Comfort Food: Guinness Beef Stew

What do you do with Guinness after you've had two and don't want anymore?  Have friends over?  Make Beef Stew?!? Beer and Meat! How can a guy pass the marrying of these true "guy" flavors into a hearty dish?  

A stew is a great winter dinner; it will warm you up and with a few simple ingredients really fill you up as well. I found this recipe through some random web searching and that gave me a good starting point.  I decided to add a can of Stewed Tomatoes, this adds a little bit more substance to the meal without turning the stew into a gumbo of sorts.

Guinness Beef Stew

Adapted from: Food Network

• 2 pounds lean stewing beef
• 3 Tablespoons oil
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large onions, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons tomato puree, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
• 1-1/4 cups Guinness stout beer (a little more than one bottle, have two and keep the remaining for a beverage)
• 2 cups carrots, cut into chunks
• 14oz can of stewed tomatoes, drained
• Sprig of thyme

Preparation:

Trim the beef of any fat or gristle, cut into cubes of 1-2 inches and toss them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Season the flour with salt, ground pepper.  Toss the meat into the mixture, trying to fully coat, it helps to do two batches in two bags ziplock bags. 

Heat some oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. Brown the meat on all sides. Add the onions, crushed garlic, and tomato puree to the pan, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes.  Being carful not to burn the garlic.

Transfer the contents of the pan to a casserole, and pour some of the Guinness beer into the frying pan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the pan.

Pour onto the meat with the remaining Guinness; add the carrots and the thyme.  Stir, taste, and add a little more salt if necessary.

Cover with the lid of the casserole and simmer very gently until the meat is tender -- 2 to 3 hours. The stew may be cooked on top of the stove or in a low oven at 300 degrees F. Taste and correct the seasoning. Scatter with lots of chopped parsley.

I found that using a cast iron dutch oven worked really well as you can do everything in one pan, which guys like.  You could add some celery or red pepper if you wanted, just to give the dish some more nutrients.  Enjoy.

-Dan

Comments

[Tina]

Look @ your totally cute, mismatched plates! Love!

[Gaby]

Dear Two Cooks One Kitchen, I think the guiness beef stew sounds awesome and its so true how no guy would turn down this combination of ingredients! OMG! Incredible presentation. Loved your site, very professional. Photos were crisp and clear. Recipes concise and easy to read. I shall be back for a bite of more.
Thank you for sharing.
Cheers, Gaby
You can visit me at http://ptsaldari.posterous.com