Irish Beef Stew

After traveling through Ireland a couple of years ago, and tasting the delicious Irish stews throughout my travels, I developed a love this kind of hearty beef stew. It’s sure to warm you up on a cold day. Just load up your bowl and grab some rustic bread with butter, and prepare for a long winter’s nap!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

3 pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

3/4 cup flour, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (11.2 ounce) bottle stout beer (Guinness preferably) , divided

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into thick coins

1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, over medium-high heat. Place ½ cup flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper; dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Add half of beef to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 ½ tablespoons oil and beef. Remove beef from pan.

Add onion to the pot, then sauté until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the 1 cup of Lagunitas, and stir for 1 minute, being sure to scratch the bottom of the pan to lift up any brown bits. Add carrots, potatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, and the cooked meat (along with any of its accumulated juices) to pan. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low to simmer. Simmer over low for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally and adding additional water if needed.

Whisk remaining 1/4 cup flour into the remaining Guinness until dissolved. Stir into stew until thickened. Remove bay leaf and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve warm garnished with chopped parsley if desired.

Recipe inspired by Gimme Some Oven.