Beef and Guinness stew

Ingredients

Beef

• 1.2 kgbeef shin or chuck, in large cubes
• 2 tablespoonsplain flour
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• black pepper
• 3 tablespoonsoil or beef dripping

Vegetables

• 3onions, thickly sliced
• 4carrots, in thick rounds
• 3 stickscelery, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, chopped
• 500 gpotatoes, in large chunks

To braise

• 500 mlIrish stout
• 500 mlbeef stock
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste
• 1 tablespoonWorcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoonbrown sugar
• 3 sprigsthyme
• 2bay leaves

To serve

• chopped parsley
• soda bread or champ
• butter

Directions

1. Use a cut with plenty of connective tissue. Those cuts turn tender and gelatinous over hours. Cut it into generous cubes of about five centimetres. Pat the cubes completely dry with kitchen paper.
2. Toss them in the flour, salt and pepper. Shake off any loose excess flour. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole until it shimmers. Add the beef in a single uncrowded layer.
3. Work in three or four batches if you need to. Do not move the pieces for two full minutes. Turn them and brown every side. Take them out and set them aside. Rushing it gives a pale and thin-tasting stew. Add the onions to the same pot. Cook them slowly for a good twelve minutes. Add the celery and cook for five minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more. Stir in all of the tomato paste. Fry it for two minutes to cook out the raw taste. Pour in the stout and raise the heat. Let it bubble hard for four or five minutes. Building the braise takes a moment.
5. Return the beef to the pot with any juices. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Add the thyme and the bay leaves. The liquid should nearly cover the meat. Add more stock if it does not. Bring the pot up to a bare simmer. Cover the pot with a tight lid. Cook it in the oven at 150C for two hours. Never let it boil hard at any point.
6. Stir it once every hour or so. Adding the vegetables is done later. Add the carrots after the first hour and a half. Add the potatoes for the last forty-five minutes. The beef should be soft enough to break with a spoon.
7. Taste the finished gravy carefully. If it is bitter, add a little more sugar. Adjust the salt and grind in black pepper. Cool it and refrigerate it overnight if you can. Serving it is done hot in deep bowls. Scatter chopped parsley over the top. Serve soda bread and butter alongside. It keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• Stout became cheap and widely available in Ireland through the nineteenth century, which is when braising beef in it became common.
• The roasted barley in stout gives both the dark colour and the bitterness that the sugar and long cooking are there to balance.

Substitutions

• Any dry stout or porter works, and a sweeter stout will need less added sugar.
• Beef shin gives the most gelatinous result, though chuck and brisket are both good.

Variations

• Some households add mushrooms in the last half hour.
• A version topped with pastry becomes a beef and stout pie.
• Adding a strip of orange peel to the braise is done in some kitchens.

History

Braising beef in Dublin porter became common once stout was cheap and everywhere; the beer’s roast malt darkens and sweetens the gravy.

Frequently asked questions

What is Beef and Guinness stew?

Beef and Guinness stew is a soup & stew from Ireland: beef braised in stout with root vegetables. Braising beef in Dublin porter became common once stout was cheap and everywhere; the beer’s roast malt darkens and sweetens the gravy.

How long does Beef and Guinness stew take to make?

Beef and Guinness stew takes 30 minutes of preparation and 3 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Beef and Guinness stew?

Yes, within limits. Any dry stout or porter works, and a sweeter stout will need less added sugar. Beef shin gives the most gelatinous result, though chuck and brisket are both good.

What is the most important thing to get right in Beef and Guinness stew?

Work in three or four batches if you need to. Do not move the pieces for two full minutes. Turn them and brown every side. Take them out and set them aside. Rushing it gives a pale and thin-tasting stew. Add the onions to the same pot. Cook them slowly for a good twelve minutes. Add the celery and cook for five minutes.