The Best Irish Beef Stew Ever

Nikki Berglund
Staff Writer

“May your laugh, your love and your wine be plenty, thus your happiness will be nothing less.”  -Irish Toast

“An Irishman is the only man in the world who will step over the bodies of a dozen naked women to get to a bottle of stout.” - Anonymous

Okay, so the Irish quotes might be overkill, but since I didn’t even remember to wear green on St Paddy’s Day I have decided to make up for it a month late. Actually, this weekend Paul and I randomly had a hankering for some Irish Beef Stew. Maybe it was the desire to keep ourselves warm and toasty during our freakishly crappy April weather or in preparation for the storm that never arrived. Whatever our thought process was, we ended up finding an incredible recipe that not only used Guinness but also red wine. Feeling especially ambitious, we also took a stab at baking some Irish Soda Bread. While the bread attempt was not so successful (the recipe called for WAY too much salt!) the stew ended up being nothing short of perfection.

Irish Beef Stew Recipe (courtesy of simplyrecipes.com)

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt the beef pieces. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Serves 4 to 6.

This was one of those times where we changed the recipe a little and realized later that maybe we should have left it, in all of its deliciousness, alone. We followed most of it pretty closely until we got to the 3 pounds of potatoes, which just seemed like so much! I think we only used about 1/3 of the potatoes it called for although we didn’t measure any of the veggies exactly.  The stew was still unbelievably good, but was definitely a little soupier than it should have been without the extra starches in it. Speaking of soupy, we didn’t have enough beef broth so we ended up using 4 cups (one carton) and then adding more Guinness and wine. This turned out to be a wonderful idea. We were contemplating just throwing the vegetables into the pot but were so glad we sautéed them ahead of time as the recipe calls for. It is my belief, that if you follow this recipe exactly, you will end up with some of the greatest stew you have ever tasted.

As far pairing wine with this rich, delectable dish, a nice well balanced red will do the trick.  I happened to have an amazing Italian wine, called Guidalberto in my rack - a perfect choice. With 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot, it is silky and smooth with complimentary notes of ripe berries, spice and cedar. For those of you out there who consider yourself a little bit of a wine snob, this wine shares its lineage with the legendary Italian wine, Sassicaia but at about ¼ of the price. Prices for this prized wine vary greatly but I know a great place to get it for a very nice price (wink wink).

I also think the spiciness of an Australian Shiraz would work well with this dish. Right now I am loving Tait The Ball Buster Shiraz - silly name I know but some pretty delicious stuff for under $20 a bottle. Another nice Australian choice might be Peter Lehmann Clancy ($19),  a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot, all three of which compliment a beef stew.

Since a heavy red wine is really where it’s at with this hearty dish, one last suggestion is a good old California Zinfandel.  Folie a Deux makes a formidable contender with their Amador County Zinfandel($18) which showcases the true style of this prime Zinfandel growing region.

Hopefully (fingers crossed) it is really no longer stew season but given our weather this year, who even knows? If not, make sure to keep this one in mind for next winter. Did I really just say that, really?!

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