Beef and Guinness Stew with Carrots and Potatoes
Chunks of beef chuck browned deep, then simmered slowly in Guinness with onions, carrots and potatoes until the meat is fork-tender and the sauce is rich and glossy. A hearty, high-protein one-pot dinner.
- Total
- 188 min
- Prep 25 · Cook 163
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Braising
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Pat the beef chuck dry with paper towels and cut it into 4 cm cubes. Trim any thick hard fat. Season all over with 1 tsp of the salt and 1/2 tsp of the black pepper.
~12 min
Drying the beef ensures a hard sear and prevents steaming, while early salting seasons the meat throughout.
-
Peel and roughly chop the onions into 1 cm pieces. Peel the carrots and cut into 2 cm chunks. Peel the potatoes and cut into 3 cm chunks, keeping them in a bowl of cold water so they do not brown.
~13 min
-
Heat the vegetable oil in the pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown the beef in 3 batches, about 4 minutes per batch, turning so each side is deeply browned. Do not crowd the pot. Move each browned batch to a plate.
~12 min
Searing in batches creates deep Maillard browning, and those browned bits are the flavor foundation of the stew.
Brown the beef in small batches and leave space between the cubes. Crowding steams the meat instead of searing it, and those browned bits are what give the sauce its depth.
Searing Get the pan hot and leave space between cubes; a hard sear builds deep flavor, while crowding steams the meat and prevents browning.
-
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly golden, about 6 minutes. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot as they release.
~6 min
Cooking onions until golden builds sweetness and scraping the fond dissolves those browned bits into the sauce.
-
Return the beef and any resting juices to the pot. Pour in the Guinness and 300 ml water. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook over low heat for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the beef is starting to become tender.
~90 min
A gentle simmer tenderizes the beef gradually without toughening it, and covering traps moisture for even cooking.
Braising Keep the liquid at a bare simmer, not a boil, and cover tightly; slow gentle heat breaks down collagen into gelatin for fork-tender meat.
-
Add the carrots and potatoes, pushing them down into the liquid. Cover and simmer for another 45 minutes, until the beef is fork-tender and the potatoes and carrots are soft. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
~45 min
Root vegetables need less time than beef, so adding them later prevents them from turning to mush.
Braising Keep the liquid at a bare simmer, not a boil, and cover tightly; slow gentle heat breaks down collagen into gelatin for fork-tender meat.
-
Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve hot in shallow bowls.
~10 min
Uncovered simmering evaporates water, concentrating the sauce so it thickens and clings to the meat.