Guinness beef stew
A comforting, easy stew, perfect for a cold day. Make sure you mop up the gravy!
Servings: 2 relatively generous, or can be more
Calories: 635kcal
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Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 rib celery optional
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 oz smoked bacon (streaky) approx 2 slices
- 1 lb stewing beef eg beef chuck
- ¼ teaspoon salt approximately
- ¼ teaspoon pepper approximately
- 2 carrots or 3 if smaller
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or can use butter, approximately
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup Guinness or other stout
- 1 cup beef stock or can use chicken stock or a mixture
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F/150C.
- Dice the onion and celery, if using, relatively small and finely chop the garlic. Slice the bacon and dice the beef into bite-sized pieces. Season the beef all over with salt and pepper. Peel and cut the carrots into semi-thick rounds.
- Warm a dish suitable for the oven over a medium-high heat (I use a Dutch oven) and add the oil. Add the beef in batches and brown all over - take care not to overcrowd the pot. Remove the beef once browned and add the next batch until you have browned it all.
- Add the bacon, onion and celery to the pot and cook a couple minutes until well softened. Reduce the heat and/or add extra oil if needed to avoid burning. Add the garlic, cook a minute more, then add the carrots and cook a minute or two.
- Add back the beef then add the thyme, bay leaf and flour. Stir to mix through. Add the Guinness and stir to scrape any browning from the bottom and side of the pot. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and transfer to the oven - cook for approximately 1 hour covered, then another hour uncovered to help the sauce thicken up. Stir now and then when uncovered as a slight skin will form and the top pieces of meat may dry and if needed, cover again if the liquid gets too low. By this point, the meat should be fork-tender (ie break apart easily), but it can vary depending on the meat - if not, you may need to cook up to another hour more.
- Once the meat is tender, check the gravy and adjust seasoning as needed to taste. You may want a little more salt and pepper, if it seems bitter you may want just a touch of sugar to reduce it (though only a small amount, you don't want it sweet). This works well served with mashed potatoes, but you could also try other mashed root vegetables, soda bread on the side or while less traditional, rice would work too.
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Notes
If you like, you can also add potatoes and/or parsnips into the stew to make it a bit more of a complete meal, rather than with quite as much on the side.
Nutrition
Calories: 635kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 911mg | Potassium: 1403mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 10321IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 6mg
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