- Yield: 6
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 3h 00 min
Irish-ish Beer & Beef Stew
To fully dedicate my weekend to everything (even remotely) Irish, I've countered the daintiness of my Irish Coffee Petit Fours with something bold, rustic, and not dainty at all. The obvious choice for the theme of St. Patrick's Day would be a stew or corned beef. And because I really don't care for the latter, I went down the stew path.
Traditionally, what makes this kind of stew Irish is the use of Guiness. But I've already elaborated about my disdain for it, so I've been using a German Märzen Beer instead and nobody was missing the Guiness.
This dish is perfect when you're busy with other things. It requires about 45 minutes worth of work, after that you just leave it on the stove (or in the slow cooker) and forget about it until it is time to eat. Instead of using a traditional cut of beef, like chuck, I used beef shanks for this dish. And I love the results. The connective tissue in the meat as well as the bone marrow melts into the stew and gives it a very rich flavor and texture. If you can find it, give it a try!
Ingredients
- Beef Roast - 3 lbs
- Butter Fat (Ghee) - 2 - 3 tbsp
- Yellow Onions - 2 large, chopped
- Carrots - 1 lbs
- Parsnips - 1 lbs
- Potatoes - 1 lbs
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- Märzen Beer - 3 cups
- Worcestershire Sauce - 3 tbsp
- Tomato Paste - 1/4 cup
- Dried Thyme - 1 tsp
- Bay Leafs - 2
- Salt, Pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Season the beef shanks slices with salt and pepper and dust with flour
- In a large dutch oven, head the butter fat on medium high heat.
- Brown the meat from all sides in batches to not crowd the pot. Set browned meat aside on a plate.
- Add chopped onions and a dash of salt and sauté on medium low heat for about 10 - 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel and chop the vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) and mince the garlic. Add to the onions and sauté for another 10 minutes.
- Add the beer and bring to a boil to deglaze the browned bits in the pan.
- Add the meat and all the remaining ingredients. Add 1 - 2 cups of water to cover everything, and braise on low heat for 3 - 4 hours.
- Alternatively, you can also move the stew into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours or on high for 3 - 4 hours.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and freshly cracked black pepper on top.
