Irish Guinness Beef Stew Recipe - Nesting Lane Indulge (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between beef stew and Irish stew? ›

The main difference between an Irish stew and classic beef stew comes down to the protein. Traditional Irish stew is usually made with lamb, while beef stew is always made with beef. Our version includes beef chuck, which is less traditional, but easy to make and equally delicious.

Naturally sweet ingredients, like onions, carrots, and tomato paste work to balance some of the bitterness.

While Irish stew (in the modern sense) can be made with mutton, lamb, or beef, beef stew is always made with beef. Both stews can contain potatoes, root vegetables, flavorings like beer or wine and herbs, and thickened with potato, flour, cornstarch, or nothing at all.

In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew. Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour; Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids.

The origins of Irish stew are somewhat shrouded in mystery, but it's believed to have originated in the 17th or 18th century. At that time, the dish was often made by shepherds and rural farmers who had access to only a few ingredients but needed a nourishing meal to sustain them through long days of work.

Guinness is stout, which of course is naturally bitter. To counteract this, I add a little brown sugar to the stew. I tested this recipe on separate occasions using maple syrup and brown sugar and found the brown sugar worked best.

Isohumulones are the primary source of bitterness in Guinness and, generally speaking, in beers. The more humulone available during boiling, the more likely it is to isomerise and thus produce isohumulones.

Some drinkers still mix Guinness with bitter to produce a drink known as a “Black and Tan”, but the military connotations of this mixture's name are properly dangerous in the light of the recurrent Anglo-Irish Troubles.

Very simply put, browning equals flavor. As beef sears, the outside caramelizes, adding extra flavor to the beef, not to mention creating these tasty little browned bits that form on the bottom of the pot. Without browning, the finished stew just won't taste as good and the sauce won't be as dark.

What is the secret to tender beef stew? ›

The most important key to making stew meat tender is being sure to cook it for a long time. If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours.

Do Sear the Beef. You should never throw your raw cubes of beef into the stew pot. You must sear the cubes first in a pan to brown them and begin building that rich flavor. It's important not to brown them too lightly—sear them until there's a dark crust on each side of the meat cubes.

Irish stew, "ballymaloe" or "stobhach gaelach" as it is called in Gaelic, traditionally contains chunks of lamb or mutton (less tender meat from sheep more than two years of age), potatoes, onions and parsley. Often the neck bones, shanks and other trimmings were the only basis for the stock.

Irish stew is similar to beef stew; both stews are thick and hearty. However, Irish stew is traditionally made with lamb or mutton instead of beef. Meat and vegetables take up most of the space, so the consistency is very thick and not watery.

The meat in traditional Irish stew is typically mutton or lamb. (Mutton comes from a sheep that's a little older than a lamb.) For this recipe I used lamb because it's easier to find in grocery stores. As far as the vegetables, sticklers for tradition only include potatoes, onions, and water.

The famous Irish stew made with lamb, carrots, potatoes and onion was frequently featured on menus for third-class passengers on the Titanic. The stew would be consumed as part of the passengers' high tea, which was their second and final meal of the day.