Stovetop Beef and Guinness Stew
Pan-seared beef and bacon are cooked with a melody of veggies and herbs in a savory Guinness stew. Makes for a delicious dinner or pure fall comfort food!
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About Stovetop Beef and Guinness Stew
I know I’ve been slacking on the savory recipe front lately (hey, it’s “The Holidays” – my brain seems to be hardwired to only think of sugar right now) but I’m still doing my best to fit in some dinner-worthy recipes for you guys.
And speaking of The Holidays, I’m sure many of you have begun the annual task of reaching deep in the back of your cabinets, searching for all the canned holiday foods left over from last year (pumpkin puree, cranberry sauce, etc). It was during one of these food-diving excursions that I discovered we still had four untouched bottles of Guinness beer.
Now, I’ll be honest: an old friend of mine and I aren’t big fans of drinking Guinness beer, but I do love it in food, whether it be cooked in a a dish or baked. This particular batch of Guinness was left over from when I made Dark Chocolate Guinness Bread, and with bottled beer only having a shelf life of six to nine months, I knew I needed to make something with it – and fast.
Thankfully, I had a dish on my to-make bucket list that would end up being the perfect fit: Beef and Guinness Stew.
I’ve wanted to try my hand at making this stew for a while, but truth be told, I thought this would be a dish more up an old friend of mine’s alley than mine. He’s usually the red meat fan in the house, and though I certainly don’t dislike red meat, I find that the older I get the less of it I eat. I suppose it’s just one of “those things” that randomly change about us as we get older.
Except… then I tasted this stew. And suddenly I remembered all the reasons why I used to love a big, wholesome plate (or in this case, bowl) of red meat and veggies.
Maybe I’ve just been out of “the red meat game” for far too long, but you guys, this was seriously the best stew I’ve ever tasted, and the chunks of beef were the very best part.
Everything in this stew was deliciously tender, from the beef to the celery to the potatoes, and the flavor was really amazing – rich and dark and just plain good.
In fact, this is easily one of my favorite recipes so far of 2016. My brain may be hardwired for all things sweet right now, but I’m still completely in tune with fall and all of my comfort food needs, and this stew was a perfect fit.
Add in the fact that an old friend of mine and I were able to enjoy hot bowls of this stew on our back porch with an ever-so-slightly-chilly wind blowing? It was fall perfection!
notes & tips for this guinness stew
- If you’re going to make a soup, have a nice large stockpot means you’ll have plenty of room to stir and for the soup to simmer. You can use either a 6 quart stockpot or a 12 quart stockpot.
- In the mood for more Guinness? Be sure to check out Baileys Dark Chocolate Guinness Bread, Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting, or this entire list of 30 Recipes with Guinness Greatness.
Stovetop Beef and Guinness Stew
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 pound beef chuck, (or type of your choice) cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 springs fresh thyme
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 pound baby potatoes, about 4-6 potatoes, cut into quarters
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon for 3-4 minutes or until bacon begins to brown. Scoop out bacon and transfer to a 6 quart stockpot Leave bacon grease in the skillet.
- Season cut beef with salt and pepper (to taste) then add beef to the skillet. Brown beef for about 5 minutes, making sure to sear all sides. Scoop out beef and transfer to the pot with the bacon. Continue to leave grease in the skillet.
- Reduce heat to medium and add onions to skillet. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic to skillet and cook for 1 minute.
- Add beer to skillet and stir until combined with the grease, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Pour onion & beer mixture into the pot with the bacon and beef. Add carrots, celery, tomato paste, thyme, sugar, and chicken stock, then stir.
- Bring stew to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook stew for 1 hour. Remove lid and add potatoes to pot. Cook stew for 1 more hour, uncovered.
- If you'd like a thicker stew, add in 1 tablespoon of flour to the broth and stir thoroughly. Let stew cook for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered.
- Serve stew immediately.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I'm not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
