Beef Stew with Dumplings

Dumplings only make an appearance on one stew in my world: Hunter’s Stew. It’s a recipe my Dad created, and like so many of his recipes, it’s tied to some pretty strong childhood memories. And honestly, the dumplings were always my favorite part.

So when I came across this recipe, my first thought was, Why have I never thought to put dumplings on any other stew? It seemed like such an obvious idea. Dumplings + stew = clearly a winning combination.

In theory, this recipe had everything going for it. In practice… well, let’s just say my execution didn’t quite live up to the promise. The stew itself was delicious. The dumplings, however, were another story. And that’s without even getting into the cheese version—I stuck with the basic dumplings.

I have absolutely no idea what I did wrong, but those dumplings refused to puff up. Instead, they just sat on top of the stew looking like little blobs of dough. They weren’t actually hard or inedible; they simply never became the fluffy, pillowy dumplings I was expecting.

And now I’m wondering if maybe Dad had something to do with it. Perhaps somewhere, Dad was looking down and saying, “Excuse me? My dumplings go on Hunter’s Stew. That’s it.”

Maybe I’ve learned my lesson. Some things just shouldn’t be messed with. Apparently, dumplings may be exclusively reserved for Hunter’s Stew.

Beef Stew with Dumplings

Recipe from Averie Cooks

Serves 8

BEEF STEW

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds Chuck roast , cubed into bite-sized pieces (OR beef stew meat)
• 1 white or yellow onion, diced small
• 3 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch slices
• 3 medium to large Yukon gold potatoes, OR 1 pound baby Yukon gold OR baby red potatoes, peeled if desired and diced into 1-inch chunks
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 4 cups reduced sodium beef broth, plus more if desired
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 3 tablespoons lite or reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

BISQUICK DUMPLINGS

• 1 ½ cups Bisquick mix, or similar product (OR canned biscuit dough OR your favorite scratch dumplings/biscuit recipe)
• ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup whole or 2% milk

To a large stockpot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil, beef, and cook over medium-high heat to sear and brown the beef. Stir and flip intermittently as the beef cooks to ensure even cooking. Cook for about 5 minutes. Beef does not need to be fully cooked through, just browned on the outside.

Add the onions, garlic, and cook for 2 minutes; stir nearly constantly.

Add the carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, and stir or whisk to encourage the tomato paste to dissolve.

After it has dissolved, add all the remaining ingredients (in the stew portion of the recipe), and simmer over medium-low heat, uncovered, for about 1 hour. Stir only very occasionally.

If the stew is low on broth, add some now. Tips – After the dumplings are added and while they cook, they will thicken the stew, so add more broth now if you think it needs it. I also recommend reduced sodium beef broth so that as it evaporates and concentrates while it cooks, and naturally become saltier, that your finished stew isn’t too salty. You can always add more salt, but can’t take it out. Now is a good time to taste and check for seasoning balance and add more salt or pepper, if desired.

Dumplings – To a medium bowl, add the Bisquick mix, cheese, milk (OR bake Grands Biscuits or similar according to package directions to save time OR make scratch dumpling dough).

Drop the dumpling dough mixture by rounded tablespoons evenly over the top surface of the stew.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, or until dumplings are fully set. Use a toothpick or break one open to test for doneness. If you baked Grands biscuits separately, halve them and place on the top of each individual bowl of stew before serving. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprig before serving.