"Stifado, Stifado", a delectable cuisine's succulent journey from the Ottoman Empire to Greece.

I love how similar the classic european cuisines are in the end. All, bolognese, beef burguignon, irish stew, pörkölt and stifado evolved from the same basic dish, namely "take beef, onions and other stuff you have handy and simmer that for 2-3 hours". Basically the differences between theese dishes are the different regional ingredients.

@caesarsalad77

2 жыл бұрын

In much the same way, anywhere you had peasants and cabbage, you had cabbage rolls.

@bgd73

2 жыл бұрын

I use a pressure cooker, and let nothing go. I thought I was being unique.. I learned it is mostly appalachian, with some italian. many many ways to get a great stew.. I look forward to a set american version. It ought to be a mix of everything.

@alexavasquez1992

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed

@griffinnoyer3297

2 жыл бұрын

This video brought to you by Staub® Just playing! If product placement keeps the Chef John videos comin, then I love product placement. plus Staub is an excellent company with phenomenal products, and I definitely trust Chef John’s choice in kitchen tools.

@TabbyAngel2

2 жыл бұрын

Ottomans were not European lol

My Yaya (grandma in Greek) does this dish on special occasions. It's breathtakingly good. Aaaand I'm hungry now

Chef John, you are an honorary Greek!

My Greek husband will love this recipe

Ethan Chlebowski is going to love the pickled onions touch. Awesome recipe chef, thank you.

@drgeorgek

Жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same!

Greek sheffy secrets: Blanche the shallots for a few secs and they peel easily. You can also use white wine for a summer version of the dish.

@glynh5480

2 жыл бұрын

That's a great tip, thank you

@danielhoward8004

2 жыл бұрын

Diced ovaries make it even better!

@johnas1011

2 жыл бұрын

but he did use white wine

@danielhoward8004

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnas1011 and poached fallopian tubes

@danielhoward8004

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnas1011 iso good to chew on a par boiled ovary

I love this dish but I always let my mom do it, even though I am 38. I never dared to do it even though I cook and bake everything. Greetings from Greece, Chef. Half my recipes in my home’s cookbook are from you.

@sayyestofood2520

2 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/f6BnxcGBftiThaw.html k

@jennyanimal9046

Жыл бұрын

I'm a fan too, especially of the beef porozki recipe. Even though I add minced mushrooms and more cheese. Yummmm😋

A sprinkling of Feta makes everything taste betta.

We do Stifado - either beef or wild hare - in a clay pot in a sealed clay oven, heated with carob wood, slow cooked overnight for maybe 15 hours or so. Although the wine is always red :) Cheers from Cyprus!

@warchild027

2 жыл бұрын

@@havecompassions4999 Well, on weekdays I also use the electric oven, I use the calyoven on weekends or holidays! Electric/gas oven give great results as-well, however nothing beats the feeling of gathering near the clay oven while it gets heated by burning wood and drinking some wine with family! Greetings my friend!

@drgeorgek

2 жыл бұрын

Wild hare my favourite! Χαιρετίσματα από την Αυστραλία ♥️

@JonniePolyester

2 жыл бұрын

Omg sounds amazing… will try here in my garden in Hackney London …. Neighbours will be fine I’m sure 🤔😂😋

@drgeorgek

2 жыл бұрын

@@JonniePolyester I recommend a crusty baguette to mop up all the sauce with and top it with mizithra - similar to pecorino - which your local Greek deli should have. 🤤 The flavour from all the onions is to die for.

@warchild027

2 жыл бұрын

@@JonniePolyester though the neighbours will crave some stifado afterwards! hahaha

You need the same amount of onions as the beef. In Greece they sell special 1 Kilo bags of small red onions called Stifado Onions. Do not stir too much, leave the beef on the bottom and the onions on top. The idea is to serve it with the onions still whole. You can smell this cooking a mile away. It has a taste like nothing else. Best washed down with plenty of strong red wine.

I always brown tomato paste before making spaghetti sauce, a trick I learned awhile ago. Amazing the flavor!

Here's a variation (which adds massive amount of deliciousness and flavor): put in some spring onions green stalk and all just cut in half and let those cook with the meat. You will not regret it.

Those tiny surface drops of oil are the mark of perfection 🤩

If I had to choose between a perfectly grilled steak or a perfectly stewed, well beef stew, I honestly would pick the latter. The flavor and comforting experience you can get from dishes like this is amazing.

Many years ago I lived in Cyprus. Around this time of year a few places did an octopus version of this, just incredible

@michaelorfanos7416

2 жыл бұрын

I love the veal and Orzo in a clay pot!

@matthewsmith22

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelorfanos7416 yeah, there was a place down on the seafront in larnaca that had huge clay ovens, amazing food! I think that's what I miss the most!

@annaliseoconner9266

2 жыл бұрын

P

@warchild027

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, a great delicacy during the Easter fasting period! Cheers

I can't wait to try this! I'm from Cincinnati and the spices you put in we're totally reminiscent of Skyline chili!! Gotta love the Greeks!!!!

I'm Greek, and this was my favorite Greek dish growing up. For our non-Greek friends, my mother would call it braised beef in RED wine sauce. Thanks for ruining my childhood. ;-)

Wow! I had this in Crete a long time ago and was thinking about it recently. FYI Greeks also do the same with octopus. Octopus stifado is also amazing !

In my family we usually make Stifado in January-February to use up any Glögg(Swedish mulled wine) left over from Christmas. And if we don't have any left over we just make it anyway, it really is such a nice tasty stew.

@sayyestofood2520

2 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/f6BnxcGBftiThaw.html n

@mrzxcvb9

Жыл бұрын

Hi whats left over wine, I've never heard of it before ?

As a Greek this is one of my favourite Greek dishes!!

This was my yiayia's best dish. One of the key ingredients that's common in this is prunes. It complements the spices, it replaces the sugar that you used to balance the stew, it gives a richer color, and prunes are filled with pectin which thickens the stew. You just add them to the end otherwise they would completely fall apart if you add them at the beginning.

@brega6286

2 жыл бұрын

Yes,,,prunes...that makes so much sense !

@Sufficient4UsIsAllah

Жыл бұрын

Sounds awesome

@drgeorgek

Жыл бұрын

What a great idea. Μπράβο!

@danielgeci4513

Жыл бұрын

Do you keep em whole? I actually have a bag of dried plums I need to use

@inkalchemisttattoos3150

11 ай бұрын

Oooo good to know!! I’ll add them when I make this!

Just goes to show, Chef John is the GOAT. EPIC-curious!!

THAT... WAS... SO... GOOD!!!! We made this yesterday, the flavor!!! And we served it with roasted vegetables and wheat French bread. I was so happy with how this turned out!

It can be made with octapus,as alot of friends said but it also can be made with cattlefish with the addittion of spinach.

I made the Greek style spinach rice yesterday, gotta admit, it is far superior than the sum of its parts!

@bigfatchubbybritboy9445

2 жыл бұрын

That sums up Greek cuisine and Greek women in general.

@elizabeth2416

2 жыл бұрын

Goes well with this stew too.

@aluminiumknight4038

2 жыл бұрын

@@bigfatchubbybritboy9445 wtf

@drgeorgek

Жыл бұрын

That’s Greek cooking - a few ingredients perfectly balanced. I often say it’s literally simply delicious.

Greetings from Greece 🇬🇷❤️!

Stew is always the dish I like most. Thanks to my neighbour country(Greece) to invent this recipe.

This Recipe is "The Best Ever" beef stew recipe, that I ever had, hands down! Thank you so much! I am going to make it for the rest of my life! You are the BEST!

Back in high school (80’s) my friend’s Greek parents made the most amazing beef stew that had cinnamon in it. Never had anything close before or since, but this might be that magic dish I remember! Can’t wait to try it!!

@hgnhfseae

2 жыл бұрын

It could also be Soutzoukakia - not quite stew but similar spices to what you describe!

@bryanhayes9728

2 жыл бұрын

@@hgnhfseae thanks I’ll have to check that out and give both a try!

@criskapa9560

Жыл бұрын

I think you might of had "kokkinisto", was is served with orzo or rice, sometimes with French fries if you're younger

@bryanhayes9728

Жыл бұрын

@@criskapa9560 I don’t remember what it was served with, just that it was amazing! Thanks, I’ll look this up and give it a try too!

I’m pregnant and have been craving this so much I even asked my mum if she’d make it the other day. Ive always been apprehensive to make it myself. Looks amazing!!

@xxohfayfay7611

2 жыл бұрын

@tq231442 I think I will :) it will definitely be worth it in the end! Thank you so much x

@SG-ig2th

2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on the baby

@SuperSetright

2 жыл бұрын

If you can give birth....you can cook stifado.

@xxohfayfay7611

2 жыл бұрын

@@SuperSetright This is my first so I haven’t given birth yet, but you are absolutely right and you sound just like my mother

I am cooking this dish since 40 years and i am eating it since 55 years. I agree mostly and i find this approach very cool. In Greece, we have little onions. The taste is close to Charlottes. Dont forget, that the star is tge onion in this dish. I cut a cross at the bottom, so they stay together and i cook them longer. I dont use broth, i use much more onions, i will peel for one hour. The water and flavour, coming out of the onions is plenty. The onions will be sweet. My meat will be beef tongue, which i first cook seperately first, after peeling, i add it to the onions and cook it for an hour together. If you cut the onions at the bottom, they will still be whole. My little twist is, that i add an (greek) orange, where i squeezed the juice before. I indeed use a splash of red wine, not white. Next to the herbs you added, which are compulsory, i also add some thyme. I really cook it long, the flavor increases. All in all, i need about 3 to 5 hours to cook the dish. It is my absolute favourite dish and my mom will always have it for me. No way, that the spinach rice is going with this. Really just bread. Please try my approach, but yours is very close to perfect, i am sure, i would enjoy it.

I recently read an article in the Washington Post from a Chef Author that had moved to a new apartment and it was the first time he'd had to use an electric stove to cook his recipes. He was horrified that timing was off by a long shot, things didn't caramelize without burning first and that flavors didn't develop as quickly as cooking with gas or propane. (He's now learning "low and slow") He had to revise constantly on timing. He said it is totally changing how he will publish his future recipes for his readers and now he understands why some of his recipes got less than stellar reviews. I use a glass top stove and a tabletop induction burner, so I've learned to read and assess a recipe, and I'm pretty good at revising the times and techniques to make a success of the recipes I make.

@CEverly

2 жыл бұрын

Electric stoves are the worst. So hard to cook on them. Pain in the ass.

@condawalsh6641

2 жыл бұрын

@@CEverly I don't disagree, but being in a wheelchair, I have to stay safe in my kitchen.

I made this after your last video released bcuz I couldn't wait. I scrambled a Stifado recipe from google and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Can't wait to try your version!

@sayyestofood2520

2 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/f6BnxcGBftiThaw.html h

Oh damnnnn. There is nothing like a good, hearty stew. And Yep. If you've cooked a stew, any stew, in under two hours.... you haven't cooked it yet.

Gongrats chef John! One suggestion if I may: instead of wine try brandy. It goes perfectly with all the warm spices of the stifado. Greetings from Greece 😘

@towanda2947

2 жыл бұрын

I like that!!!! Have you ever used garum masala?? I get it from lebanonese store. I think you'll like I wish there were insense that smelled like it ☮️

@luke_fabis

2 жыл бұрын

@@towanda2947 Bruh, garam masala is South Asian.

@yekutielbenheshel354

2 жыл бұрын

@@luke_fabis "I get it from lebanonese store." does *not* mean "It's Lebanese."; rather it indicates where the Garam Masala was purchased.

I do love a mouth full of Stifados. Many happy holidays in Greece! X

Whenever I go to Greece I have to try their stifado. It's always fantastic

In the 60 years I have been cooking, I only recently made the best thing l've ever cooked, all thanks to Chef John. If you like spicy beef stew, check out his Peposo, a Tuscan Black Pepper stew. I can't wait for another week to pass so I can make it again. As much as I loved it, I didn't want to eat it for two straight weeks! Thanks Chef John!

@EvanTreempire

Жыл бұрын

Peposo was the first Chef John recipe I ever made. Made for the best possible introduction; I’ve since had it a couple of restaurants, but so far I prefer Chef John’s.

Your discription of the flavour Is poetry. Thank you! Your greek fanatic follower.

Thank you mr chef John you are the Danny devito of foods I want to eat-o

This IS the best beef stew I ever had. Thank you chef John

Stifado is one of my favourite winter dishes. I've always made it with onions but I love the idea of shallots. Not sure about oregano in it...(I'll try a little in a small bit to see next time) but I do add a chunk of orange peel. And some diced tomatoes. I also usually make it with beef, but if I can get my hands on some rabbit, that's wonderful. Some people add some prunes too!

Beautiful, Beautiful video. So informational, so instructional, so lovable! I live not far from the origin of Stifado, and Mediterranean food is my every-day thing - and this video holds all the "right" things. The movements, the free-hand seasoning, the patience needed for a stew.... everything. Thank you Chef John. This is indeed a food wish!

Feta is optional, but in Greece many pair it with orzo. Sometimes this is done separately as a side, but frequently it is mixed to cook together. I mix it at the very end, when the stew is basically done, and the orzo just starts getting cooked, so that all is even.

oh love my mom's stifado (yes i'm greek) thank you for highlighting one of our favorite recipes :)

In my experience, reviews online are more like: "this was the best stew recipe ever...I switched the beef for chicken, I didn't use the shallots or garlic but added mushrooms and doubled the salt, sugar and wine."

@alahatzaifat1872

2 жыл бұрын

then it isn't stifado. Stifado is made with tougher meats, such as beef, or venison, traditionally. The onions/shallots are what make the dish a stifado, mushrooms are not traditional in this dish either. You made a chicken stew.... but you did not make stifado.

@TheShootist

2 жыл бұрын

@@alahatzaifat1872 That's just you cooking.

@alahatzaifat1872

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheShootist ***********That's just you cooking Ok, so if I make bouillabaisse but I skip the seafood and use chicken and I remove the tomato base and make it with a cream base, is it bouillabaisse?? This is what I am referring to... the dish has a particular makeup/set of ingredients... you replace the most important bits...does that still count as the same dish??

@TheShootist

2 жыл бұрын

@@alahatzaifat1872 men can be pregnant, so they tell me. as for your question while it is true you would no longer have traditional fish stew, you would have an untraditional chicken stew.

@alahatzaifat1872

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheShootist ********as for your question while it is true you would no longer have traditional fish stew, you would have an untraditional chicken stew Yes you would… but it is no longer bouillabaisse, is it? If you were served this untraditional chicken stew if you ordered bouillabaisse… would you accept it, or would you send it back to the kitchen? If I ordered fish and chips and I got a hamburger and cookies…. Is it fish and chips, just untraditional? Things have labels so we can differentiate them…. Stifado is a particular dish… it may have slight variations, region to region… but they all are basically the same thing… a version of stewed meat with whole onions or shallots, with particular spicing and flavourings… if you stray too far, it is no longer the dish as named….correct? Vichyssoise is a cold leek and potato soup… not a hot gazpacho nor a Manhattan clam chowder… each of those dishes have a traditional profile… and again, if you ordered it by name and you got that which it was not, you would not be happy….

Man I hope you know how much we love your videos and how they shape our love of cooking good family food. Thank you.

This dish looks super delicious! A piece of bread is a must for this sauce!😋

@SS4Xani

2 жыл бұрын

Only one piece?

@Sufficient4UsIsAllah

Жыл бұрын

I probably shouldn’t, but I’d have to have potatoes in this or roasted on the side. Oh and of course some warm crusty bread too.

I am a simple man:I see Greek recipes ,i am getting hungry

I had this in a resto in Corinth, in the Peloponnese, with shallots. Fantastic, fork tender. I want some more! I have been unable to find it here....I've got to figure out how to make it...for one. 😃

OMG! I haven’t checked in for a while. I’m digging the new(?) stove! Awesome! I’m moving house and must leave my beloved gas range behind! I’m going to have to deal with a flat glass topped, modern monster! Yuk!

That is magnificent stew! Making it this weekend!

Apart from getting a new cooking idea your typical style of talking in your videos made me forget a bit about the bad day and it seems i can finally sleep. Thanks, Chef

@newcopperpenny

2 жыл бұрын

His style of speaking is referred to as up talking...for me it is annoying but I like his recipes

you're very well versed in greek cuisine sir. the only improvement the i can suggest is adding your spices with the tomato paste and toast them before adding the vinegar. it awakens the spices and adds a whole lot of flavor

That does look just so good. Yum!

That looks awesome!

Scheduled to do this with my Greek daughter in law and here sister.

As usual an excellent recipe! Thank you Chef John!

This looks amazing!

Absolutely a favorite .Thank you Chef John!

Sounds delicious. Will try it very soon. Thank you!

Chef John, this looks amazing! Definitely gonna make this.

CHEF JOHN THANK YOU!

Thank you Chef John

I LOVE this stew!!

This was delicious! - thanks again chef john , love your videos

I think it is high time I tell you I love your recipes. Thank you a million times for your help ! You rock.

I just love the way you put the food together and you give ideas on a variety of ways to do it I really love your show thank you for all you do keep on ..

Oh, man, that stew looks delicious! I really love your videos because the food always look amazing and you crack me up. Thanks for being so entertaining as well as instructive and thanks for sharing.

This video made me SO hungry!!! Beautiful dish!!

looks amazing.

I made this Amazing Stifado stew per the video. It was mind-boggling DELICIOUS! The Best I've ever had. Thank you so much!

WOW! Amazing. I am defo going to make this. Thanks 👍🏆

I just tried this recipe and it was a huge hit. Will definitely make again. Thank you!!

My beef is defrosting... going to try this! lovely. I've always used shallots because of the taste and their size... I'd love to grow them!

Bloody delicious! Made it last night. It's wonderful!

Well chef, you did it again. Another home-run. Just made and ate this... spectacular. Thank you for what you do.

Thank you!!! Can't wait to make this mouth-watering stew!

Incredible recipe thank you sir it is part of my regimen

This stew looks amazing. I am going to brown tomato paste on fond more regularly. Thanks for the hot tip. I get grass fed beef that wasn’t feed lotted. This makes the meat really tough but really flavourful. So it requires much longer cooking times. But so worth it. But ya, I disregard cooking times and go more by feel. And of course, I check my stews regularly.

Fantastic! I love your relaxed approach. Cook until tender, season until flavourful. Best advice ever.

That looks wonderful!

This looks so delicious

Στιφάδο!!! 😍Excited to see your version!

That is a very nice pan you have there Chef John. Great quality ☺️

Great recipe and entertainment ....Like always ... Thank you ...

Made this and also the greek spinach rice. Dinner was amazing! Everyone loved it, thank you!

Outstanding!

made it today, it was delicious!!! very sofsticated taste!

Just had this for dinner tonight and it was great. Supper rich and flavorful. Thanks chef!

Looks delicious

Your voice is amazing and makes these great videos even better. Thank you for your time and talent!

This sounds amazing! Added to my to try list. Loved reading the comments, definitely adding prunes.

Well done, Chef John.

I made this yesterday! And it’s the best beef stew I ever had ! AMAZING

This is one my favorite stews I highly recommend it

Reminds of a Mexican onion stew my mom used to make. I’m definitely trying this one this weekend!

This looks so freaking good. I can’t wait to make it!

Well done! Great video, clear steps, and stifado - well, it's stifado. Just magnificent. It's one of the foods that, if I see it on a restaurant menu, says that the place really knows its Greek food.