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Close up of a blue bowl of Guinness Beef Stew in front of a glass of Guinness.

Rustic Guinness Beef Stew

Course: dinner, Entree
Cuisine: European, Irish
Keyword: beef, harvest stew
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 234kcal
Author: Marta Rivera
While the alcohol is cooked off completely, a non-Guinness version can be made by using only beef stock.
Slow cooker and Instant Pot instructions are in the post.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 lbs beef chuck cut into 1- 1 1/2" pieces
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) kosher salt plus more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon (4 grams) granulated garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons (2 grams) black pepper plus more to taste
  • 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) vegetable oil
  • 1 large (3 cups or 305 grams) yellow onion chopped
  • 4 cloves (2 tablespoons) garlic rough chopped
  • 1 11.2-ounce bottle Guinness (or 1 1/2 cups beef stock)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tbsp dried
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 large (4 cups or 715 grams) russet potatoes cut in 1 1/2-inch cubes
  • 10 ounces (2 cups or 285 grams) baby carrots halved (or 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped)
  • 8 ounces (3 cups or 227 grams) baby portobello mushrooms quartered
  • 3 stalks (2 cups or 175 grams) celery chopped
  • 3 cups (750 milliliters) beef broth

Serve with one of the following

  • Irish Soda Bread
  • Biscuits
  • Cornbread

Instructions

Season the Beef

  • In a large mixing bowl, season the beef chunks with the salt, granulated garlic powder, and black pepper.
    Set this aside to marinate while you prep your vegetables (about 20 minutes).

Sear the Beef

  • In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
    Once the oil ripples, add 1/3 of the meat to the pot. Sear the meat in small batches for 2-3 minutes on two sides, or until crusty and golden brown.
    Using tongs, transfer the cooked meat to a bowl. The inside of the beef will still be very pink when you remove it from the pot. After removing the first batch, add the next 1/3 to the pot.
    Continue searing until all the meat is browned. 
  • After searing the meat, carefully spoon out or pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat in the pot.
    Add the onion and garlic to the oil in the pot and sauté them for 3 minutes over medium-high heat or until they are deep golden, almost brown color, stirring frequently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Deglaze the Pot

  • Pour the Guinness into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the stuck-on bits of caramelized food off the bottom of the pot.
    Bring the liquid in the pot up to a boil and allow the beer to evaporate for 3-4 minutes. 
  • After allowing the Guinness to evaporate slightly, stir in the tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.
    Use your tongs to return the meat to the pot.

Simmer the Guinness Beef Stew

  • Once the beef chunks are in the pot, add the potatoes, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to the pot. 
    Pour the beef stock into the pot and carefully stir everything together to combine. 
  • Bring the liquid in the pot up to a boil, then decrease the temperature to medium-low.
    Cover the pot and simmer the Guinness beef stew for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
  • After the cooking time has elapsed, uncover the pot and remove, then discard, the herb stems and bay leaves.
    Ladle into soup bowls and serve with warm slices of your favorite bread.

Notes

Swaps and Substitutions

  • Replace the beef in your beef stew with cuts of lamb, bison, pork, or boar meat that are similar in toughness. 
  • Replace the Guinness in this beef stew with your favorite stout beer, merlot, pinot noir, cabernet, or beef broth. 

Tips and Techniques

  • Avoid using "extra lean" stew meat in this recipe. It won't give you the flavor you want. 
  • You can leave the meat to season overnight. Cover the bowl and keep it in the fridge until 30 minutes before you plan to sear it. Allow the meat to warm up for 20 minutes before searing to keep it from seizing up when you sear it. 
  • It is important to sear the meat in batches to achieve that caramelization.
  • If the stew starts to boil too rapidly, decrease the temperature to low. 
  • To thicken your beef stew, 15 minutes before the cooking time is up, whisk together 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 1/2 cup of the stew broth. Quickly stir this slurry into the broth in the pot and continue cooking the beef stew for another 15 minutes. 

Storage Instructions

  1. Allow beef stew to cool to room temperature before transferring it to a storage container.
  2. Store Guinness beef stew in the fridge for 3-4 days. 
  3. Transfer a portion of the beef stew to a container and reheat in the microwave for 1 minute or reheat it in a pot on the stove over medium heat until warmed through. 

Freezing Instructions

  1. Allow the beef stew to cool completely.
  2. Transfer it to a freezer-safe storage container and freeze for 6 months.
  3. Thaw frozen beef stew in the fridge and reheat as instructed above.

Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 1254mg | Potassium: 616mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3962IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg