I threw this Guinness beef stew together one day just before Jeff got home from work.

That morning, before heading off to work, he muttered something about wanting to grill chicken for dinner. Once he walked in the door and smelled the stew, however, all that changed. The chicken remained in the fridge, and we enjoyed a steaming bowl of this beef stew along with crackers for dinner.

Usually, the meat used for stew needs to simmer for awhile before it becomes tender. For this beef stew, I cubed some leftover flank steak, and it was tender in no time.  Dinner was followed by THIS delicious Guinness Chocolate Cupcake.  Oh the things we do to bring delicious recipes to you!!!

And between you and me, this beef stew was even better for lunch the next day!

You’ll notice there are no peas. If I were making this for myself or for Jackie, Alyssa and Zach, we’d definitely add peas. Jeff, however, has a very strange and hostile relationship with peas — I’ll save that for another post.

If you get along with peas, throw them in!  And if you want to learn more about common mistakes when making stews, I found the “7 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Beef Stew” article from Bon Appetit pretty interesting.

ENJOY!

Guinness Beef Stew

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Serves	4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	40 minutes
Meal type	Main Dish

This Guinness Beef Stew is a healthy and hearty meal. This beef stew is quick to make if you start with a tender cut of beef such as flank steak.

Ingredients

• 1 Pound beef for stew (I prefer a cut such as flank steak, but chuck and bottom round work as well)
• salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oil (olive or canola)
• 1 Medium onion (diced)
• 3 Cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 bottle Guinness Stout Beer
• 2 Cans beef broth
• 4 Medium carrots (peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces)
• 3 Medium baking potatoes (cut into 1 inch cubes)
• 2 Teaspoons thyme (add 1 teaspoon at a time, to suit your taste preference)

Note

Some tips for making stew -- dusting the meat in flour will help thicken the stew.  If you prefer your stew even thicker, you can always add a couple tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of water towards the end of the cooking period.

Searing the meat will help create a deep flavor, as will deglazing the pan and scraping up all those bits.  Sear the meat in small batches -- if you overcrowd, the meat will end up "steaming," which is not what you want!

Directions

Step 1

Cut meat into 1-inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in flour so that the meat is well coated.

Step 2

Heat oil in large, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Sear the cubed meat. If necessary, add meat in batches to avoid overcrowding.

Step 3

Add onions and garlic and continue cooking over medium-high heat.

Step 4

Once onions are translucent, pour in bottle of Guinness and deglaze the pan by scraping bits from the bottom of the pan.

Step 5

Add beef broth, carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add thyme.

Step 6

Continue simmering until carrots, potatoes and meat are tender (about 20 minutes). Taste. Adjust seasonings.