Eric's Guinness Beef Stew

My husband makes his mouthwatering beef stew just about any time of year, but for St. Patrick’s Day nothing beats his Guinness Beef Stew.  Not one to impart his recipes, for he claims he has none, and that cookbook authors are all a bunch of hooey..even his wife, I dragged this out of him years ago to put in the family cookbook. I guess that means that this is a reprint. I hope you all enjoy and have a Happy St. Patty’s Day!

ERIC'S GUINNESS BEEF STEW:  Serves a whole mess of folks, or a few, for many days.

Ingredients:

5 lbs beef - stew meat or other cuts but not ground.

1 cup flour

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. thyme

½ cup vegetable oil

3 onions, diced

2 cups Guinness Stout 

1 quart beef stock

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 potatoes

4 carrots

½ bunch celery

Other herbs and spices as desired such as bay leaf, sage, paprika etc.

Recipe Directions:

Cube beef.  Mix flour with salt, pepper and thyme.  Dredge beef in seasoned flour until all the meat is coated.  Heat a heavy-duty stew pot or large pan (medium-high) and add ½ cup oil once pot is heated.  Brown beef and add three diced onions.  Once onions are browned with beef, pour in the two cups of Guinness Stout.  Stir together thoroughly, getting out any flour lumps.

Add one quart of beef stock (either fresh, reconstituted or canned), and add two tablespoons tomato paste.  Bring to a simmer for at least 30 minutes.  In the meantime, dice the potatoes, carrots and celery.  Add them to the stew and simmer for at least one hour or until the potatoes are done and the beef is tender.  Season with herbs and spices as desired before serving.  For a “Scottish” version, add cooked barley before serving.

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Some other sites with Smoked Corned Beef Recipes

I had every intention of smoking a corned beef for St. Patrick's Day and posting it here. Somehow I lost a week. It just vanished and yesterday I realized my little project wasn't going to happen.

There are lots of people who have their s--t together more than I. They post ahead. They plan out their blog and stick to their plan. My excuse is that I run a restaurant and have two small children. The best laid plans get swallowed up with last minute caterings, runny noses, and the need to make an expoding volcano now, right now!

So I bring you a little list of folks who HAVE smoked corned beef and can tell you all about it. By the way, you do know that corned beef is brisket is pastrami, right? All the same cut, just different processes. Smoking a corned beef, then, makes it a sort of hybrid between the Irish delicacy and the Texas one. Tex-Ire, or Tex-Land. Whatever. It's delicious.

BBQ Addicts has an excellent post complete with step-by-step up close pictures.

Here is a website of all the things that interest the person that hosts it. From motorcycling to photography to....smoked corned beef. Nice set of instructions.

BBQ Guru on About.com has a simple recipe using an already corned beef.

And finally, here is a yummy picture on Flickr.  Enjoy. Wear green! Drink beer! Smoke that thang!