Beef Stew Recipe - A St.Patrick’s Day Must
My husband and I love watching the Food Network and all the cooking competitions. He recently asked me what my 'audition' recipe would be to try to initially impress the panel of judges, and if I had about 6 hours to prepare the dish (instead of the usual 30-60 minutes they give you on those shows) it would definitely be my Guinness beef stew! And what better day to enjoy this delicious meal than March 17th.
Ingredients
Beef (stewing beef works or cube any type of beef roast)
3 Carrots
3 Stocks of celery
3 cloves of garlic
2 Onions
4 Yellow potatoes
1-2 cans of Guinness (or any dark stout)
3 Bay leaves
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp. thyme
Corn starch
3 Tablespoons of flour
1 Can of tomato paste
4 cups of beef stock
Olive oil
Directions
1. Cube the beef (big chunks of beef work best- about 2"). Pat dry and season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle corn starch on the cubes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. A cast-iron Dutch oven works the best.
3. Place the beef cubes in the pot in batches and let them brown. If the pot gets dry during batches, add more oil. Once all the batches are complete, remove them from the pot.
4. Add chopped carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Cook until softening. Add 2 tablespoons of flour.
5. Add 1 can of Guinness, 4 cups of beef stock, and 1 can of tomato paste. Add bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper.
6. Return beef to the pot. All the liquids should be above the ingredients. If it isn't, add more beef stock and Guinness.
7. Reduce heat and let it cook on the stovetop (if in a pot) for 3-4 hours. If you're using a cast iron pot, put it in the oven to work its magic for 3-4 hours.
8. I'm not a fan of the mushy overcooked potatoes in stews, so add your cubed potatoes into the stew when there are 2 hours remaining in the book.
9. Let the stew thicken until it is ready to serve!
What can you serve it with?
I would recommend some Irish soda bread! While I haven't tried to make this myself yet, there are lots of recipes online to give it a try. It's a more dense bread that goes well with the stew. The key ingredient in this bread is buttermilk. Yum!
Enjoy!
