LOUISIANA PEPPER POT STEW
2 lbs. chuck roast or chuck steak cut into bite sized cubes
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. steak seasoning such as Montreal
1 onion chopped into 1 inch dice
1 small red bell pepper chopped into 1 inch dice
1 orange. green or yellow bell pepper chopped into 1 inch dice
2 lg. cloves garlic crushed
3 Tbsp. butter divided
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil divided
1/3 cup water, beef broth or chicken broth divided
SAUCE:
1 14 1/2 oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 tsp. Worchestershire sauce or Picapeppa sauce
1/4 cup white or red wine vinegar
1 tsp. additional steak seasoning
2 Tbsp. Tabasco or Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
Buttered noodles or rice
METHOD:
Place beef cubes, flour and next 5 ingredients into a zip loc bag. Shake vigorously to coat all the beef.
Saute the following in two batches as crowding the skillet will cause the meat to steam rather than brown.
Heat 1/2 of the butter and half of the oil in a skillet. Add half of the coated beef, half of the onions and garlic and and half of the bell peppers. Saute til beef is browned on all sides. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 the water or broth, stir til thick then pour all into a crock pot or Dutch Oven.
Repeat with remaining beef, butter, oil, onions, garlic. bell peppers.
Pour crushed tomatoes, remaining water or broth, brown sugar, vinegar, Tabasco sauce, Worchestershire sauce, bay leaf and steak seasoning over all and heat to boiling. Place all into the crockpot or Dutch Oven.
Stir to blend and cook on high for 1 hour, turn to low and cook for 2 to 3 hours or til meat is tender. Slow cookers tend to cook at different heat settings. Serve over buttered noodles or rice.
For Dutch Oven, cook covered in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours.
