Irish Guinness Beef Stew

Irish Stew may well be the mother of all stews. I mean, you know that anything simmered for hours is going to be a good thing. But this is the stew of your dreams. Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavor, and the beef is fall-apart tender. Arguably the most deeply flavorful sauce of all stews, with a rich dark brown flavor, this is the best of the best.

Cook this thick and hearty stew recipe on a cold winter day and you will have one delicious dinner. Guinness and wine at a lot of depth of flavor to this stew. The stew cooks to a nice thick gravy and we loved the process of cooking the potatoes, carrots, and onions. Make sure to have some nice, crusty bread on hand to serve too.

How to make Irish Guinness Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat (get the butcher to cut into bite-size pieces)
• 2 or 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 cups beef stock
• 2 cups Guinness + 1/2 cup of any red wine (We used a Merlot for this stew)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon sugar to sweeten tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and cracked black pepper

Vegetables

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 potatoes (peeled and cut into bite size pieces)
• 1 large onion (peeled and diced)
• 3 med carrots (scraped and diced)

Directions

1. In a small bowl add in the flour and a pinch of salt and pepper. Flour lightly the pieces of beef to seal in the flavour.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Brown the beef stew using tongs to turn the pieces over.
3. If you have too much liquid, carefully remove it to ensure the beef will brown. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
4. Add beef stock.
5. Add Guinness.
6. Add wine.
7. Add tomato paste, sugar, and thyme.
8. Add Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves.
9. Stir to combine and bring to the boil. Reduce heat let simmer for 2 hours; stirring occasionally.

What to serve with Irish Stew

Serve Beef and Guinness Stew over mashed potato or cauliflower mash for a low carb option. And what about some warm crusty Irish Soda Bread to mop your bowl clean?