Our Town Stew Recipe

How to make it

---

• Salt and pepper meat well. Dredge in flour making sure that all sides are well coated.
• Brown meat well in the shortening in a heavy pot, along with one sliced clove of garlic. When the meat is richly brown, pour over it the 12 ounces of beer. Then add water to cover the meat. (More beer may be used if desired, but too much will give the stew a slightly bitter taste. This can be remedied by the judicious addition of a small amount of sugar.)
• Add the second clove of garlic---or more if you desire--- and a small amount of cayenne. (Careful.) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Correct seasoning and add pearl onions, cooking until the onions are tender but still whole. During the last 10 minutes stir in the nushroom caps from which the stems have been removed. (The removal of stems is purely for visual effect. Leave them on if you want.)
• A little water may be added at this point or during cooking to increase the liquid volume slightly. The rich brown gravy is imperative.
• The stew should be served with potatoes, preferably mashed with a hand masher and enriched with milk, butter, salt and pepper. It can also be served with noodles. Serve beer with it, or wine. This stew, incidentally, can be made with red wine instead of the beer as a variation.
• It freezes well and its flavor improves if made one day and served the next.