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| 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:
Method:
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:
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:
- 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)
- Brown the meat in a heavy-bottomed pan over med-high heat in a tablespoon of olive oil; set aside.
- 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.
- Add the grated orange peel, the porter and stock (67 used 250ml), enough to cover the meat mixture.
- 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.
- 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.
- In a separate small pan, cook the mushrooms in a little olive oil. When the liquid is gone, add thyme. Set aside.
- When the stew is ready, add mushrooms
- 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.
- 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.
