Slow cooked beef and Guinness Stew.
When temperatures spiral downwards there's always a need to heat oneself up from inside, nearly every country in the northern hemisphere have their own favourite version of a casserole or Stew or a slow cooked meat dish which is particularly good in the winter,
This Stew or casserole I first cooked back in the 1980s, it's very easy to put together and the Guinness add a certain depth of flavour.
You can choose what root vegetables you wish to add basically there should always be carrots but parsnips swedes or turnips can be added or left out depending on your families’ preferences it also freezes very well.
Ingredients serve 8.
1.2 kilogrammes of Chuck steak cut into 5-centimetre chunks.
approximately 3 tablespoons of plain flour
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 medium brown onions peeled and sliced.
6 cloves of garlic chopped finely.
4large carrots peeled and chunked.
2 parsnips peeled and chunked.
2 leaks washed and sliced thinly.
330 MLS of Guinness
750 MLS of good quality beef stock
teaspoon of sea salt
one teaspoon of ground black pepper
3 Bay leaf
two sprigs of Thyme
Method
if you're cooking this in the oven Preheat your oven to 350°C if you're using a slow cooker then you don't have to do that
place the flour and half the salt and pepper in a large plastic bag add the meat and shake it till it's covered.
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan, cook the meat did it is browned on each side then take out the meat out of the pan and set it aside, add the onion garlic and leeks to the pan where the beaker been cooking and to continue to cook till they old translucent.
Transfer the meat on the onion and leek and garlic mixture to the cooking pan.
deglaze the pan the onions were cooked in with the beef stock, then transfer the stock,
the Guinness, all the herbs and vegetables to the cooking pot with the meat and onions.
If you are cooking this in the oven in a casserole dish or Dutch oven you need to cook it for three hour's.
if you're cooking this in a slow cooker you need to cook it for 8 hours.
You can if you like add mushrooms for the last half an hour of cooking,
you can on a very cold day add dumplings an hour before serving.
when this Stew or casserole is cooked check the seasoning again before serving.
This dish is traditionally served with mashed potatoes, the alcohol in the Guinness we have cooked away I just added the richness and tenderness to the meat.