Guinness Stew

EvilGeorge

Does this contain alcohol ?
Not that I've ever made it or have a clue whats in it, but it tastes nice to me

bonkey

Alcohol evaporates more readily than water. At "simmering" temperatures, it will take approximately 7 minutes to remove most of alcohol from any cooking (as in all bar the tiniest of traces).

So - no there is no alcohol in it.

Personally, I think Guinness stew can either be wonderful or terrible - depending on what is done to accompany the flavour. Once Guinness simmers down a bit it becomes very, very tangy and bitter - too much so for my palate. So, when I'm cooking with it, I always end up adding about 1 tsp of sugar towards the end. Kills some of the bitterness, and leaves a wonderful flavour.

If anyone is interested, I have two pretty nifty recipes for this - beef in guinness & orange, and straightforward beef guiness pie. Yes - it sounds weird to have guinness & orange. It works though

jc

Samson

Originally posted by bonkey
If anyone is interested, I have two pretty nifty recipes for this - beef in guinness & orange, and straightforward beef guiness pie. Yes - it sounds weird to have guinness & orange. It works though

I am interested, tell me more.

Kolodny

My mother used to make delicious Guinness Stew when I was a wee thing - never got drunk on it or anything. Also don't eat it anymore as I have since become vegetarian. For this reason I have voted Atari Jaguar stew as it was the closest thing I could find to a veggie option without voting no altogether.

bonkey

OK - here's the "ordinary one" - will post the G&O this evening when I get home to my recipe book (which I must post a link to here).

OK...this is a pretty adaptabpe recipe.....

500g stewing beef, cubed
1 pint Guinness (or 500 ml if you live in decimal-land)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
flour
salt
pepper
Any/all of : bay leaves, thyme, rosemary
Optionally 1 large onions, 1-2 cloves farlic

OK - mix a handful of flour with a decent dash of salt n pepper.

Roll your beef in this till its all lightly dusted

Fry beef in oil until browned (5 min). I usually use sunflower for this, rather than olive, but its up to you. You will need more than normal because the flour will soak it up. Basically, keep an eye on it

If you are adding onion & garlic, then remove the meat, but dont clean the pan. Add some more oil if needed, and saute the onions with the garlic crushed in on top. Then add meat back to pan

Add your guinness & bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, and add in about 3-4 bay leaves, and some herbs if desired (about a tspn of each dried herb, or about twice that if you have fresh herbs).

Add tomatoes & stir in well.

Simmer for approx 2 to 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. If it looks like its running outta juice, add a small bit of water (1/4 to 1/2 a cup). At the end of this period, the beef should have finally become tender. Its weird - I tasted mine the other day after 1:45, and it was like leather. After 2:00, it was falling apart.

Always add small amounts - you can add more very easily, but if you over-water it you cant easily take it out...

At the end, you should have almost no sauce, but whats left should be really thick n flavourful. I usually find it still somewhat bitter (the tomatoes milden it, but not enough) and add a bit of sugar - about a teaspoon. Not enough to make it sweet, just enouigh to take the edge off the bitterness.

Now, if you have a baking form (like a lasagne dish), you can line it with puff pastry 1/2 an hour before you're finished the above, and put it in the fridge. Take it out when you've cooked the stew, pour in the stew, and cover with another layer of puff and brush an egg over it. Put in the oven at about 180 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, making sure your puff top doesnt burn (if it looks like it is, turn down the overn by about 20 degrees).

Also, if you want some veg in there (carrots or whatever), add them about 30 minutes before the end of the "simmering" stage.

Voila.

jc

bonkey

Originally posted by Kolodny
My mother used to make delicious Guinness Stew when I was a wee thing - never got drunk on it or anything. Also don't eat it anymore as I have since become vegetarian. For this reason I have voted Atari Jaguar stew as it was the closest thing I could find to a veggie option without voting no altogether.

Kolodny,

try the above recipe skipping the meat initially. So, only simmer the Guinness, tomatoes, and onions till its mostly reduced. Then add in some quorn (fry it seperately just before you add it) for about 20-30 minutes of simmering (with some chopped carrots etc if you like) and you have a pretty good veggie alternative. I've dont this with the Guinness & Orange recipe I'll dig up later, and it works a treat.

jc

Kolodny

Cheers bonkey...

I am eagerly awaiting this recipe with orange - sounds yum!

Samson

Originally posted by bonkey
Then add in some quorn (fry it seperately just before you add it) for about 20-30 minutes of simmering (with some chopped carrots etc if you like) and you have a pretty good veggie alternative. I've dont this with the Guinness & Orange recipe I'll dig up later, and it works a treat.

What is quorn ?

bonkey

Vegetarian textured protein, made from Soya extract IIRC.

Tastes a bit like chicken, but with more texture.

jc