banana bread stew with veal neck bones

I actually made this stew last month, back when nobody eats stews in May. Then again, even less people eat stews in June. That's besides the point. But why didn't I share this recipe with you all in May? Five reasons:

    1.    It turned out to be the ugliest-looking stew(or ugliest-looking anything) I've ever made but the taste was sublime(even though my dad said the meat coming off the veal neck bones was too fatty for him. He spit the piece I gave him into the trash can. It pains me when he does that.)
    2.    Banana bread-flavored beer is very hard to come by, so the only alternative to using that flavor of beer and still having a banana taste in the stew is to put either bananas or banana bread into the stew, and using plain beer. It seems crazy but then again this recipe is crazy.
    3.    Veal neck bones are hard to come by too. Though I suppose if I used the neck bones from a cow or pig, the stew may have looked nicer.
    4.    I was backed up in my video queue.
    5.    I don't know anybody other than myself who actually enjoys making and eating stews when it's 60 or 70 degrees outside.

I was going to post this video in October but a recipe using another flavored beer didn't work out yesterday, and I want to keep a regular upload schedule for you all.

By the looks of the stew, you would never suspect there's even a modicum of banana flavor in it. I could only taste the banana flavor right after I made the stew.
After that, it just tastes like any other beer stew I've made in the past.

It's really interesting how when you use  neck bones in a stew, it gelatinizes overnight in the fridge. To be honest, it kind of looks disgusting that way. But never fear because the gelatinized state turns into liquid after 45 or 60 seconds in the microwave.

Initially, I was going to not use veal neck bones, and instead I would've either bison broth or seafood stock(because that's what I had in the pantry at the time). But since I was using veal neck bones, I figured that would provide enough flavor to stew. Besides, all broths and stocks have water as a key ingredient anyway!

When I find an interesting ingredient in a supermarket, my mind sets into motion how I can use it one of my upcoming recipes.

This stew goes well with wonton strips and
garlic bread.

Inspiration for this recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2938-vegetable-soup-with-meat

You will need:

For the cooking equipment:
 
A large saucepot

For the stew:

1 pint and 0.9 fl. oz. of banana bread beer
3 veal neck bones
15 ounces of butter beans
1 cup of yellow and purple corn
4 cups of a mixture of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots
Enough water to leave 1 inch from the top of the saucepot(I used 2 cups of water)
Pinch of marjoram
Pinch of onion powder
Pinch of parsley flakes
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper

1. Put all ingredients into the large saucepot. Mix the spices into the rest of the ingredients so that the spices aren't lying on top of the stew.
2. Turn the stove on, cover the saucepot with its cover, and bring the stew to a boil.
3. Once the stew is at a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the saucepot and let the stew simmer for 90 minutes. Stir the stew around every 10-15 minutes.
4. At the 85 minute mark, remove the bones from the stew. Then remove the meat and fat from the bones. Return the meat and fat to the still simmering stew and let the stew simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Serve with garlic bread or wonton strips.
6. Bon appetit!