Stout Beef Stew by Junko Gemmill

Irish Dry Stout Beef Stew

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This hearty beef stew is SO delicious! My husband Ben and I are in love with this stew, and we call it the Irish cousin of the French Beef Bourguignon. The beef is braised in Irish Dry Stout Beer (think dark black Guinness!) rather than in red wine. Ben and I are more into wine than we are into beer, so I was a bit nervous when draining the whole can onto the beautifully seared beef. But oh boy does the beer do wonders! The beef becomes so tender that they fall apart when poked with a spoon, and the stew ends up super packed with flavor. I love that it’s very easy to make, yet tastes like it took a week to prepare! It’s slow-cooked in a pot for several hours, so we do need to start the preparations a bit early. That said, once you get everything in the pot, it’s basically hands-off on low simmer all the way. It’s a great make-ahead dish, because the longer you stew it the better it gets!

 

Stout Beef Stew by Junko Gemmill
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Irish Dry Stout Beef Stew

Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

For the beef

  • 2 pounds beef for beef stew 2-inch chunks
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the stew

  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 3 medium sweet onions chopped into medium chunks
  • 6 slices thick cut bacon diced, fatty half removed
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 15 ounces Irish dry stout beer “Guinness Draught”
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 5 medium carrots chopped into medium chunks
  • 3 medium inner celery stalks chopped into medium chunks
  • 2 dry bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To serve

  • 1 pound egg fettuccine

Instructions

Prepare the beef

  • Pat the beef chunks dry with paper towels and place them on a flat plate. Season with salt and pepper.
  • In a dutch oven or a heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
  • Once the pot and oil are hot, add the beef chunks, about 6-8 chunks at a time and quickly sear them brown on all sides. Remove the browned beef on to a plate and set aside. Repeat until all of the beef chunks are seared.

Make the stew

  • Use the same pot that the beef was browned in. Remove the pot from the heat to cool slightly. Lower the heat to medium.
  • Add the garlic to the pot and stir for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
  • Add the onions and cook until they soften. Keep stirring.
  • Add the bacon and cook until they turn brown. Keep stirring.
  • Add the flour and stir well so that the onions and bacon are coated fairly evenly.
  • Add the beer and mix well to ensure the flour dissolves.
  • Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, carrots, celery, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs.
  • Add back the browned beef and its juices.
  • Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Remove any scum that surfaces.
  • Lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours with the lid on.
  • Remove the lid and simmer for at least another 30 minutes. The beef should be tender and the sauce thickened slightly.
  • Remove any excess fat that surfaces.
  • Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve

  • Serve hot over egg fettuccine.

We welcome your feedback!