Hearty beef cobbler with cheesy scones

A hearty beef cobbler makes the perfect meal for a cold winter’s night. This succulent beef stew is packed with tasty vegetables in a thick meaty gravy and covered with a layer of soft cheesy scones.

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What is a cobbler?

A cobbler is simply a beef stew topped with scones (or biscuits if you live in the US). The underside of the scones soaks up the gravy as they bake in the oven, making them moist and full of flavour underneath, while still retaining a crispy exterior on the top.

Cobblers can be either savoury, like this recipe for beef cobbler, or sweet as in my recipe for plum cobbler which you may like to try too.

The word cobbler simply refers to the way the scone topping resembles old paved cobblestone streets.

Why I love this recipe

First of all, it’s economical to make. You can use a cheap cut of meat that benefits from a long slow cooking time. Look for meat labelled braising steak, flank, chuck, shin or stewing steak. You can buy all of these ready cut up in the supermarket, or just ask your butcher to chop it up for you.

It’s also easy to make. Most of the time is hands-off while the stew cooks, then it’s just a matter of mixing up the easy scone topping and popping it all in the oven for half an hour. You could even make the stew in advance and either store it in the refrigerator for a day or two, or freeze it until you are ready to cover it with scones just before baking.

This beef cobbler is packed with vegetables, so apart from being good for you, you don’t need anything else to serve with it. It’s the complete meal-in-a-bowl. Plus you can add whatever vegetables you happen to have in the fridge at the time.

Finally, everyone loves it – you are practically guaranteed empty plates when you put this meal on the table.

Ingredients you will need

**Get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this cheesy beef cobbler on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

This recipe will feed four people easily. If you want to make a larger batch, just increase the meat and vegetables accordingly. I’ve allowed 110 grams (4 ounces) of beef and at least one cup of vegetables per person (I used one and a half each because I like vegetables 🙂 ).

I’ve broken the ingredients down into 2 parts – one for the stew and one for the scones.

Beef stew

Beef – any cheap cut of stewing beef will do. This stew is going to be cooked for 2 hours which will give a tough cut of meat plenty of time to break down and tenderise. Look for flank, shin, chuck, stewing or braising steak. It should be cut into 1-inch or 2.5-centimetre pieces.

Vegetables – for this recipe I’ve used potatoes and carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks. I’ve also used leeks, onions and cabbage. Some people may think cabbage is a strange vegetable to add to a stew, but I love it. It cooks away to almost nothing, leaving a delicious flavour in the gravy. The cabbage should be finely shredded, and the leeks and onions thinly sliced.

Flavouring – you will need tomato puree or tomato paste which is highly concentrated tomatoes. Don’t confuse this with tomato sauce or ketchup. You will also need some Worcestershire sauce, paprika and salt and pepper.

Stock – if you have beef stock you can use this, otherwise, just make your own stock using a stock cube dissolved in boiling water.

Flour – this is used both for coating the beef and also for thickening the stew. If you prefer, you could grate a potato on the large holes of a box grater and add this to the stew. The starch from the potato will act as a natural thickener and you may not need the flour.

Oil – I use sunflower oil, but you could also use olive oil. It is used for frying the beef to seal in the juices before stewing.

Scone cobbler

Flour, salt and baking powder – if you are using self-raising flour you can omit the baking powder. Note – we use baking powder for these scones, not bicarbonate of soda.

Butter – cut into cubes. It makes it easier to rub the butter into the flour if the butter is at room temperature.

Dijon mustard – for flavour. You can leave this out if you don’t like mustard.

Cheese – use your favourite cheese. I like to use cheddar. This goes into the scone mixture, and if you prefer you can keep a little aside for sprinkling on top of the scones before they go into the oven.

Milk – either full-fat or semi-skimmed is fine.

How to make beef cobbler

Make the stew

• Coat the beef with a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and paprika,
• Fry it in hot oil until it is nicely browned (1). Stir the meat as it fries to brown it all over. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the meat will release its juices and stew rather than brown. Do it in batches if your pan is on the small side. Once the meat has browned, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
• Using the same pan, fry the onions and leeks until they start to soften (2). Add another tablespoon of oil if you need to. This should take about 5 minutes. I like to cover the pan with a lid, turn down the heat and let the leeks and onions just saute gently. If you prefer to soften them without a lid, you should stir often to prevent them from browning.
• Mix in the tomato puree, worcestershire sauce, carrots, potatoes (including grated potato if you are using it) and cabbage, and pour in the stock (3). Cover with a lid and turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave to simmer for one and a half hours to two hours, checking occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid. The cabbage will release its own liquid so you may not need to top up. If you do need more liquid, add extra stock.
• Test the meat for tenderness after 1 and a half hours. If it is not to your liking, leave it to simmer for another half an hour. Do remember though that this dish will be placed into the oven for half an hour to bake the scone topping, and the meat will contiue to cook during this time.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper if necessary.
• If you feel the gravy is not thick enough, mix 1 tablespoon of flour with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir into the stew.
• There should be a lot of gravy in the stew, as some of the gravy will get soaked up into the bottom of the scones as they bake.
• Transfer the stew to a large ovenproof dish (4) and leave it to cool before placing the scones on top.

Make the scone cobbler

• Place the flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
• Add the cubed butter and using your fingertips, rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs(1). You could also do this step in a food processor fitted with the metal ‘S’-blade.
• Stir in the grated cheese and then add the milk and mustard. Mix with a flat-bladed knife until the mixture just comes together (2).
• Tip it onto a lightly floured surface and press the mixture together into a ball. Wrap in cling-film and place in the refrigerator to rest for half an hour.
• Once the dough has rested, place it on a lightly floured surface and flatten it with your hand (or use a rolling pin) until the pastry is about half an inch thick.
• Cut circles with a biscuit cutter.
• Use any remaining bits of pastry to form more scones. This recipe is sufficient for about 10 scones.

Assemble and bake

• Once the stew has cooled sufficiently, top with the scones (1) and brush them with milk. You could also sprinkle them with a little extra grated cheese if you prefer.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven (200C / 400F) for half an hour, or until the scones are risen and golden (2).
• Remove from the oven and serve.

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Tips for making scones

• Always mix the baking powder into the flour before adding the butter. This will ensure the baking powder is evenly distributed throughout the scone.
• Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips, or use a pastry cutter. If you are using your fingertips, lift the flour and butter above the bowl as you rub it, letting the flour drop back into the bowl – this helps incorporate air into the mix, making for a lighter scone.
• Don’t overwork the dough when you mix in the liquid. Mix just enough to incorporte the dry ingredients.
• Don’t knead the dough when you tip it out onto your floured surface, just press the dough together with your fingers.
• Do allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator before baking. This ensures the butter has time to firm up and will melt in the oven, helping to create pockets of air.

Freezing and storage

You can freeze the stew (before adding the scones). Allow it to cool and pack into suitable freezer containers. Freeze for up to 4 months.

To use, allow to defrost overnight in the refrigerator then transfer it to a casserole dish and top with the scones before baking.

The stew can also be made in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Top with scones before baking.

You can make the dough for the cobbler in advance too. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the scones. It can be safely stored for up to three days.

Pin for later

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Other hearty meals

Here are some other hearty warming meals you may enjoy.

• Raised beef and onion pie with crispy yoghurt pastry
• Hearty beef and barley stew
• Slow cooker oxtail stew
• Slow cooker beef and kidney stew
• Beef casserole with suet dumplings
• Hungarian beef goulash with spaetzle

The recipe

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