Don't love fruit in savoury dishes, but love a tagine? This dish of rich beef, fragrant spices and chunky carrots (in place of traditional apricots or prunes) come together to create this extra tasty Beef Tagine (Morrocan Stew).
I've included both a hob and slow cooker method below, both resulting in a tasty dinner for the whole family!
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I had originally made this (now adapted) recipe (from Allrecipes Lamb Tagine recipe) using cubed lamb, which I absolutely love but I'm continually looking for new and interesting ways to use cubed beef.
Beef is more cost effective than lamb and also a more widely acceptable flavour to most (crazy to me, but it's true). So I've started using beef more often than not in this dish as my kids love it and it's saving me some pennies.
What Is A Tagine?
A tagine is two things: the meal itself - like this Beef Tagine - but also the traditional dish it's cooked in.
PHOTO OF TAGINE
Popular in Morocco and Algerian cooking, a tagine is used for a lot of stew-type recipes for one particular reason...
The conical lid allows steam to circulate during cooking. This creates condensation, which drips back onto the stew ensuring a moist environment for optimal tenderness.
The good news though?
You don't need a tagine to be able to cook this dish.
I've focused on the flavours; and that's the important bit! You can achieve everything you need to for this Beef Tagine recipe with either:
- a heavy-bottomed pot
- dutch oven
- normal pan (I've used stainless steel)
- a slow cooker
Why Make Tagine Without Fruit?
Simple Answer? I don't love the addition of fruit in savoury dishes.
If you're the same, then this recipe is for you.
Fruit provides a distinct sweetness and adds to the overall flavor profile, but it's not essential for a delicious tagine. Without fruit, the focus shifts to the vibrant spices and the interplay of other ingredients.
Plus I think the addition of carrots adds enough sweetness, without being overpowering.
Ingredients
Beef – chuck (shoulder), cut into bite sized pieces
Due to the slow cooking process, this fattier and cheaper cut of meat is excellent for this dish as the connective tissues/fibres break down during cooking. This results in a melt-in-the-mouth tender Beef Tagine with incredible depth and flavour.
Spices – garlic powder, paprika, salt, cinnamon, coriander, smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground nutmeg, ground cardamom
Aromatics – garlic, ginger
Vegetables - onions and carrots
The volume of carrots are used to offer the sweet hit that traditional apricots and prunes usually would. I'm just personally not a fan of fruit in savoury dishes, so I created a recipe to suit my tastes and I hope you love it too.
Flavour enhancers – tomato paste, honey, beef broth, salt, pepper
How To Make Beef Tagine (Hob/Stove Top Method)
Marinate beef with oil and all spices listed in 'Lamb Marinade'. Leave in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for 1 hour.
In a large pot, brown the meat in batches for about 5 minutes per batch
Note: do not overcrowd the pan! Let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning with tongs - this is where the flavour is. I cooked mine in two batches). Remove and put in a bowl on the side.
To the now empty pan, add olive oil, sliced onions, sliced carrots, garlic and ginger - cook until softened (add more oil if you need to).
Stir through tomato purée, cook for 2 minutes then add honey and beef broth
Add seared beef back into dish and simmer on low heat with lid on for approx 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Then take the lid off and increase to medium/high heat to reduce the sauce and reach desired consistency.
What To Serve With Beef Tagine
Like so many other Morrocan dishes, this Beef Tagine is best served with cous cous. Although I personally prefer giant cous cous (pearl cous cous, which you can pick up in Morrisons, Sainsburys or even Asda.
Other things you can serve it with include:
- Rice
- Chips
- Mashed Potatoes
- Fresh Crusty Bread
Storage and Reheating
Once cooked, this can be stored in the fridge for 4 days.
It can be frozen for up to 4 months.
Please ensure you defrost throughly and reheat until piping hot before serving (microwave is absolutely fine for this).
Other Cost-Savvy Beef Recipes
If you're anything like me and are always looking for beef dishes recipe inspiration, then why not check out:
Beef Tagine (Tasty Moroccan Stew)
Ingredients
Lamb Marinade
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 500 g cubed beef chuck, shoulder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or paste/puree
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Other Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 onions thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon garlic puree)
- fresh ginger thumb sized piece (or 1 teaspoon ginger puree)
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 700 ml beef stock / bone broth or 350ml if using slow cooker method
- fresh coriander optional garnish
Instructions
Marinate Beef
- Add 500 g cubed beef to a bowl or tub with 3 tablespoon olive oil & all spices (1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon coriander, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom).Then either put in fridge overnight (if making the next day) or keep at room temperate for 1 hour before cooking
Hob Method
- In a large pot (e.g. dutch oven, stainless steel pan), brown the meat in batches for about 5 minutes per batch (Note: do not overcrowd the pan! Let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning with tongs - this is where the flavour is. I cooked mine in two batches). Remove and put in a bowl on the side.
- To the now empty pan, add 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 onions, 5 carrots, 3 garlic cloves and fresh ginger - cook until softened (add more oil if you need to)
- Stir through 1 tablespoon tomato purée, cook for 2 minutes then add 1 tablespoon honey followed by 700 ml beef stock / bone broth
- Add seared beef back into dish and simmer on low heat with lid on for approx 1.5 hours (90 minutes), stirring occasionally
- Take the lid off and increase to medium/high heat to reduce the sauce and reach desired consistency
Slow Cooker Method
- In a large pot (e.g. dutch oven, stainless steel pan), brown the meat in batches for about 5 minutes per batch (Note: do not overcrowd the pan! Let the meat develop a nice brown crust before turning with tongs - this is where the flavour is. I cooked mine in two batches). Then remove and put in a bowl on the side. Remove and add to slow cooker.
- Fry 1 tablespoon tomato purée for 1 minute in the pot then add 350ml of beef stock to deglaze the base of the pan fully before pouring it all into the slow cooker.
- Then add 5 carrots, 2 onions, 3 garlic cloves, fresh ginger and 1 tablespoon honey to slow cooker
- Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours
- To reduce the sauce to desired level, either remove the lid from the slow cooker and continue to cook on High for 30-60 minutes, or transfer to hob and heat through until sauce has reduced adequately.
Serving Suggestion
- Cook giant cous cous (pearl cous cous) in vegetable stock (crumble in stock cube to boiling water) and drain when ready
- Top with fresh coriander then serve on top of cous cous or other preferred accompaniment
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