Irish Beef Stew
Dig out the cooking Guinness and get ready for a hearty dose of stew
Equipment
- 1 Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 1kg (2lb) Fresh Stewing Beef (Chuck, Skirt or Flank)
- 100g (3oz) Plain Flour
- 6g (1tsp) Salt
- 2g (½tsp) Freshly ground Black Pepper
- 45g (3tbsp) Olive Oil
- 660g (2 Bottles) Guinness Foreign Extra
- 400g (14oz) Chopped Onions
- 40g (8 cloves) Garlic, crushed and chopped
- 60g (2oz) Balsamic Vinegar
- 60g (2oz) Light Soy Sauce
- 400g (14oz) Carrots
- 150g (5oz) Celery
- 500g (2 stock pots) Chicken Stock
- 6 Bay Leaves
- 8g (1tsp) Fresh Rosemary
- 4g (½tsp) Fresh Thyme
- 750g (1½lb) White Potatoes
- 200g (7oz) Leek
Instructions
- Chop the beef into chunky cubes around 2.5cm (1 inch) in size. Then rub in 6g of Salt and 2g of Black Pepper, followed by 50g of Plain Flour
- Next, heat 15g of Olive Oil per batch in a large frying pan, and fry the beef in 2 batches until browned off. Once done, transfer it to a large thick-bottomed cooking pot, along with one bottle of Guinness and the remaining 50g of flour. Then give the whole thing a big stir
- Using the same pan you used to brown the meat, heat the remaining15g of Olive Oil, and fry 400g of onions until translucent, then add 40g garlic and continue to cook for a further minute
- Add 60g of balsamic vinegar and 60g of Light Soy Sauce to caramelize the onion and garlic, and fry for around 2 minutes until fully absorbed. Then, toss the whole thing in with the beef and Guinness
- Put the dirty frying pan back on the heat, pour in the second bottle of Guinness, and bring to the boil. Swirl the liquid around the pan to rescue any remaining flavours, then pour it into the main cooking pot with the meat
- Place the meat, onions and Guinness filled pot on a medium heat. Then chop 400g of carrots into large chunks around the same size as the beef, and toss it in the mix along with 150g of roughly chopped celery, before simmering for ten minutes
- Add 500g of chicken stock and around a litre (2 pints) of water and stir
- Next, drop in 8g of finely chopped fresh rosemary, 4g of finely chopped fresh thyme, and 6 bay leaves. Now, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer for 2 hours, topping up with water occasionally if you can feel the sauce sticking to the bottom of the cooking pot
- After 2 hours, peel and chop 750g of White Potatoes into around 4-5cm (2 inch) cubes, and toss them into the mix, simmering for a further hour, topping up with water if it begins to dry out
- Following that third hour, give the meat a taste, if it has reached that melt-in-the-mouth consistency, you can remove the lid, throw in 200g of Chopped Leek and boil down the concoction to the point where the sauce is nice and thick. If the meat still has a little chew to it, continue to simmer and check again after another 30 minutes
- Right at the very end, adjust the salt and pepper to your liking
- If time is on your side, leave the stew to cool and refrigerate for 24 hours for the flavours to develop, before reheating. Otherwise, just tuck right in!
- Serve with a tasty slab of homemade bread
Nutrition
Calories: 600kcal
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