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Irish Beef and Guinness Stew

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10 min
6 Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil 2.5 - 3 lb / 1.25 - 1.5 kg beef chuck ,brisket or any other slow cooking beef (no bone) ¾ tsp salt Black pepper 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 onions, chopped (brown, white or yellow) 6 oz / 180g bacon, speck or pancetta, diced 3 tbsp plain flour 1 x 440ml / 14.9oz can Guinness Beer (Note 1) 4 tbsp tomato paste 3 cups / 750 ml chicken stock/broth 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1.25 cm / ½" thick pieces 2 large celery stalks, cut into 4cm / 1.5" pieces 2 bay leaves 3 sprigs thyme (or sub with 1 tsp dried thyme leaves) 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. Remove pot from heat to cool slightly and lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil. Return pot to heat, add garlic and onion. Cook for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon. Cook until bacon is browned then add flour. Stir flour into the mixture. Add Guinness. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well) then add remaining ingredients and return beef into the pot (including any juices). Add enough water so the beef & veggies are almost fully covered - see photo in post. Cover, bring to simmer then 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 and the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Skim off fat on surface. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!! Notes 1. Guinness 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. In Australia you can get Guinness at all major liquor stores.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. Directions for Oven and Slow Cooker:- OVEN: Cover and bake for 2½ hours at 160C / 320F. Remove then cook for a further 30 - 45 minutes to reduce sauce, per recipe.- SLOW COOKER: After you add the Guinness into the pot, bring to simmer and ensure you scrape the bottom of the pot well. Transfer to slow cooker. If there is residual brown bits on the pot, add a splash of water and bring to simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot then transfer into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients per recipe but DO NOT ADD WATER. Cook on low for 8 hours. - PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, cook on HIGH for 50 minutes.3. Most recipes do not use flour or if they do, the recipe says to dust the beef with flour before browning. I add flour because I like the sauce to be a bit like a thin gravy, not watery. I do not dust the beef before browning because the flour has a tendency to stick to the pot and it burns, then that burnt flavour permeates throughout the stew. 4. 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. Nutrition Information Serving size: 497g Calories: 646 calories Fat: 29.1g Saturated fat: 9.2g Unsaturated fat: 19.9g Trans fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 15.3g Sugar: 4.7g Sodium: 1499 mg Fiber: 2.1g Protein: 72.2g Cholesterol: 200mg 3.4.3177