Irish Beef Stew - My Favourite Recipe!

Ingredients (For 4-6 people)

  • ¼  cup olive oil
  • ¼ Cup Flour
  • ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 1.75lbs pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
  • 6-8 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 5 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
  • 2 cup of Guinness beer (1 Can)
  • 1.5-2 cups of fine red wine
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter for frying vegetables. May need more like ½ stick but I know your wife likes running.
  • 3 pounds Russet potatoes and Sweet Potatoes (1.5 lb each), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups). You can also add Parsnips and Celery/Leak. (See Alternative recipes)
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped (A hand sized onion)
  • 2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
  • Salt and Pepper, Ever-day Seasoning (Trader Joe's)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Optional: Add 1 shot of Irish Whiskey to the stew whilst cooking, and add Bacon pieces (1 Cup) 15 mins before end of cooking.,

       

      Method

      1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly Toss half the beef cube into a bowl, stir together with the flour, Everyday seasoning (Trader Joes), and cayenne pepper. Dredge the beef in this to coat and then put straight into hot pan with heated olive oil. Cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Repeat for 2nd half of beef - (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown). Remove the Meat and let rest in another bowl. To the SAME pan (To De-glaze), add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. (I always combine these into a small bowl then just empty the bowl into the pan). Add Beef back into the sauce. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

      2 While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Season the Vegetables with Salt and Black Pepper whilst frying. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour. (Do this in batches don’t crowd the pan too much just like the beef.)

      3 After 1 hour of the stew simmering, Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)
      The longer you leave this refrigerated, the thicker it gets. If it gets nice and thick, its great poured on top of buttery mashed potatoes.!!

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