Let’s face it. During South Africa’s cooler months everyone yearns for food that is rich, smooth, and satisfying. Stew flavouring is a key component as a watery stew with no colour, flavour, or kick is unappealing and leaves you feeling unfulfilled.

This is why it is essential that the food you cook is full of flavour and satisfies the whole family. Imagine a warm, mouth-watering beef stew, with chunks of carrot, potato, and peas in a thick sauce. If this is the sort of meal your family craves, we have five tips to help you make the best beef stew your loved ones have ever eaten.

Five Tips To Make Your Beef Stew The Best

Here are five key things to note when it comes to beef stew:

1. Add a little heat

2. Good quality beef stock goes a long way

3. Add vegetables for more flavour

4. Add vegetables for more flavour

5. Serve your beef stew in a new way

1. Add A Little Heat

Saucy dishes like sishebo, stews and curries are always improved when you play around with spices and heat. Chillies are celebrated for highlighting the flavours of any ingredient they are paired with. Add spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin at the early stage of cooking, when you are frying onions and garlic, to enhance the taste of the beef stew.

Fresh herbs like coriander and bay leaves also contribute a distinct flavour without making the dish too spicy for the younger members of the family. If you are cooking for the community and they enjoy a little heat in their beef stew try this recipe: Beef and Cabbage Stew for a delicious burst of warmth.

2. Good Quality Stock Goes A Long Way

We have said it before, and we will say it again: stock cubes form the flavour base of any beef stew. Using poor quality stock cubes that are weak in flavour can ruin the meal.

Knorrox stock cubes may be small, but they are packed with meaty goodness and enhance the delicious, strong taste of nyama when added into your stew. This Beef and Butter Bean Stew recipe serves six but only uses two Knorrox Beef Flavour Stock Cubes to season the whole dish. That’s good quality for you!

3. Add Vegetables For More Flavour

It is not just essential that your family eats five portions of fruit and vegetables a day for good health, but vegetables in a beef stew also add another flavour layer to the pot. Almost all vegetables taste good in hearty beef stew, but the best ones to use are veggies that will keep their shape and texture throughout the slow-cooking process.

Try baby marrows, diced carrots, red onions, cauliflower, and sweet potato for a hearty stew flavouring with a lot of personality. In this Beef and Red Pepper Stew we used red pepper for sweetness, but any pepper will add flavour to your stew recipe.

4. Soup Mixes Are An Ideal Seasoning And Thickening Aid

Using a dried soup mix makes cooking the best beef stew a little easier. You should view it as a short-cut for the modern home cook. A dried soup mix contains herbs, seasoning and spices that are already combined in a handy pack to season and thicken your beef stew to perfection.

Check out this Beef Sishebo which has a delightful creamy texture when prepared with Knorrox Beef Flavour Soup. Knorrox Soups come in a range of flavours including Mutton, Beef, Spicy Chicken, Minestrone, Chilli Beef and Oxtail, so there is no end to the versatility it can add to your pot.

5. Serve Your Beef Stew In A New Way

Your beef stew does not always have to be served in the traditional way, on pap or rice for example. For a new spin on an old favourite serve your beef stew on couscous or sweet potato mash. For a healthier, carb-free option plate your beef-stew on “caulirice” - cauliflower that has been pulsed and cooked to resemble rice.

There you have it! Five flavourful ideas to take your beef stew flavouring to a new dimension in taste, texture and colour. When the weather gets cold, your family will celebrate – and demand seconds - of the best beef stew they have ever eaten, thanks to these helpful tips.

Inspired? Try our recipes​