We wish for chilly weather just so we can have Guinness Stew. Start cooking around early lunchtime or so. About an hour before serving, start baking the Irish Soda Bread. Speckled with sweet currants and peppery caraway seeds, it’s so lovely with Guinness Stew. Nix the meat and this is perfect for your veggie friends.
Fortunately, we’ve got a very nice cold front this year. Chilly evenings, rain drops clickety-clacking on the roof set the scene for a big, comforting bowl of warm stew. The slow cooker does all the work. So you can just change out of your work clothes and into cozy pajamas while your dinner cooks itself!
Guinness Stew
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 2-3 hours
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
1 lb slices crimini mushrooms
2 Tb butter
1 pint good ale or stout
2 lbs shank
1 lb ribeye/sirloin
28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
3 heads (not cloves) garlic
6-7 carrots, cut into segments
2 Tb fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 Tb soy sauce
salt + pepper to taste
3 large potatoes, cut into cubes
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tb cornstarch + 1 tsp cold water
3 Tb fresh parsley, chopped
Toss everything into a crockpot or a heavy-bottomed pot set over low flame on the stove.
Cook for 2-3 hours.
Add the potatoes and cook another 30 mins.
Add frozen pearl onions and peas, cook 15 mins.
To thicken the stew, make a slurry with cornstarch and cold water, add to the stew.
Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley and serve with Shawn’s Irish soda bread .
Dear Colette, first up, I like the idea of letting the slow cooker do most of the work – sounds good to me. Then serving a nice homemade soda bread alongside your lovely Irish stew is a wonderful idea as well. I wouldn’ t mind relaxing tonight with a big bowl of your delicious Guinnes Stew and bread in my hand, it sounds incredibly delicious with all those mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and beef.
This is my kind of meal. The combination of flavors you’ve combined are so dreamy and comforting. And I love the clickety-clacking on a roof! 🙂 ~Valentina
This weekend should be chilly. Hope you get a chance to make the stew and enjoy it with your family! xo