BEEF AND DARK BEER STEW

THE DELICIOUS DARK SIDE OF BEEF & BEER...

Slow cooked for hours till thick, melting & unctuous

This is another of 67goingon50's make-ahead meals.

I was first served a Beef & Guinness Stew shortly after I arrived in London.  I fell in culinary love and have made it hundreds of times since with a hundred varieties. 

With a slow cooker (see Making the Most of Slow Cookers) even the toughest stewing beef will be tender and juicy.  But supermarket roast specials which can sometimes be a bit tough for roasting are also good for this recipe.  Cooking time depends on the quality of the meat.

67 used a slow cooker but the stew can also be cooked in the oven or the hob.

This is not a particularly frugal recipe and it has a slightly higher fat level than usual but is worth the indulgence.   If there are weight or other health issues, moderate portions. Any leftovers freeze well and can be transformed into a thick soup.  

To make the stew go even further, add a few thickly chopped parsnips in the early stages;  in the last hour of cooking, add a tin of drained, rinsed white beans (haricot or butterbeans). 

Serves: 6-8
Cost:  £7'ish

Ingredients:

500g/18 oz stewing beef
56 gm/2 oz flour

       2 large onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced 

6 carrots. in thick chunks 
1-2 cups/250-500 ml Guinness or porter (67 used 500ml) (Sorry, there is no halal equivalent but the alcohol will be cooked out by serving time)
1-2 cups/250-500 ml beef or other stock (67 used 250ml)

zest of one orange, coarsely grated 

 

1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 oz butter 

150gm/6 oz thickly sliced mushrooms
pepper & salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Method:

1. Place flour in a plastic bag; season with 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper.  Add meat and toss until the meat is coated.  Save the flour which, with the butter, will thicken the stew later. (The lazy/busy can eliminate steps 2-4)
2. Brown the meat in a heavy-bottomed pan over med-high heat in a tablespoon of olive oil; set aside.
3. Spray the same pan with olive oil; sautee onions until soft and translucent, about 15 mins.  Add sliced carrots; cook a further 5 minutes.  Return meat to pan with any juices.
4. Add the grated orange peel, the porter and stock (67 used 250ml), enough to cover the meat mixture.  
5. Bring to the boil, let bubble 5 mins, then decant into the slow cooker; cook on low 5-7 hours.  Check at the 4-hour mark; the meat should hold its shape and not fall apart.
6. If cooking in oven or on the hob, put all the veg & meat but not the butter, mushrooms and final dash of Worcestershire in a large saucepan with enough liquid to cover.  See fuller instructions in tips, below.
7. In a separate small pan, cook the mushrooms in a little olive oil.  When the liquid is gone, add  thyme.  Set aside.
8. When the stew is ready, add mushrooms
9. Mash the butter into the reserved flour; add to the stew, stirring; if mix has not thickened enough to taste, add another tablespoon flour mixed with butter. 
10. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta

Comments:
'The orange flavour is great and just in the right amount.  The mushrooms have retained their flavour and the beef melts perfectly, not like bullets in other stews.  I love a stew that is not too runny and this has great consistency, helped by the Guinness.  It certainly attracts me to getting a Slow Cooker if food tastes this good.' Middle Aged food lover 
'The Guinness adds a little extra kick and the meat is very tender.  It's a great winter warmer.' 20+ designer

Tips:

• Cooking on the hob: bring to a boil, simmer at a good bubble 5 mins,  turn the heat down to its lowest level , cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the onions have melded into the sauce. 
• Cooking in the oven: 130c,250fgas mark 1/2 in tightly sealed pot for 2-6 hours.  
• Often seen as a guy's dish, the provides plenty of iron which younger women should eat in reasonable quantities at least once a month.  

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.