Guinness Beef Stew
March 17: Feast Day of St. Patrick
A basic beef stew becomes an international icon when an Irish stout is added to the broth! Guinness beer makes a deep, dark gravy and provides a richer taste to this hearty dish. Many pubs in the Emerald Isle, Great Britain and abroad offer this on the menu year-round. But when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, Irish culture and cuisine are especially highlighted, and Guinness beef stew is a good alternative to serving corned beef and cabbage.
Try your luck in cooking this Guinness beef stew for the Feast Day of St. Patrick and it will become a family favorite festive food!
Recipe
(Adapted from GimmeSomeOven.com)
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 1 onion, quartered and pieces separated
- 1/3 cup flour, all purposes
- 1 (12 ounces) Guinness or Irish stout beer, room temperature
- 4 cups beef stock or broth
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Directions
Prepare the onion, carrots and potatoes. Season the beef with a salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium high heat, brown the beef in a tablespoon of olive oil in 2-3 batches, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer the browned meat to a plate and keep warm.
In the same pot, stir in the garlic and onions and cook till softened. Add the flour to coat the onions, scraping up the other bits in the pan. Then slowly pour the beer into the pot, stirring to thicken. Add the beef stock or broth.
Add the carrots and potatoes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Heat till the broth is bubbling then lower the heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about an hour, checking to see if the meat is tender and the vegetables are cooked through. Check and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary. Discard the bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Notes
- Guinness beef stew goes great with soda bread and Irish butter.
- Sometimes St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Lent Friday. We abstain on meat on this day and eat our beef stew on Saturday. Others get a dispensation or choose to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and eat meat on Lent Friday and then abstain from it on Saturday/the weekend.
- Search under the Theme Menus for other St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
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