Irish beef stew makes for a mouthwatering and flavoursome stew that is bound to leave you happy and content once you are through with it. This recipe tends to take a couple or more hours, so I usually bring it out only on some special weekends or dinners.
Making Irish beef stew requires you to buy all the essential ingredients before cooking. Use the following list below as your shopping list to ensure that everything is in place before you get to the main process. Remember to buy some additional ingredients, too in case you wish to play around a bit with the flavours and tastes. To get started, however, here is what you will need.
Irish Beef Stew Recipe
Equipment
- Stockpot or Dutch oven
- Ladles
- Plates or trays
- Spoons and bowls
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons Olive oil, or any other oil that you prefer
- 2- pound Chuck beef
- Salt
- Pepper
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Parsley
- 4-5 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1-2 medium Onions, finely chopped
- 12 ounces Guinness beer
- 1 cup Tomato paste
- Bay leaves
- ½ cup Celery
- 1 cup Carrots, cut or shredded
- 2 cups Potatoes, chopped
- 3 cups Beef broth
- 2-3 cups Water
Method
- Now that all your ingredients are in place, it is time for you to finally start cooking the stew. Take a deep breath, put on some music or your favourite podcast, wear your apron and begin the process. The following points will help you stay on track.
- Chop the beef into small cubes or pieces and rub some salt and pepper over all of them.
- Take a pan or pot and pour some oil into it. Add the cubes to the pan and start cooking them until they become brown. Do this in batches if there are too many cubes.
- Once the cubes are brown all around, remove them on a tray or plate.
- You can either use the same pan or pot to prepare the other ingredients or make use of another pot and start it up at the same time as the beef.
- Add some oil to the pan or pot followed by the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes and celery.
- Once these are done, add the tomato paste and all the herbs and spices and mix everything together.
- Pour the beer and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- You can now add the broth and water, reduce the heat, cover the pot and let everything simmer for around 2 hours.
- If you do not wish to cook in a pot or Dutch oven, there are various other methods you can try out, such as the oven, pressure cooker or slow cooker. Note that the timings and settings might differ a bit, so plan your cooking period accordingly.
- Everyone in my family enjoys a bit of thinness in the stew, which is why we stick to using broth, beer and water. However, if you wish to make your stew denser, richer and thicker, consider adding some flour or cornstarch before adding the broth and water.
- You might be wondering whether or not you can use beef cuts apart from fatty chuck beef. Unfortunately, the results are just not the same with lean meat due to the dryness level, so try sticking to chuck beef in most cases.
- Make use of any kind of broth for this stew. Beef broth is easier and richer to use in this case, but chicken or vegetable broths also impart some depth to the
FAQ
Is It Necessary To Add the Beer?
Beer is quite vital to get the distinct taste of the Irish beef stew, but if you do not wish to add it, you can add a bit of red wine as well. If you want to avoid alcohol altogether, consider adding some Worcestershire sauce along with some balsamic vinegar.
How Do I Make My Stew Taste Richer?
Some caramelized onions and/or bacon added to the stew will make it taste richer. Apart from these, you can also expand the range of flavours and seasonings that you are using, such as thyme, parsley, rosemary, bay leaves, oregano and others. A teaspoon or two of lime or lemon juice can also help you out here.
Irish Beef Stew Recipe: Parting Thoughts
Irish beef stew is a favourite in my home and has resulted in some lovely evenings spent eating, drinking and conversing. By trying this recipe for yourself, you can try out a new dish and share it with some of your loved ones too.
Once you get it right a couple of times, you can also consider tweaking the recipe a bit to bring in some personal tastes and preferences to fully embody and perfect the flavour and homeliness this dish can provide. Enjoy!
