Portuguese-Style Beef Stew (Alcatra)
This meaty, clean-tasting Portuguese version of beef stew, called alcatra, requires mere minutes of hands-on work.
A cookbook recipe exclusively for ATK Essential members from Cook It In Your Dutch OvenGather Your Ingredients
Key Equipment
Before You Begin
Beef shank is sold both long-cut and crosscut (with and without bones). We prefer long-cut since it has more collagen. You can substitute 4 pounds of bone-in crosscut shank if that’s all you can find. Remove the bones before cooking and save them for another use. Crosscut shank cooks more quickly, so check the stew for doneness in step 2 after 3 hours. A 3 1/2- to 4-pound chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces, can be substituted for the shank. Serve this dish with crusty bread or boiled potatoes.
Instructions
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Trim away any fat or large pieces of connective tissue from exterior of shanks (silverskin can be left on meat). Cut each shank crosswise into 2 1/2-inch pieces. Sprinkle meat with 1 teaspoon salt.
2.
Cut 8-inch square of triple-thickness cheesecloth. Place garlic, allspice berries, bay leaves, and peppercorns in center of cheesecloth and tie into bundle with kitchen twine. Arrange onions and spice bundle in Dutch oven in even layer. Add wine and cinnamon. Arrange shank pieces in single layer on top of onions. Cover and cook until beef is tender, about 3 1/2 hours.
3.
Remove pot from oven and add chorizo. Using tongs, flip each piece of beef over, making sure that chorizo is submerged. Cover and let stand until chorizo is warmed through, about 20 minutes. Discard spice bundle. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
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