Winter is a great time for heavy, hearty meals. And what’s more heavy and hearty than a nice glass of Guinness? The best thing about Guinness, besides its amazingly smooth taste and technological innovations in the bottling/canning arena, is that it can be used for cooking purposes also. Using it instead of regular beer or red wine provides a nice change of pace for some traditional meals.
I personally like beef braised in Guinness more than beef braised in red wine. The depth and look of the dish just works so much better; the reduced Guinness braising liquid has an attractive glaze to it. The recipe below is easily adjustable. For instance, mushrooms would go great in this dish – just be sure to wait until the last half hour or so of cooking time before you add them, otherwise they’ll break down. Next time I’ll add more bacon, it provided a nice texture but there was too little of it from only two strips. You can also make this dish into more of a stew by not reducing the braising liquid in the final step and instead adding a roux to thicken the mixture.
A perfect accompaniment to this is a simple beer bread. You can use it to mop up the plate or put the beef directly onto the bread and take one delicious bite. This was my first time ever doing a bread and I’m kicking myself for not doing it earlier. It’s so simple and fresh bread is always great.
This is a perfect pairing to make if you have some company over. There is very little preparation needed and most of the time the bread and the beef don’t even need to be looked after. Just have the stove and oven on and let them cook. This combination will easily feed four people, it’s that heavy.
Ingredients – Braised Beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, large dice
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 bottle or can of Guinness
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
2 medium red potatoes, large dice
1 bouquet garni (4 sprigs of thyme, 4 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf)
1 1/4 cups beef broth
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper. In two batches, sear the meat on all sides. This will take about five minutes a batch. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Add the bacon until it’s brown and crisped. Remove it with a slotted spoon onto the same plate as the beef. Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter and onion. Cook until the onion is soft. Add the flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add the Guinness and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Let this simmer until reduced by about half. Return the beef, bacon and any accumulated juices to the pan. Add the bouquet garni, carrots and beef broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and put a tight fitting lid on the pan. After about 50 minutes, add the potatoes and stir to incorporate. The beef should be ready in about an hour and 45 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove whatever you can so just the braising liquid is left. Raise the heat to medium high and boil the mixture until it has thickened. Return everything to the pan and stir to coat.
Ingredients – Beer Bread
4 cups flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup sugar
1 can or bottle of Guinness
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together, breaking up clumps. If you don’t have a sifter, a whisk or fork works well. Add the Guinness and eggs. Mix until just incorporated. Add the mixture to a greased bread pan and put in the oven for 70 minutes.
