Created by Red Apple Guy on March 10, 2018
Step 1: Brown the stew meat in the oil in two batches and remove, leaving the oil in the stew pot or dutch oven.
Step 2: Soften the onions for 5 minutes and add the other vegetables except for the potatoes. Cook in the oil for another 5 to 10 minutes and remove the vegetables from the pot.
Step 3: Add the beef and the liquids; bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Add back the vegetables, the potatoes and the remainder of the ingredients.
Step 5: Simmer for 15 more minutes or until beef and potatoes are tender.
Step 6: Add water to the corn starch to make a slurry and stir into the stew.
Step 7: Simmer until thickened and beef is tender.
Step 8: Note: A substitute for Zatarain's gumbo base is browned flour. I keep a bag of this in my freezer for gravies and gumbo's. Add one up of all purpose flour to a heavy skillet and heat over medium-high heat whisking continuously until a tan color is obtained (15 minutes or so). When wetted, this should be a dark brown or at least darker than peanut butter in color. This has a parched taste just like a roux made with flour and oil. It doesn't have a lot of thickening power.