International Recipes
Guinness Irish Stew
In Ireland each household has its own version of Irish Stew. This is the preferred version in my household.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat or lamb, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- All-purpose flour
- 1 large red or white onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup parsnips, cut into chunks
- 3 pounds Russet potatoes, cut into chunks
- 4 cups beef broth or stock
- 12 to 16 ounces Guinness Extra Stout
- Kosher or sea salt
- Basil or thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Chopped parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet (I use cast iron).
- At this point you can choose to shake the chunks of meat in a paper bag with the flour. This will thicken the stew as it cooks. But this is optional. Most people don't bother with this step, although I do.
- Sear meat in a heavy skillet to brown it well. Remove from heat and place in slow cooker.
- Add onion and garlic to skillet, and cook long enough just to glaze. Do not let the garlic burn or it will become bitter.
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, and stir well.
- Cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or on LOW for 8 hours.
- Ladle into individual soup bowls, and sprinkle with parsley.
- Serve with Irish Soda Bread.
Notes
You can optionally add 1 cup red wine to the ingredients, if desired.