Tailgater’s Favorite Stew

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, sauté bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. When cool, crumble and set aside. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons (25 mL) fat from pan, reserving extra.
2. On a plate, combine flour, salt, peppercorns and cayenne. Dredge beef in mixture until coated. Discard any excess. Add beef to pan, in batches, and cook, stirring, until nicely browned on all sides. Add more bacon drippings, if required. Remove beef to a plate and reserve. Reduce heat to medium.
3. Add onions, celery and carrots to pan and cook, stirring, until carrots are softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaves, nutmeg and orange zest and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add wheat berries, orange juice, red wine, tomato paste, stock and 1 ½ cups (375 mL) water and bring to a boil. Return beef and bacon to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until wheat berries are tender.

Tips

• The orange juice and zest add wonderful depth to this stew. If you like heat, increase the cayenne to as much as ½ teaspoon (2 mL).
• Browning the beef takes about 5 minutes per batch.
• You’ll need to simmer the stew for about 1 ½ hours to ensure the wheat berries are tender.