Beef & Guinness Stew

Ingredients

• 1 kg stewing beef ( cut into 1inch cubes. I used wagyu chuck in this one.)
• 4 carrots (roughly chopped)
• 2 celery sticks (roughly chopped)
• 2 white onions (roughly chopped)
• 2 star anise
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 4 slices smoked bacon (diced)
• 500 ml beef stock
• 880 ml Guinness (2 x 440ml cans)
• 4 tbls plain flour
• 2 tbls chopped parsley
• 1 dried chili
• 2 tbsp oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Season meat and fry in batches on medium to high heat in 1 tbls oil until golden brown - approx 2 to 3 minutes.

2. 2

   Remove meat from pot and leave on clean plate.

3. 3

   Fry bacon until brown and fat has rendered.

4. 4

   Add carrots, celery, onion, star anise, bay leaf, dried chili & garlic to pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly to lift the bits stuck to the pan.

5. 5

   Add beef back into pan along with its juices.

6. 6

   Add 800ml Guinness, stir and cook for 5 mins until simmering.

7. 7

   Add beef stock & thyme. Cover and cook on low heat so stew is simmering for about 1 - 1.5 hours until beef is tender.

8. 8

   Mix flour with remaining Guinness to make a paste and stir into stew. Cook for another 20 minutes until sauce has thickened.

9. 9

   Serve with some mashed potatoes and sprinkle with parsley to finish.