Guinness Beef Stew Recipe
Christy, Sinkology’s food-loving recipe blogger, is here to share some recipes she has created for the Sinkology blog that reflect our view of a copper sink: simple, timeless, affordable, and beautifully rustic.
We have a favorite simple and no fuss beef stew recipe that has been in my family for almost 50 years. My mom first found the original recipe in a Columbus newspaper back in the 1970’s and ever since, we’ve made it hundreds of times over the years. The recipe is forever seared in my memory. It was also one of the very first meals I made for my husband when we got married 20 years ago. However, since St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner, I made some significant changes to the original recipe to make it Irish.
I’m not surprised how many beef stew recipes have the same bones. I changed the seasonings and added Guinness and Worchester sauce based on several Guinness beef stew recipes I researched online. I prefer this oven method of cooking for beef stew as it cooks slowly, very tenderly and thickens up without any added thickener. I leave it alone in the oven for 3 hours, no checking or babying is needed. However, I have made it in the crockpot and instant pot with good results although it doesn’t thicken as much without added thickener such as flour or cornstarch.
Let’s get started. First, prepare the garlic, onions, and carrots by chopping them. Set aside.
Preheat the oven 300 degrees. Grab a Dutch oven with a lid (I use my 6 quart Lodge Dutch oven). Trim the beef of excess fat. Heat the Dutch oven over medium-high heat with about tablespoon of oil like canola or vegetable. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Cook small batches at a time and generously brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate and continue for all of the beef.
Add the sliced onions and sauté for just couple minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Pour the Guinness and bring it to a boil. Deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom of the pot to remove the hardened brown bits, which are packed full of flavor and will enhance the stew. Boil for a few more minutes.
Add the browned beef, carrots, broth, tomato paste, Worchester sauce, thyme, rosemary, salt, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Normally, I make beef stew with beef broth but I find using chicken broth if you are using Guinness makes the Guinness flavor shine through a little more. If you have an 11 fluid oz. Guinness bottle, feel free to use all of it. I normally use the thick baby carrots (not the teeny petite ones) and don't cut them so it's up to you to leave whole or cut in half. They are cut in half in this recipe.
Cover and bake for 3 hours. You don't have to do a thing during the 3 hours. Just before 3 hours are up, prepare the potatoes. Peel and cut into 1-inch chunks. Remove the Dutch oven lid, add the potatoes and stir to combine. Put the lid back on and return to the oven for one hour.
After one hour, check the potatoes. They should be fork tender at this point. If not, continue to cook for few more minutes. Remove bay leaf. Garnish with minced fresh chives or parsley.
Scoop into bowls, dig in and enjoy with extra Guinness to drink. Irish soda bread would be a delicious companion to this.
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup grated carrots, about 2 medium carrots (or use pre-shredded carrots from a bag). Roughly chopped if necessary to no longer than 1' pieces.
- 1 scant cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1. Preheat oven 375F.
- 2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat together butter and both sugars on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and vanilla extract. Continue to beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. Stir in the grated carrots, walnuts, and shredded coconut.
- 3. Drop a heaping tbsp. cookie batter about 2 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone mat. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
- 4. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute then transfer to cooling rack.
- 5. While cookies are baking, make the cream cheese filling if desired. Beat together cream cheese and 2 cups powdered sugar until smooth.
- 6. Sandwich the flat sides of cooled cookies together with a generous tbsp. of cream cheese filling in between. Or spread some on individual cookies and top with extra walnuts.
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