This delicious Irish beef stew with vegetables is flavored with bacon, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, and Guinness beer. Simmer it until it is fork-tender.
Simmer Irish Beef Stew on the Stovetop
Step up your beef stew by adding a dry stout beer to your recipe for a rich, complex taste. Then simmer it on the stovetop for two to three hours, and the beef will be flavorful and tender enough to cut with a fork.
Brown the Meat
For this recipe, I started by frying cut-up bacon in a skillet. Then I browned a cut-up sirloin tip roast in the bacon fat. If you don’t usually brown the beef before cooking it, you should give it a try. Browning produces lots of flavors, and there is a science to support it. Called the Maillard reaction, browning meat releases flavor molecules.
A French chemist (Maillard) studying amino acids discovered that browning meat creates a chemical reaction. This reaction occurs when you brown meat and release flavor molecules you can taste and smell. This is the reason grilled meat smells so delicious. You do not get the same release of flavor molecules when you boil or simmer meat. By browning the beef and then simmering it, you get the flavor of browned meat and the tenderness of a long, slow simmer.
Add Vegetables to Irish Beef Stew
Cut up carrots and celery to add to this Irish beef stew. You can add potatoes if you want. Just toss them into the Dutch oven with stout beer, chicken stock, tomato paste, herbs, and spices.
Simmer Until Fall-Apart Tender
Simmer for two to three hours or until the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork. Check the beef when your timer goes off. If it is not pulling apart without effort, cook it another half hour. When it pulls apart with a fork, it is ready to eat.
What Makes this Beef Stew Irish?
The stout beer makes this an Irish stew. However, once this beef stew finishes cooking, there is no beer taste–just wonderful flavor. Enjoy this stew with a starchy side dish like mashed potatoes or rice. Enjoy!
Other Irish-Inspired Recipes You Might Enjoy
Irish Beef Stew
Equipment
- a large Dutch oven or pot with a lid
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
- 2.5 pounds sirloin tip roast, cut into 3-inch chunks
- salt
- pepper
- 2 cups onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 large celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
- (1) 14.9-ounce stout beer like Guinness
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Place the bacon in a large nonstick skillet and cook on low to medium heat until brown. Remove the bacon and place it in a Dutch oven (or another large pan), leaving the bacon grease in the skillet. Salt and pepper the beef and add a few pieces to the skillet. If necessary, add cooking oil to the bacon grease to brown the meat. Remove the browned beef chunks and place them in the Dutch oven with the bacon. Continue adding and browning the beef until it is browned and moved to the Dutch oven.
- Add the onion and garlic to the bacon grease in the skillet and cook until the onion is wilted. Add the flour and stir to mix with the onion. Pour a little chicken stock to help deglaze the pan, and cook for a minute. Then, pour everything from the skillet into the Dutch oven.
- Add the tomato paste, carrots, celery, beer, and the rest of the chicken stock to the Dutch oven. Stir to mix well. Add the bay leaves and thyme.
- Place a lid on the Dutch oven and bring the stew to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours at a low simmer.
- After two hours, check the tenderness of the beef. If it is not easily broken apart with a fork, cook for another 30 minutes with the lid on, then recheck the tenderness. (See note below for an extra tip.)
- Remove the lid and simmer the stew for 30 minutes with the lid off to thicken the broth. Salt and pepper to taste.