Guinness Beef Stew

So I’m guessing you’re catching on to my theme here… all things Irish to get you ready for March 17th!  I recently traveled to Ireland and one of my favorite meals was Guinness stew with a big dollop of mashed potatoes on top, yes more potatoes, but can you ever really have enough?!  This recipe is so adaptable and can easily be thrown into a crockpot for those days when you just would rather “forget” about cooking.  You could also substitute the beer for some red wine and make it gluten free!

Guinness Beef Stew : Yields 6 servings plus some leftovers 

4 lbs. stew meat (chuck roast), cubed into quarter size pieces 

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

5 sprigs thyme, leaves only

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 large tablespoons Dijon mustard

24 oz. Guinness

5 large potatoes, large cube 

4 large carrots, large dice

8 cups beef broth

Begin by browning your beef in a large sauté pan, best if done in batches. Add browned meat to a large soup pot.  In the same sauté pan, add onions, garlic, thyme and Dijon.  sauté for 3 minutes.  Add Worcestershire sauce and beer to deglaze pan, let simmer  on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Add the liquid mixture to the soup pot.  Pour broth into pot and bring to boil, add vegetables and simmer covered for about 3 hours or until meat is tender and breaking apart.  Season with and salt and pepper to taste. 

*For a thicker stew you can mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with some water until smooth, add to liquid, boil for 1 minute and reduce to simmer.

Crockpot version:

Brown your meat (add to crock pot) and sauté onions, garlic, thyme and Dijon  just as stated above.  Deglaze pan with Worcestershire sauce and beer (or wine!) and add mixture to crockpot.  Add all other ingredients and set to low for an all day slow cook!