Guinness Irish Beef Stew

Meet an enthusiast of Guinness and you will invariably be told of its powers.  Stories of miraculous recoveries from serious illnesses and injuries.  Legends of survival during ravaging storms and endless wars.  A steady flow of nothing but stout to see anyone through the toughest of times.

Can you survive on Guinness alone?  No, but it makes for great tales after a few too many.  If you want to survive the end of this winter on a steady diet of Guinness stout, cook up a stew instead – Guinness Irish Beef Stew

Traditionally a simple dish cooked with lamb, potatoes, onions, and carrots, Irish stew has gone through many transformations including the addition of Guinness, tomato paste, and a variety of spices and herbs.  And when the Irish emigrated to the US where beef was more available than lamb, it was the obvious substitution.

The dark, thick, frothy stout is what gives Irish stew its rich flavor and texture.  Too many spices would be a distraction from the complex taste of Guinness.  Therefore, keep it simple.  Pick just one of your favorite warming spices - such as nutmeg, ginger, cocoa, cinnamon, or cayenne – and add a pinch at a time to enhance the flavor of the stew without overpowering it. Then sprinkle in a few generous dashes of black pepper to help stimulate the taste buds to alert the stomach juices to get ready to work.  Exactly what's needed for a rich, heavy stew.

Guinness Irish Beef Stew recipe by Season with Spice

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

1-2 lb of chuck beef cubes

8 carrots – peeled and cut into chunks

1 large white onion - chopped

4 cloves garlic - minced

1/4 - 1/2 tsp of Season with Spice's Bay Leaf Powder

1 tsp salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups of water

10 baby potatoes - quartered

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp of Season with Spice's Smoked Spanish Paprika  

1 can or bottle of Guinness

1 six oz can of tomato paste (I used a Thick & Rich tomato paste – the only ingredient is tomatoes)

Process:

1. Add about a tablespoon of oil to a frying pan, heat on medium-low fire, and cook beef cubes until browned. Transfer beef and juice to a large pot. 

2. Add another tablespoon of oil to pan, and sauté garlic and onion until lightly browned. Transfer to large pot (make sure to use all the flavor from the pan by heating a bit of water in the pan and pouring it into the pot).

3. Into the large pot, add the carrots, Bay Leaf Powder, salt, black pepper, and 3 cups of water. Cover, and simmer on low fire for 2 hours.

4. Add baby potatoes to the pot. Cover, and simmer for one hour, or until potatoes are softened.

5. In a bowl, mix together Guinness, sugar, Smoked Spanish Paprika, and tomato paste. Then pour the mix into the large pot. Cover and simmer for one more hour, or until desired thickness (stirring occasionally to prevent burning).

6. Serve hot, with freshly ground pepper sprinkled on top.  Or store in refrigerator overnight and enjoy the next day, since stews always taste better after a day or two.  

Notes:

- For many Irish stew recipes, all the ingredients will be added into the pot at once and cooked all day.  To shorten the cooking time and to optimize the flavors and textures, add in the ingredients in stages – beef in first to ensure it tenderizes, potatoes in second to avoid them becoming too mushy, and Guinness in last to not cook out too much of the complex flavor. 

- Some recipes also dip the beef cubes in flour, but this adds unnecessary time and mess since the flour batter will just run off when simmering the beef in the stew. 

-If Guinness isn’t for you, try out my Minnesota Beef Stew recipe.