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Irish Beef Stew

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!

Irish Beef Stew

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, occurring when you brown meat, releases 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.

Irish Beef Stew

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.

Irish Beef Stew

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.

Irish Beef Stew

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!

Irish Beef Stew

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Irish Beef Stew
Print Recipe
Irish Beef Stew
Delicious Irish beef stew with Guinness stout beer and sirloin tip roast
Votes: 3
Rating: 5
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 1/2 hours
Servings
Votes: 3
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. 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 of it to the skillet. Add cooking oil to the bacon grease if necessary to brown the beef. Remove the browned beef chunks and place them in the Dutch oven with the bacon. Continue adding and browning the beef until all of it is browned and moved to the Dutch oven.
  2. 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 in a little of the chicken stock to help deglaze the pan and cook for a minute. Then pour everything from the skillet into the Dutch oven.
  3. 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.
  4. Place a lid on the Dutch oven and bring the stew to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours at a low simmer.
  5. 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 and then check the tenderness again. (See note below for an extra tip.)
  6. Remove the lid and simmer the stew for 30 minutes with the lid off to thicken the broth. Salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
  • This stew should cook at a low simmer with a lid on.ย  The recipe calls for a 2-hour cooking time, but because of stove temperature variables, this stew can be cooked up to 3 hours with the lid on.ย  Also, larger sized beef chunks will take longer to cook.ย  Just check the stew after 2 hours to make sure a longer cook time is not going to overcook the vegetables.
  • Cooking the stew the last 30 minutes with the lid off lets steam escape which thickens the broth.
  • This stew will not taste like beer when it is finished.ย  It has a dark, rich gravy-type broth that goes well with mashed potatoes or white rice.
  • This stew would also be good with 8 ounces of fresh sliced mushrooms in it.ย  Add the mushrooms when you add the carrots and celery.
  • You can also make this stew with a chuck roast.
  • I use the non-stick skillet to cook the bacon, beef, onion, and garlic to keep them from sticking and burning.ย  Occasionally, they stick to the Dutch oven and burn which causes the stew to have small dark pieces of onion and garlic.

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