So I decided to go a little bit out of the ordinary last night and make a beef stew that many of you might not have experienced before. The rich flavors of citrus and beef stock combine with the deep elements of cinnamon and fish sauce to create a delicious meal.
We start by searing our meat in a cast iron skillet, letting the wonderful fats caramelize and coax out the flavor. We then add all of our aromatics to cook for a moment before de-glazing with our citrus. After 5 hours in a crock pot, the fantastic smell should be billowing throughout your house!
I just bought a cast iron skillet, which was pre-seasoned. But I decided to re-season it myself with both olive oil on the first time and bacon grease on the second time. It’s been serving me really well, and the more I cook the better it gets.
I’ll get a picture tutorial up soon on how to season, clean, and keep your cast iron skillet. For only $23, I think this one was a great value though. I’ve been continuously cooking with it to build up the non-stick surface and it’s going very well.
You can use fresh herbs in this recipe, if you’d like to! Just keep in mind that if you do, you will need 3x MORE fresh herbs than dry herbs. So if you want to use fresh rosemary or fresh sage, then use 1 Tbsp. instead of 1 tsp. The same goes with using dried thyme instead of fresh time, just reduce the amount you use by 1/3. So instead of using 1 Tbsp. use 1 tsp.
If you don’t have a crock pot, you should get one! There’s so many things you can put into a crock pot and pretty much cook it to perfection hands-off. Go and enjoy a movie, go out, or go to work, and let your crock pot work its magic on developing rich and deep flavors. I use a Hamilton Beach 5 Quart Crock Pot which holds just enough to get me through the week on a 1 time cook.
You can serve with a heavy drizzle of olive oil, or a side salad with a fatty dressing on it to get the fat ratios up.
Yields 5 servings of Cinnamon and Orange Beef Stew
The Preparation
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 medium onion
- 2 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
- 32 ounces beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 cups beef broth
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 whole bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons erythritol
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
The Execution
1. The first thing we’re going to do is prep everything so we aren’t running around when the time comes. Remove your soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, onion, orange, beef broth, and spices from your refrigerator and cabinets.
2.Zest your orange and cut it in half, ready to be squeezed. I highly suggest you get a microplane if you don’t have one. I used to use a fine cheese grater to zest my citrus and you never get anywhere near as much zest if you’re using a cheese grater.
3. Prep the vegetables by dicing the onion and mincing the garlic (2 cloves worth.)
4. Prep your meat by cutting it up into 1-inch cubes as best you can. Remove any grit if needed. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper.
5. In a cast iron skillet, heat up 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
6. Once the coconut oil reaches the smoke point, add your beef. Do this in small batches.
7. As your beef cooks and is browned, remove it and store it on a separate plate. Continue to cook all pieces until finished.
8. Once your last batch of beef is finished, add your onions and garlic, stirring continuously. After 2 minutes, add your orange juice to de-glaze the pan.
9. Stir this continuously and then add all the rest of your ingredients – EXCEPT for the thyme, rosemary, and sage.
10. Mix everything together and then transfer the ingredients in the cast iron, and the beef, to your crock pot.
11. Let this cook for 3 hours on high.
12. When it’s coming up to the 3-hour mark, chop up your thyme, and measure out your sage and rosemary.
13. Add your spices to the crock pot and continue to cook WITHOUT the lid for an additional 1-2 hours.
14. Let it reduce to the consistency you’d like and enjoy!
This makes a total of 5 servings of Cinnamon Orange Beef Stew. Each serving comes out to be 551 calories, 36.8g fats, 4.3g net carbs, and 49.4g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 2 tablespoon orange zest | 12 | 0 | 3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| 1 medium onion | 38 | 0.1 | 8.8 | 1.6 | 7.2 | 1.3 |
| 2 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic | 11 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 0.5 |
| 32 ounce beef chuck roast | 2141 | 138.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 223.4 |
| 1 teaspoon salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper | 8 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| 3 tablespoon coconut oil | 365 | 40.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 cup beef broth | 121 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 19.7 |
| 3 tablespoon fresh orange juice | 22 | 0.1 | 5.3 | 0.1 | 5.1 | 0.3 |
| 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar | 6 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon soy sauce | 3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| 1 teaspoon fish sauce | 2 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 2 whole bay leaf | 6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.2 |
| 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon | 13 | 0.1 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.2 |
| 2 teaspoon erythritol | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon dried rosemary | 4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 1 teaspoon dried sage | 2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 1 tablespoon fresh thyme | 2 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Totals | 2756 | 183.9 | 29.6 | 8.4 | 21.3 | 247.1 |
| Per Serving (/5) | 551 | 36.8 | 5.9 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 49.4 |
Cinnamon Orange Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 medium onion
- 2 ½ teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 32 ounce beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 cup beef broth
- 3 tablespoon fresh orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 whole bay leaf
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon erythritol
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme finely chopped
Instructions
- Zest the orange using a microplane and cut it in half, ready to be squeezed later.
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Cut the meat into 1" cubes, removing any grit as needed. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat up the coconut oil in a cast-iron skillet. Once the coconut oil has reached its smoking point, sear the beef in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan.
- Once the last batch of beef is seared, add the onions and garlic to the pan, stirring constantly. After 2 minutes, add the orange juice to deglaze the pan.
- Add the remaining ingredients (except the rosemary, sage, and thyme) to the pan, stirring constantly.
- Mix everything together well and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker along with the beef cubes. Cook on high for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, add the rosemary, sage, and thyme to the slow cooker. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 1–2 hours, or until thickened and reduced to desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!
