Beef And Guinness Stew is a heart warming bowl of comfort! Slow cooked beef, simmered in a rich Guinness gravy, is packed with so much flavour!
This Beef And Guinness Stew recipe is reaching you just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!
Stew
Just like this Chicken Cacciatore recipe, there are so many options now days to slow cook a good stew or soup. I know how much you guys appreciate as many methods as I can squeeze into a recipe, with the equipment you have right at home. So, because of this, I’ve included both Slow Cooker AND Instant Pot methods in the recipe!
The great thing about a good stew is that it can be enjoyed at any time of the year. Today is one of those days. Cold, cloudy, miserable, while battling a flu. Perfect for a rich and hearty Irish Beef And Guinness Stew! Especially when it’s cooking away in the oven with tender, fall apart beef guaranteed to hit your bowls.
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An authentic Irish stew is traditionally made with mutton or lamb. For this stew, however, I typically use slow cooker cuts of beef. Not for any other reason than we enjoy the flavour of beef paired with this Guinness gravy a lot more than when cooked with lamb.
Tips:
- If using your Slow Cooker or Instant Pot, I recommend browning the beef first if you can. The flavour of browned meat does not compare to throwing raw beef into the slow cooker.
- The original recipe calls for cooking the beef in half of the beer, and adding the rest of the beer in after cooking. We personally prefer the method I’ve provided in the recipe a lot more, but you can try either.
- Beef cuts specifically used for slow cooking are best with this stew.
- For a thicker gravy, mix 1 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch (or corn flour) together with 2 tablespoons of water; add after baking in the oven while it’s still bubbling. You can also turn on your stove to low heat to do this, stirring the cornstarch mixture through until thickened to your liking.
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- 1 1/2 kg | 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast , trimmed and cut into thick 1 1/2-inch pieces
- salt and pepper to season
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (plus more if needed)
- 2 medium-sized brown onions , chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 large carrots , peeled and chopped into thick slices
- 2 celery stalks , chopped into thick pieces
- 4 large potatoes , quartered
- 1/4 cup plain flour
- 1 1/2 cups | 375ml Guinness Beer
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
- 4 cups (or 1 litre or 1 quart) beef broth (beef stock)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- Extra salt and pepper to season , to your tastes
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley , chopped
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Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 160°C | 325°F. Season beef generously with salt and pepper.
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Heat oil in dutch oven or a heavy based, oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Sear beef in batches of three or four until browned all over. (Use more oil where needed.) Transfer to a warm plate.
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Add onion and garlic to the pan juices; sauté until soft and transparent. Add the carrots, celery and potatoes, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir the flour into the vegetables in the pan, coating them evenly. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 2 minutes.
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Pour in the Guinness; mix well to dissolve flour, then add the tomato paste, brown sugar, broth and thyme, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, (about 5 minutes).
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Add the beef back into the pot along with any juices released.
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Partially cover the pot; transfer to the oven and bake for 2 1/2 - 3 hours (stir stew twice through cooking).
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Carefully remove from the oven, and season with salt and pepper, if desired, to your tastes. Garnish with parsley and serve with mashed potatoes.
Adapted from Cook's Country
*For a thicker gravy, mix 1 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch together with 2 tablespoons of water; add after baking in the oven while it's still bubbling. You can turn on your stove to low heat to do this, stirring the cornstarch through until thickened to your liking.
FOR THE SLOW COOKER:
Add the browned beef into a 6 qt slow cooker bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the flour. Cook on low setting for 7-8 hours, or high setting for 4-5 hours. In the last half an hour of cooking, ladle out 1/2 cup liquid out of the slow cooker; mix the liquid with the 1/4 of flour until smooth and blended; then pour the flour mixture through the liquid (change to high setting if cooking on low).
FOR INSTANT POT OR PRESSURE COOKER: Following slow cooker instructions: cook under 'meat' or 'stew' setting for 55 minutes (or on a HIGH setting).
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Ricihard Kohout says
For people asking about Brown onions, if they would just google it they would find out that what is called brown onions in UK or Australia, we call yellow onions in US. One and the same.
Karina says
That is so great to hear! I am so glad that you loved it! Thanks so much for following along with me!
Geoff says
Thanks, I love this recipe – it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made.
Karina says
That is by preference if you like your vegetables a little more crispy or tender. I am so glad that you are making this stew! It is one of my favorites! Thanks so much for following along with me!
Geoff says
Thanks for the recipe. I had a quick question about the Slow Cooker instructions: should we still saute the veggies prior to adding them to the slow cooker, or just throw them in raw?
Molly says
Add some Worcestershire sauce to this-about 1-2 tablespoons should do.
Tymeron Smith says
Sounds great! Glad that we have a few things in common;)! Thanks for sharing and following along with me!
Traveler says
I make another version of beef and Guinness stew often. Two ingredients I also add are cooked and crumbled bacon and a splash of cognac or brandy.
Karina says
Haha Terrie, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?! Ketchup is a good substitution! I’m honoured your hubby approved! It’s all due to your quick thinking with the ketchup I think! 😉
Terrie says
I made your stew tonight, and it was brilliant! I did add a bit of ketchup (horrors!) since I didn’t have tomato paste, and the ketchup gave a nice tang to the gravy–also used a bit of beef bouillon. I did need to add the extra cornstarch to thicken the gravy, and it worked like a charm. Terrific recipe–my husband said yours is replacing my old Guinness Stew recipe!!
Mary M O'Brien says
I, too want to know about brown onions. Here, in the USA, we have white onions, yellow onions and green onions (the skinny ones with a little bulb at one end.) Please advise.
Valerie Klobuchar says
Where can you find brown onions?