the chicken into 1 inch or smallerish pieces. Then dice your onion and get ready to cook!

Add some oil to the bottom of a large pot or (you knew I was going to say it) a dutch oven. Heat on medium high until hot. Add all your chicken at once, season with the salt and pepper, and cook until the outsides are nearly cooked, about 1-2 minutes. Add all the onion and stir together until the chicken is completely cooked on the outside, another 2 minutes max. This means no pink is showing on the outside, but they’ll definitely still be raw on the inside! We want that. It’ll mean the chicken with finish cooking with the rice and not get rubbery.

Add all the rice and stir and cook until the rice is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. It’s really not that much. It should only have been about 5 minutes from the time we first started cooking the chicken.

Add 4 cups of the chicken broth and the remaining seasonings, and bring to a nice, rolling simmer. Nothing too fancy, just enough to be considered a simmer. Cover and let it simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes. Yes, I did say that correctly, and yes, it’s very specific. We are walking a fine line between cooked rice and rubbery chicken. I’ve found that 1 hour 15 minutes is kinda that happy medium. If it goes a little long, I don’t think it’ll ruin the dish. If it goes a little short, I hope you’re okay with slightly underdone rice.

Meanwhile, chop the carrots and the celery. Add them all at once with another cup or two of the chicken broth at the end of the 1.25 hours. Bring to a simmer and then check for seasoning. Add more of anything (but mostly the salt and pepper) at this time.

Then add the milk and flour. Whisk the soup together until all the flour is completely mixed in with no lumps. Allow to simmer and thicken for 10 minutes, or until the carrots are soft. Serve in your favorite winter bowls and enjoy!