Chef Mik's Kalops, Swedish Stew with Allspice and Everything Nice!

Kalops is a classic Swedish stew that speaks to the heart of its people, “its cold outside so let stay in and make the best of it.” For my money it doesn’t get much better then this! Such a simple recipe but oh so great! It employs whole allspice and white pepper so it is important to use a spice packet or it will take work fighting your way through a mouth full of pepper corns with every bite. There is another option though which is using powdered allspice and white pepper as apposed to whole, while the later is no big deal as the stew is finished with additional salt and white pepper, I might not mention to any Swedes you have invited over for dinner that you opted for the powdered allspice as apposed to whole. Just before the stew is done it is thickened with flour diluted in liquid such as stock or water, for this recipe the quantity will be1dl liquid to about 1 TBSP flour. The stew is typically served with boiled potatoes along with pickled beats and cucumbers though neither the beats nor cucumbers are mandatory. One last point of interest, while it is most commonly prepared with beef, you can substitute, elk, venison, bison, musk ox, or caribou

Shopping List   

Stew beef, either chuck (for longer cooking time) or top sirloin

Carrots

Onion

Allspice, whole

White pepper, whole

Beef stock

Demi glace

Unbleached all purpose flour

Potatoes for boiling  

My Mad Method

Trim and portion 500g top sirloin or stew meat

Dice 1 onion, medium dice

Slice 2 carrots on the bios

Prepare spice packet with allspice, white pepper and a couple bay leaves using cheese cloth and tie up before adding to stew

Sauté onions and carrots in clarified butter with out letting them brown

Brown beef in clarified butter season lightly with salt and white pepper

When the beef is browned add the onions and carrots (do not wipe pan) warm through

Add 1L beef broth and 1 TBS demi glace bring to boil, reduce heat strain away any impurities

Add spice packet, place lid on the pot and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours or until tender, remove from heat. Adjust consistency with thickener (see above) bring to boil, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste

Ready to eat!!