From Locked & Loaded Latino’s “Friday FortNight” stream on 8/12/22:
Guinness Beef Stew (Cook’s Country original, modified slightly)
1 x 4.5 to 5 lb chuck OR Top Sirloin (local butcher is best)
cut out most of the fat & gristle, cut to 1.5 inches cubed (it will shrink slightly on cooking)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I do prefer olive oil for an even richer flavor)
2 onions, chopped (rough chop, I like Vidalia or reds)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (make your own or buy, get plain, you can add herbs to taste later)
3 garlic cloves, minced (I love garlic, the original is 2 cloves, I’ve done up to 5 before)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (if allergic, use a comparable amount of xantham gum as thickener or tapioca flour)
3 cups chicken broth (use bone broth for further richness, up the calcium, and flavor. Again, make your own by boiling chicken meat and bones until the bones disintegrate)
1 3/4 cup Guinness Stout (use the CANS! Do not use the bottles, the formula is different when made stateside, use Irish)
1 1/2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar (if you don’t have dark, use normal, and add 1/2 tsp of molasses until a darker color to your eyes, then pack)
1 teaspoon minced, fresh Thyme
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold taters, use Yukon Gold, it DOES make a difference
Cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound Carrots (fresher the better) cut into 1-inch chunks.
2 tablespoons minced, fresh Parsley (y0ur pick on species, all are good)
1) Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat over to 325 degrees F. Season beef with salt and pepper (taters will absorb most of the salt, adjust later to taste anyway). Heat oil in Dutch over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
2) Add tomato past and garlic then cook until rust-colored and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour (making a slight rue out of it is why & cooks the raw flour flavor out) and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in broth, 1 cup Guinness, sugar, and thyme, scraping up any browned bits (leave them IN the mix, that is good flavor). Bring to simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes (give or take). Stir in beef and return to simmer. Transfer to over and cook, UNCOVERED, for 90 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
3) Stir in potatoes & carrots and continue cooking until beef and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour, stirring halfway through cooking again. Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of Guinness and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to flavor, and serve. If you want to add a little heat, use CAYENNE as it’ll add heat without changing the flavor.
If you did everything right, 1 bowl should practically fill you up for a very long time with those big, chunky pieces of awesome. The best time to make this is when it is slightly cooler in the Fall when vegetables are rolling in from the fields, get as fresh as you can.
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