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Recipes
BEEF & GUINNESS STEW
Chef Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cooking School - County Cork,
Ireland
Adapted by StarChefs
Guinness, Ireland's famous black stout, has been brewed in Dublin
since 1759. It has a very special place in Irish life. In Dublin
Tenement Life: An Oral History, publican John O'Dwyer recalls the
importance of stout in the lives of the poorest tenement dwellers
in Dublin: They had nothing. They lived for pints. Drink was
the main diet. It was food... they used to call the pint the 'liquid
food'.
Nowadays the 'liquid food' is used increasingly in cooking. It is
a tasty addition to stews and casseroles, helping to tenderize the
meat and imparting its distinctive malty flavor to any dish. This
recipe makes a wonderful gusty stew which tastes even better a day
or two after it is made.
Yield: 6-8 servings
- 2 lb lean stewing beef
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- salt and freshly ground pepper and a pinch of cayenne
- 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, crushed (optional)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
- 1 1/4 cups Guinness
- 2 cups carrots, cut into chunks
- sprig of thyme
Method:
Trim the meat of any fat or gristle, cut into cubes of 2 inches
(5cm) and toss them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Season the
flour with salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch or two of cayenne.
Toss the meat in the mixture. Heat the remaining oil in a wide frying
pan over a high heat. Brown the meat on all sides. Add the onions,
crushed garlic and tomato puree to the pan, cover and cook gently
for about 5 minutes. Transfer the contents of the pan to a casserole,
and pour some of the Guinness into the frying pan. Bring to a boil
and stir to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the pan. Pour
onto the meat with the remaining Guinness; add the carrots and the
thyme. Stir, taste, and add a little more salt if necessary. Cover
with the lid of the casserole and simmer very gently until the meat
is tender - 2 to 3 hours. The stew may be cooked on top of the stove
or in a low oven at 300 degrees F. Taste and correct the seasoning.
Scatter with lots of chopped parsley. |
