Irish Beef in Stout

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Celebrate with Cathi’s version of Irish Stew

“Wherever you are and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be always with you!”

With my Scots-Irish heritage, I like to celebrate Irish culture on March 17 and I focus on the folklore, the music and the food.

PHOTO CREDIT: public domain, "Beltany Stone Circle," taken in June 2002 in Ireland

I’ve been reading leprechaun stories to my youngest son for at least a week now leading up the holiday, and sharing longer folktales with my oldest son. Teresa Bateman is one of my favorite authors of children’s books; her picture stories of “The Leprechaun Under the Bed,” “Fiona’s Luck,” and “The Magic Ring” are always read multiple times in March. My son is also delighted with the mischievous antics in Eve Bunting’s “That’s What Leprechauns Do.” For longer folktales we read “The Children of Lir” and “Billy Beg and his Bull.” 

               

For music, I’ve been listening to The High Kings this year, they sing traditional Irish songs a cappella in harmony or with musical accompaniment. Beautiful! They are wonderful and remind me of The Dubliners with their crystal clear voices and moving renditions. Also auld treasures are The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem. And I enjoy how Enya alternates Irish Gaelic and English through her songs, with an ethereal quality. I’ve found the Celtic Woman specials on PBS to be entertaining; however, as angelic as their voices are, I sometimes prefer the less mixed/production sound for the simpler folk arrangements. Like The Irish Rovers, a band I grew up with watching their specials on TV in the 1970’s and singing along with my mom. Songs like “The Unicorn,” “The Orange and the Green,” “The Black Velvet Band,” “Gypsy Rover,” “Nancy Whiskey,” “Fields of Athenry” and “The Parting Glass.”

Photo credit: Free Celtic Clip Art depicting square celtic knot

And now that your ears are feasting, let’s move on to the food! In years past I have done either an Irish stew with colcannon or a corned beef/cabbage/potato casserole, served with traditional soda bread. For dessert I’ve baked an Irish Bailey’s wacky cake, a chocolate Guiness cake with Bailey’s frosting, or lime shortbread. Right now, I’m going to share my Irish Beef stew recipe. (For my colcannon recipe, see my post from Samhuinn here.)

Photo credit: Free clip art; celtic knot

“May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.”

Photo credit: Wikimedia; pint of stout

Irish Beef in Stout

Inspired by Traditional Beef in Ale recipe on ScotlandFor Visitors Website -

Ingredients:

1 lb stewing steak meat

1-2 Tbsp Olive or safflower oil

4-8 oz sliced baby portabello mushrooms

2 sprigs fresh Thyme (or use ½ tsp dried)

½ -1 sprig fresh Rosemary (or use ½ tsp dried)

1 red onion, chopped

~¼ bag of baby carrots (or 2 whole carrots) – peeled & diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

½ pint Stout Ale, which is ~10 oz (Guinness is ideal)

1 tsp soft brown sugar*

Parsley, if desired

*NOTE: adding sugar to the stout sauce is essential; in my experience cooking stout can turn it a bit bitter and it needs a sweet counterbalance. You are welcome to try liquid sweeteners, like maple syrup, and/or to adjust the sweetness to your particular liking. I suggest starting at the 1 tsp mark, tasting, and then tweaking upward as desired.

Directions:

Heat up the oil in a deep sided skillet. Brown meat on all sides and then remove. I use tongs to help turn the meat and move it around. After it’s browned, I place on heavy duty dinner plate.

Sauté mushrooms in remaining oil for a few minutes, adding in Thyme & Rosemary. When the mushrooms have decreased in size, given up most of their liquid, and browned a little, remove them from pan – then can go on same plate as meat.

Add a bit more oil if needed, and now sauté onions & carrots. May take ~5 minutes or a tad longer depending on the thickness of your carrot slices. Add garlic at very end when veggies are mostly tender.

Stir in flour and keep stirring; toast for 1-2 minutes.

Slowly pour in the stout, whisking or stiring briskly to prevent any flour lumps. Add in sugar and stir to melt & incorporate. When the sauce is uniform in color and thickening a bit, return the meat and mushrooms back into skillet. Stir well to coat in sauce.

Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer on low for 2 – 2½ hours, until meat is tender. Veggies should be fork tender. Taste sauce; season with salt and pepper as desired and add more sugar depending on your sweetness preferences.

Garnish with a sprinkling of fresh or dried Parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes - or even better, Colcannon (recipe here) - and a thick slice of Irish Soda bread.

VEGAN OPTION: I have not tried this dish without meat, but you could experiment with root veggies like turnips or parsnips. You could also use potatoes as the featured veggie (instead of the side dish) and simmer cubed potatoes in the sauce.

ALLERGENS: Contains wheat and mushrooms

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: The flour in the sauce is used to thicken, so it may be substituted with cornstarch, oat flour, arrowroot or whichever gluten-free option works for you. The mushrooms enhance the flavor and add a bit of texture, but they can be left out without a problem.