Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

 

Irish Beef and Guinness Stew


Ingredients in Guinness Beef Stew

In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew.

  • Garlic and onion – essentials
  • Bacon – adds extra flavour! Can be skipped, or sub with pancetta or speck
  • Carrot and celery – potatoes could also be added
  • Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour;
  • Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids. I prefer using chicken rather than beef broth because it allows the flavour from the Guinness beer to come through better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like beer at all, it transforms into a deep savoury sauce! Also, all the alcohol is cooked out.
  • Thyme and bay leaves – to add a hint of flavour the sauce.




How to make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

Though this Irish Beef and Guinness Stew takes time to cook, it is very straightforward. The steps are no different to usual stews like classic Beef Stew:

  • Brown the beef – brown them well, this is key to flavour. It’s not just the browned beef itself, also the brown bits left on the bottom of the pot (fond) adds extra flavour to the sauce;
  • Sauté flavour base – onion, garlic, bacon (speck or pancetta), carrot and celery;
  • Cook off flour and tomato paste;
  • Add liquids – beer, broth and herbs;
  • Simmer covered for 2 hours until the beef is pretty tender, then simmer for a further 30 minutes uncovered to let the sauce reduce a bit and for the beef to become “fall apart tender”.




Instructions

  • Cut the beef into 5cm/2" chunks. Pat dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  • Heat oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Add beef in batches and brown well all over. Remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.

  • Lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil.

  • Cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon.

  • Cook until bacon is browned, then stir through carrot and celery. 

  • Add flour, and stir for 1 minute to cook off the flour.

  • Add Guinness, chicken broth/stock and tomato paste. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well), add bay leaves and thyme. 

  • Return beef into the pot (including any juices). Liquid level should just cover - see video or photos.

  • Cover, lower heat so it is bubbling gently. Cook for 2 hours - the beef should be pretty tender by now. Remove lid then simmer for a further 30 - 45 minutes or until the beef falls apart at a touch, the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

  • Skim off fat on surface, if desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme.

  • Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!!

Recipe Notes:

1. Beer is a dark coloured rich Irish beer and it is the key flavouring for the sauce of this stew. You CANNOT taste it in the finished dish, it just melds into an amazing sauce. There is no non alcoholic substitute unfortunately. If you cannot consume alcohol, substitute the Guinness with 2 cups water + 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce + 2 beef bouillon cubes crumbled. This will make it a classic beef stew. Taste FAB, it just isn't Irish Guinness Stew! 

2. Other cooking methods: - OVEN: Cover and bake for 2 1/2 hours at 160C / 320F. Remove then cook for a further 30 - 45 minutes to reduce sauce, per recipe.
- SLOW COOKER: Reduce chicken broth by 1 cup. After you add the Guinness and broth/stock into the pot, bring to simmer and ensure you scrape the bottom of the pot well. Transfer everything into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. If sauce needs more thickening, simmer with slow cooker lid off (if you have that function), to ladle some of the sauce into a separate saucepan and reduce on stove.
- PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, cook on HIGH for 40 minutes (this might seem longer than most but we're using chuck here which needs to be cooked for a long time until tender and also the pieces are large).

 3. FLOUR: I prefer my stew sauce a bit thick, not watery, so I always add flour to slightly thicken the sauce. Some recipes say to dust beef with flour before browning - I prefer not to use this method because the flour burns then this permeates throughout the whole stew. 

GLUTEN FREE OPTION - skip the flour in the recipe. Cook per recipe then right at the end, when the beef is tender and the liquid has reduced down, mix together 2 1/2 tbsp of cornflour/cornstarch with a splash of water. Add to stew, and watch as it thickens! 

4. Beef vs Chicken Broth - I use chicken broth because the flavour is slightly more mild which lets the guinness flavour come through more. But beef broth works just as well and you can definitely still taste the Guinness!! 5. Nutrition per serving, excluding mashed potato. This nutrition is overstated because it does not take into account the fat that is skimmed off the surface.

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