The last is the case with this Irish beef stew. As any Irish person will tell you, lamb is the preferred meat for a good Irish stew. But here in the states we eat a lot more beef than lamb, so when we want to make a stew to celebrate all things Irish, it’s usually done with beef.
Video: How to Make Irish Beef Stew
An Irish-Inspired Beef Stew
This particular stew has all of the classic trimmings of a good Irish stew—meat, stock, plenty of root vegetables—with the addition of some Guinness extra stout, for its malty flavor and some Irish authenticity. The recipe originally came to me through my friend Tomas, who got it from a chef friend in Europe, who had adapted a Bon Appetit recipe for Irish stew by adding Guinness and some red wine. Every time we make this recipe it gets raves! Save prep time by prepping the onions, carrots, and potatoes while the stock with beef is simmering in step 2. This is a thinner stew with only the starch from the potatoes to thicken it. If you’d like a thicker stew, omit 1/4 volume of each of the liquids and use these measurements instead: 3 cups beef stock, 1 1/2 cups water, 3/4 cups stout beer, and 3/4 cups red wine. Or, make the stew a day ahead of time and it will thicken overnight in the refrigerator. Pat dry the beef with paper towels and working in batches, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until well browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over and brown on another side. Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to the lowest setting, then cover and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Transfer stew to serving bowls. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
