Drunken Irish Stew

Many beef stew recipes call for some sort of booze to enhance the depth of flavor.  You have some that call for red wine and others that call for beer.

But this stew call for both red wine and beer.  More specifically red wine & Guinness, thus the “Irish” in the title.  And let me tell you – this was one awesome stew – though that could just be the left over Guinness and wine talking!

Recipe Notes:

*I used 2 tablespoons of olive oil frozen with fresh rosemary

Drunken Irish Stew

Adapted from Crepes of Wrath

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 ¼ lb stew beef, cut into bite sized pieces

7 large cloves garlic, smashed

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup Guinness

6 cup beef stock

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried rosemary

4 bay leaves

2 lbs potatoes, unpeeled & cut in bite sized pieces

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peels & chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water      

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Add half of the stew meat sear on all sides.  Remove the meat to a plate and repeat with the rest of the meat.  Add all of the meat and any juices back into the pot.

Smash the garlic with the flat side of a knife and remove the skin.  Add the garlic to the pot and sauté for another minute or so until fragrant. 

Pour in a splash of red wine to deglaze the pan.  Then, add in the rest of the red wine, Guinness, and beef stock and bring to a boil.  Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.  Lower the heat and simmer for 1-2 hours.

Meanwhile, dice the potatoes, celery, carrots, and onion.  Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foamy.  Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 10-15 minutes or until golden-brown.  Pour the vegetables into the stew.  If needed, deglaze the vegetable pan with an additional splash of wine, and add to the stew.  Simmer for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 

Stir in the peas and the cornstarch mixture and cook for another 5 minutes or until the stew is slightly thickened.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve.

Serves 8-10