Irish Beef Guinness Stew

Happy Thursday!  It’s three days until St. Patrick’s Day and I’m here to share another traditional Irish recipe with you all!  I grew up eating corned beef and cabbage every St. Paddy’s Day (I still do) and I didn’t come across Guinness stew until I was an adult but I’m so glad I did.  It is a hearty and rustic stew that is just perfect served as a main dish with mashed potatoes and soda bread or alongside your corned beef and cabbage. 

The History of Guinness Stew

Stewing meat is a method that has been around since ancient times.  It is a way of taking tough or cheaper cuts of meat and cooking them low and slow until they are tender, succulent, and flavorful.  Originally, Irish stews were made using mutton (sheep over two years of age) or lamb meat and root vegetables.  Eventually, Irish-American immigrants began replacing the lamb with beef since it was more readily available in the United States.  It appears, however, to be unclear when Guinness was added to Irish Stew; or if that was something that came from Ireland or from Irish-American immigrants.  Either way, it is the most perfect addition.  The strong flavor of a dark stout compliments the rich meat and cooks down to a roasted caramelly and malty flavor. 

My Take on Guinness Stew

Although different regions of Ireland have their own version of Irish Stew, they all have a similar base.  Rich meat cooked low and slow.  Some variations include potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables while others are simply meat and sauce.  My version is somewhere in between.  I toss the stew meat in a small amount of flour and “fry” over high heat.  This helps create a slight caramelized crust and seals in the moisture without cooking the meat all the way through.  I remove the meat, deglaze the pan to help scrape up the flavorful brown bits, and then add roughly chopped onion and cook just until it is slightly soft.  I then add the beef back into the pan along with mushrooms, herbs and spices, crushed garlic cloves, stout, some beef stock, and a touch of brown sugar to help omit any bitterness of the cooked beer.  I cook this low and slow until the sauce is reduced and the meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender.  The result?  The most delicious and succulently rich stew. 

How to Serve Guinness Stew

Guinness stew is great on its own with a side of crusty bread (or Irish soda bread) or served over mashed potatoes or my Irish Colcannon with Bacon.  You can also serve this stew as a main dish or in small bowls alongside your corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day.    

Sláinte!

Ingredient Details and Abby's Tips

• The Stew Meat – Because stew meat tends to be on the tough side, it is perfect for this recipe as it cooks low and slow.  This method creates the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth stew meat. 

• Why Brown the Meat First? – Don’t skip this step!  Seasoning and coating the stew meat in flour and browning on high heat helps create a very light caramelized crust, adding flavor and sealing in the moisture without cooking the meat all the way through.

• The Flour – I use all-purpose flour for this recipe.  If you need to use gluten-free flour, I suggest only using the 1:1 gluten-free flour.  Nut or oat flours could create an odd texture. 

• The Oil – I like to use avocado oil for this recipe.  It is a healthy fat and works great for high heat cooking.  You could also use lard or another high-heat cooking oil such as canola. 

• The Onion – I use yellow onion for this recipe, but white onion would also work!  You’ll want to roughly chop the onion so it doesn’t disappear into the stew. 

• The Mushrooms – I love using baby portobello mushrooms for this recipe, but white button mushrooms work great too!  They are both tender and have a mild flavor.  You’ll want to clean the mushrooms first but don’t use water as they will absorb it.  Instead, gently rub any dirt off with a dry paper towel or kitchen towel.

• The Beer – This recipe traditionally uses Guinness beer and I would try to stick with that.  If you are unable to find Guinness, a dry stout, milk stout, or nitro stout would work.  I would suggest staying away from anything flavored or sweet. 

• The Beef Stock – You can use regular, lightly salted, or unsalted for this recipe.  You’ll just want to adjust the added salt accordingly.  You can also use beef bone broth as well!

• The Brown Sugar – The small addition of brown sugar doesn’t make the stew sweet.  Instead, it helps to omit any bitterness from the reduced beer.  White sugar would also work if that’s what you have on hand.    

• The Thyme, Bay Leaf, and Parsley – These add a wonderful flavor element to this stew.  You can use fresh or dried – I have adjustment notes for this in the ingredients section of the recipe card below.    

• The Nutmeg and Cayenne – The small amount of these spices adds a nice complexity without adding too much spice or overwhelming flavor.  I put a measurement range for both in the ingredient list as some people can be sensitive to these particular spices.    

• The Garlic – Adding whole crushed garlic cloves instead of minced adds excellent flavor without being overwhelming.  Also, the slow cooked cloves are amazingly delicious! 

• The Salt and Pepper – Add these to taste.  Because salt is added at the beginning of the recipe and the stew reduces to a concentrate, I would wait to add any additional salt and pepper until you taste the stew just before serving.  Otherwise, it could be very salty.