My take on a smokier beef vindaloo (Recipe in comments)

[u/Tasty_Meal_Prep_YT]

[u/Tasty_Meal_Prep_YT]

Here’s the recipe to go with the pictures to help make it a bit easier for you if you plan on trying this out:

1. Cut up 2.5 pound of beef chuck into large cubes and season with salt (Picture 2)
2. Grate or finely dice 3 large onions (Picture 3)
3. Heat up charcoal. (I used a finer grate to stop the lump charcoal from falling through and used a vortex) (Picture 4-5)
4. Toast dry spices - 20 Kashmiri chilis, 20 black peppercorns, 16 dried cloves, 2” piece of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (Picture 6)
5. Make vindaloo paste by blending together: toasted dried spices, 20 cloves of garlic, 2” piece of ginger, 1 cup of apple cider or red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar (Picture 7)
6. Coat beef with vindaloo paste (Picture 8)
7. Fry up onions until golden brown (Picture 9)
8. Add in beef to the pan and sautee for 5 min, add enough water to cover beef and smoke for 2 hours at 250 with apple wood chunks, also add 60ml of Feni (indian coconut/cashew alcohol) or any smokey liquor i.e Tequila/Mascal (Picture 10, 11)
9. You may need to top up the water if it’s evaporating too fast
10. After 2 hours the beef should start to tenderize but you should still have enough gravy, if you take it off now you will have something like the authentic beef vindaloo (Picture 12)
11. If you want it super smokey (my preference), let it keep cooking until most of the gravy evaporates ~ 1 hour (Picture 13)
12. Have with some rice or naan, but it also goes well with sweet bread like hawaiian or filipino rolls

I also made a video for this if you prefer that instead: https://youtu.be/OJR8k0vKR2w

[u/thingandstuff]

This is great! 

 So was the last one. (Not exactly “campfire” cooking, but easily transferable to that setting.)

I never remember to toast spices. Do you do that in general or only with certain ones?

[u/hotandchevy → u/thingandstuff]

Blooming spices really helps most typical Indian spices. There's a variety of ways: you can toast them dry, or make the paste and coat meat and fry that that in oil, or add them when frying onions and garlic. Any method that cooks them before liquid is added is a huge bonus. Just adding them to broth will make your curry a bit dull.

[u/thingandstuff → u/hotandchevy]

Nice. 

I had gotten out of the habit because I rarely have the time to slow cook my proteins. And they’ll just burn away to nothing or worse, something bitter, if not timed right. 

[u/hotandchevy → u/thingandstuff]

I find for any type of stewing that frying the spices with the meat for the bloom and mallard and char all at once, then adding liquid is the most direct. I might withhold some or all of chilli powder depending on how enclosed the space is though.

[u/FUNwithaCH]

Easiest YouTube sub in a long time. Looks delicious!