Dutch Blade Steak Stew with a Gingerbread Secret
This dutch beef stew recipe is a national Dutch treasure if you ask me: sucadelappen, or blade steak in English, succulent meat, tenderized by hours of simmering. It only has a few ingredients, but there's one you would not expect in a dish like this, and it makes it so epic: gingerbread. We call it breakfast cake in the Netherlands.
Ingredients
- 1 kg blade steak (a type of beef stew meat)
- 4 medium yellow onions, cut into rings
- 40–60 ml white distilled vinegar (red wine or balsamic vinegar works, but distilled is the traditional way)
- 500 ml beef stock, at least (I dissolve 2 beef stock cubes in 1 liter of boiling water; homemade or butcher's stock is fine too)
- 6 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2–3 long slices Dutch gingerbread (ontbijtkoek / breakfast cake)
- a little MSG, to finish (optional)
- to season salt and pepper
- 50 g unsalted butter
- a few unpeeled russet potatoes, cubed
- a splash oil
- equal parts garlic powder, onion powder, paprika powder, salt and pepper
- 1 head broccoli, cut into smaller florets
- a good amount olive oil
- a good amount Parmesan cheese
- to season salt and pepper
Method
The stew
- 1
Season the blade steak generously with salt and pepper on both sides, and dry the meat with a paper towel for extra browning later in the pan.
- 2
Dissolve the stock cubes in the boiling water. Set aside the cloves and bay leaves, and cut the onions into rings.
- 3
Melt the butter in a heavy cast-iron Dutch oven or any large pan with a thick bottom, and sear the meat until it has a nice brown crust. I had to do it in batches of two. Set the meat aside.
- 4
Fry the onions in the same pan for 3 to 4 minutes, until nicely translucent and brown.
- 5
Deglaze with a splash of the vinegar, 40 to 60 ml, to get all the good bits from the bottom.
- 6
Add the beef stock, bay leaves and cloves. Once it's simmering, return the meat with its juices (very important) and poke it under the surface, the meat must be fully submerged.
- 7
Add 2 to 3 long slices of gingerbread. It balances the sauce with a sweet, cinnamony, gingery flavor, and because it's a cake it binds the sauce together nicely. Absolutely out of this world, trust me on this one.
- 8
Bring it back to a simmer, turn the heat to low and let time do its magic for 3 hours at least. Check in now and then, stirring the bottom so it doesn't burn.
- 9
To finish I added a little MSG, optional. The meat should fall apart on a fork; you won't need a knife, just a spoon.
The potatoes
- 10
Cube the unpeeled potatoes and drop them in water against browning. Pat dry.
- 11
Mix equal parts garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper, toss the potatoes with the spices and some oil.
- 12
Air fryer at 180°C for 22 to 26 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes for even browning.
The broccoli
- 13
Coat the florets in a good amount of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread on a baking tray with parchment paper. Finish with a good amount of Parmesan.
- 14
Bake 12 to 14 minutes at 220°C.
Plating
- 15
Traditional home-cooked style: veggies on one side, potatoes on the other, the blade steak in the middle as the star of the show, with plenty of that juice.
6 tools I used.
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