Friday, March 15, 2013

Beef & Guinness Stew – Drinking AND Eating Beer on St. Patrick's Day

While I’ve never been a huge fan of drinking Guinness, I’ve always been a great admirer of how wonderfully it can elevate a simple beef stew. The subtle bitterness from the hops, and toastiness from the malt, gives the gravy a depth of flavor that I really love.

Besides, you only need one can for this St. Patrick's Day-inspired stew, and since they’re sold in 4-can packs…well, you can do the math. This would normally be the point in post where I’d make my annual Irish drinking joke, but I’m not doing one this year.

Not only is it inappropriate, but it’s culturally insensitive, and I’d like to think I’ve matured past the point of going for such cheap laughs. Besides, my Irish joke writer, Paddy O'Sullivan, was on a binge this week, so I never got one from him anyway. Oh well, like I said, probably for the best.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a gorgeous and incredibly delicious Irish stew recipe for your St. Patrick's Day menu, this one comes highly recommended. I served mine with some green onion mashed potatoes, and while I usually encourage you to serve things like this on whatever you want, not this time. You must serve this with some form of potato. And that is no joke. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 large servings:
4 strips bacon, sliced into small pieces
2 1/2 lb. beef chuck, cut in 2-inch pieces (tossed with black pepper and at least 1 tsp salt)
2 onions, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.0-oz) Guinness beer, or other dark beer
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups chicken stock, or as needed
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cups mashed potatoes, optional (not really)
- Simmer stew on very low heat, covered, for about 2 hours, or until fork tender
- Uncover, raise heat to med-high, and reduce, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens to your liking
- Taste and adjust seasoning!

32 comments:

Shannon Indeed said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shannon Indeed said...

Looks tasty Chef can't wait to give this a try..... perhaps I have been staring at this picture too long.... but do I spy corn in your mashed potatoes? Eringobrah hah. (Ireland forever: for those that had something better to do than google it.)

-Shannon
(Who isn't Irish).

Monica said...

In Ireland they would probably use beef and I am sure yours tastes far better. Leftovers will make a great pot pie.

Chef John said...

I did use beef! :)

Chris K. said...

Suppose I wanted to use lamb shoulder instead of beef. Would it be a simple matter of substitution and adjusting the herbal component (i.e. rosemary w/thyme)?

If I deglazed with a dry red wine instead of Guinness, wouldn't that basically be making beef bourgignon?

Chef John said...

Yes, and hell yes!

Daniel Johnston said...

Hi chef John, love your recipes and will definitely try this soon. I noticed though that you blocked me from your channel and I think I know what was up: I made a comment about 'sparking' your asparagus soup into someone and I apologize for that as I honestly didn't mean to insult your food. I love asparagus and soup and I got that silly joke from a show I watched which involved a guy 'sparking' his favorite food into people.


Again I'm sorry and as patethic as this sounds, PLEASE UNBLOCK ME as I love your recipes and learned cooking just watching your videos.

Sincerely, philipmarie.

Chef John said...

Sorry I have no idea what you are taking about.

Jim said...

I have such confidence in your recipes chef, that I bought my chuck last night & invited my mother in law to dinner. I know it will be delicious. Thanx in advance for a great meal!

noiamnotaladyboy.blogspot.com said...

This stew is currently cooking on my stove in Oslo, Norway. Thanks, Chef John!

Gsweb8 said...

Hi Chef John...just curious, can you tell me why you chose to brown the meats and onion in a separate pan? Can't you build up a nice fond right in a good quality Dutch oven... and just add ingredients as you go? I love your work...thanks!

Gsweb8 said...

PS...I'm guessing you could do this in a slow cooker too, but might have to add thickening agent?

Chef John said...

Just faster and easier and more surface area!

bdwilcox said...

As I've never tasted this, I was wondering if mushrooms would make a good addition or might clash with the beer? Your thoughts?

Chef John said...

they'd be fine! Everything goes with beer ;)

Amy said...

Hi Chef John,

My sister & I cooked this up for our parents yesterday, and it was AMAZING!! She added sautéed mushrooms to the mix and it was probably the best stew we ever made!! I'm glad you suggested getting a chuck roast to cut ourselves, because there was more connective tissue than we'd probably get from precut stew meat (good thing!!)

There was definitely plenty to go around and we got about 8 servings out of it.

Love your recipes and can't wait to see more!!

Sandra FromMontreal said...

Wow! I wasn't sure about boiling the stew at the end to reduce and thicken the sauce (thought it might toughen the meat), but it was FANTASTIC! I served this, as was suggested, with green onion mashed potatoes. Great St. Patrick's Day feast! Thanks again!

Chris Stevens said...

Only problem with this dish was I drank too much of the beer...had to go out for another can.

Other than that...excellent.

Lucas said...

Thanks chef John, it tasted amazing!

http://i.imgur.com/fPzdeRT.jpg

AT said...

Hey Chef,

I'm just wondering after watching hundreds of your videos.. When you use chicken stock do you use the kind with no salt added?

Sausage said...

What an inspirational blog. I am really such a big fan of these kind of stuff. I am very glad to come across such a nice information. I love food and recipes all the time. I would love to recommend it to others. Merguez Sausage

Anna Berman said...

AT, great question! Chef John is out on a well deserved vacation and I will be answering questions meanwhile. It's best to use low-sodium or unsalted chicken stock, especially in recipes where the stock cooks for a long time. That way you can season according to your personal taste and know exactly how much salt is being added to your food. Enjoy!

Crunch Kit said...

I was wondering, what can I substitute tomato paste with?

Crunch Kit said...

I was wondering, what can i substitute tomato paste with?

Steve said...

I had an epiphany while watching this video. My whole life I've always loved food but hated cooking shows, even after I started to enjoy cooking. But I LOVE CHEF JOHN'S VIDEOS!!!!! I don't know if it's his recipe choices, his camera skills, or his amazing narrative voice, but he is my culinary hero!!! Everything of yours has always turned out perfect for me. Thank you for everything, Chef John!

Chef John said...

thank you!

cheese_za said...

hi Chef John,

I would like to make this recipe for 30 people, would you be able to assist in giving me an amended recipe for that?

Your assistance is really appreciated.

Chef John said...

I don't have it for 30, but this calculator will let you scale to as many as u want... http://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/recipe-conversion-calculator.html

cheese_za said...

Thanks, will be doing this tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. Hopefully it won't take too long to cook. Will let you know how it goes.

Joey Tan said...

Made this stew last night and it is superb! Added a bay leaf and some more thyme than recommended and ended up with the most tender en succulant stew I've ever made! Thank you very much and greetings from the Netherlands!

mysbond said...

I've been watching your videos and trying out things for awhile now. I stumbled upon this site this past fall when looking for chicken soup recipes, your soup was so good I kept coming back for more.

Anyway, out of all the main dishes I've tried, this was, so far, the best yet- it knocked your pistachio crusted rack of lamb into second place in our house. I served this over the potatoes as suggested, along with your rocket beans on the side and your creme caramel for dessert. It was a beautiful presentation, wasn't expecting it to be quite that good. My sweetie and I both agree that it was The Perfect Meal. Just wanted to say, Thank you so much!

Abeer Rezanur said...

Can I make it without the beer?
What can I use to substitute it?