Irish Beef Stew Recipe - A Thick & Rich Stew Flavored With Guinness (2024)
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There is nothing more comforting or delicious than Irish Beef Stew. Fall apart tender pieces of beef cooked with vegetables in a thick and rich sauce. Who can resist?
I fell in love with this recipe when I was in Ireland on vacation. Every restaurant had beef stew on the menu.
And when I tried it for the first time, I was hooked. It had an amazing flavor and the beef literally fell apart in my mouth.
I was determined to find out the secret to making Irish Beef Stew. After much convincing, our Irish tour guide finally gave up the recipe.
And I should have known that it had Guinness beer as one of the ingredients! The people of Ireland are very proud of their famous beer and you can find it in just about every type of recipe.
So when I returned home from my trip, I put the recipe to the test.
And I have to say, it was just as delicious! And for those of you that love your pressure cooker, I have made an Instant Pot Irish Beef Stew recipe as well.
IRISH BEEF STEW RECIPE
*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.
INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 lb. beef chuck stew meat, cubed into 1″ pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 c. low-sodium beef broth
1 c. dry red wine
2 c. Guinness beer
2 tsp. fresh thyme
Freshly chopped parsley, optional garnish
How to Make Irish Beef Stew
The first step in making this beef stew recipe is to brown the beef. Although a typical Irish recipe would use lard, I chose to use extra virgin olive oil instead. But the choice is up to you.
Once the beef is browned on all sides, remove it from the pot and set aside.
Using the same pot, add your onions, carrots, and celery and cook until they start to become tender. This typically takes 5-7 minutes. Then add your garlic and continue to saute for one additional minute.
Now add the beef back to the pot along with the potatoes, broth, red wine and Guinness beer. Add in either dried thyme or 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme if you have it on hand to add more flavor to the Irish beef stew.
Bring the pot to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and continue to simmer for 30 minutes or until the beef is tender.
Serve the Irish Beef Stew with fresh parsley on top and with a side of Irish Soda Bread.
Enjoy! Mary
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Irish Beef Stew
A thick and rich stew with fall apart tender pieces of beef and fork tender vegetables made with Guinness beer for that authentic Irish taste.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour5 minutes
Ingredients
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 lb. beef chuck stew meat, cubed into 1" pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 c. low-sodium beef broth
1 c. dry red wine
2 c. Guinness beer
1 tsp. dried thyme (2-3 sprigs fresh)
1 bay leaf
Freshly chopped parsley, optional garnish
Instructions
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil.
Season beef with salt and pepper, then add to pot and cook on all sides until seared, 10 minutes, working in batches if needed. Remove beef and transfer to a plate.
In same pot, add remaining tablespoon oil and cook onion, carrots, and celery until soft, 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
Add beef back to the pot, then add potatoes, broth, beer, wine, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
Cover and let simmer until beef and potatoes are tender, 30 minutes.
Toss meat pieces in flour prior to browning. The flour helps to thicken a stew as it cooks. Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump.
Irish stew is similar to beef stew; both stews are thick and hearty. However, Irish stew is traditionally made with lamb or mutton instead of beef. Meat and vegetables take up most of the space, so the consistency is very thick and not watery.
Stouts, like Guinness, are known for their bitterness. If the stew is cooked too quickly or if it doesn't include ingredients to balance the bitterness, this flavor can be very pronounced.
Tomato paste adds a richness to the sauce and the acidity helps to break down and tenderize the meat. Flour to thicken the sauce. Red wine for additional flavor and body to the sauce. Chicken broth.
Add the wine and tomato paste to the onions and other aromatics in a pan before slow cooking. Plus, this helps to really deglaze any fond that's left. This ingredient is one that your mum and nan would probably use in their stews. It adds a bit of tang, sweetness and savoury spices that give an extra punch of flavour.
A slurry is a mixture of some type of starch, usually cornstarch, and water—use cold water, hot water, or the hot liquid from the stew. Mix the starch and liquid together, add it to the stew, and bring everything to a boil. The stew will start to thicken almost immediately without much impact to the total cooking time.
instead of a roux or flour use cornstarch or arrowroot . equal parts water to cornstarch and arrowroot. mix that up and then you add it to simmering sauce or whatever. you're trying to thicken, it's called a slurry.
Thickness. Like we've already covered, stew tends to be thicker than soup. While soup is normally made with mostly liquids and some solid foods, stew is essentially the reverse – more solids and less liquid.
This Guinness beef stew is a very simple dish, but at the same time, it has a deep, complex, rich flavor. The maltiness of dark beer really does amazing things for the gravy. I served this in a nice ring of green onion-mashed potatoes. I hope you give this a try, whether for Saint Patrick's Day or any time of the year.
The main difference between an Irish stew and classic beef stew comes down to the protein. Traditional Irish stew is usually made with lamb, while beef stew is always made with beef. Our version includes beef chuck, which is less traditional, but easy to make and equally delicious.
There's no greater comfort food than a hearty stew. And Irish Beef and Guinness Stew might be the king of them all! Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavour, and the beef is fall-apart tender.
Isohumulones are the primary source of bitterness in Guinness and, generally speaking, in beers. The more humulone available during boiling, the more likely it is to isomerise and thus produce isohumulones.
Some drinkers still mix Guinness with bitter to produce a drink known as a “Black and Tan”, but the military connotations of this mixture's name are properly dangerous in the light of the recurrent Anglo-Irish Troubles.
Personally I would add as many aromatics and flavor enhancing substances that I like. If the stew is already finished, then you can sauté onions, garlic peppers, celery and carrots then add them to the stew. I would also add some herbs and finally salt and pepper to taste.
The saltiness and flavor of soy sauce will improve a bland soup, stew, stir-fry and other savory dishes that have a liquid component. Add ketchup or tomato sauce. The acidic flavor adds one dimension, while any additional flavorings in the sauce will add depth to the dish too. Pour in a little Worcestershire sauce.
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