Guinness Beef Stew (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)

I caught ya… You’re drooling over my pictures, aren’t you? I don’t blame you. Look at that luscious, succulent, tender, juicy meat. These rich savory flavors are created from robust Guinness stout mixed with fresh herbs and the usual humble veggies. This is the ultimate comfort food. Today we are cooking this in our beloved crock pot, but will give you my instant pot method as well. Keep on reading and you will see how easy it is to get to these succulent flavors.

What cut of meat to use

Contrary to what you might expect, to get the ultimate melt in your mouth stew meat you want tougher cuts. This is because the collagen that makes them tough melts when slow or pressure cooked, resulting in moist, tender meat. So no tenderloin or ribeye here.

My top recommendations for this stew are chuck (which I am using today), short ribs or oxtail. Any of these will end up nice and tender.

What is the best way to cook this stew

My favorite way to cook this is in a slow cooker. Cooking it for hours at low temperature makes for super soft beef. No one can have bad results like tough or dry meat with this magic gadget.

Got off to a late start? No problem! This stew also works great in an Instant Pot. From start to finish, you can have this on your plate in about an hour and a half.

Whichever method you choose, we strongly recommend quickly searing the meat before layering it with the rest of the ingredients. This caramelizes the surface of the meat, which adds great depth of flavors to the dish.

Ingredients

• Beef – Today I am using chuck cut into about 1.5 inch chunks.
• Veggies – The usual stewing veggies: onion, carrots, celery and potatoes (we are going with baby potatoes today).
• Garlic – By now you know my love of garlic.
• Guinness stout – Dark and smooth, it adds tons of flavor and depth.
• Beef Broth
• Balsamic vinegar – For more depth of flavor.
• Worcestershire sauce – Goes great with any kind of braised beef.
• Fresh herbs – Rosemary and thyme.
• Bay leaf
• Salt & pepper – To taste.
• Oil – For browning the meat.

Crock Pot Method

Brown the meat. First season it with salt and pepper. Then sear it on all sides in a hot skillet. Don’t overcrowd the pan, if needed sear in batches. It will take a couple of minutes per side.

Cut veggies to bite size and slice the garlic. We are using baby potatoes and leaving on the skin, but you can remove the skin if you prefer.

Arranging the layers in the crockpot. You can start layering half of the veggies at the bottom and season them with salt and pepper. Now comes the seared meat followed by the remaining veggies. Season generously with chopped garlic, rosemary and thyme and add the bay leaves.

Time to add liquids. They should cover the meat and veggies. If not, you can add little water or beef broth.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, until you come in sight of super tender meat.

Sometimes we enjoy it just like that. But more often, we like to thicken up the gravy. Simply make a quick slurry of flour and cold water and add until you get your desired consistency.

Instant Pot Method

This one is just as simple. First, brown your meat on all sides with your Instant Pot on sauté setting, again cooking in batches if necessary. Remove the browned meat to a plate. Layer half of your chopped veggies, then meat, then remaining veggies along with chopped garlic and herbs in your Instant Pot.

Add in liquids, then seal the lid. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. As with the crock pot method, thicken it up with a slurry if you wish.

What to serve this Guinness Beef Stew with

With meat, starch and veggies, this can be a one pot dish. That being said, for the ultimate comfort meal, you can pair it with mashed potatoes. For some extra flavors, try it with my goat cheese mashed potatoes.

It also pairs great with some roasted green veggies. Think asparagus, green bean, broccoli or Brussels sprouts.

Another great option for sopping up any extra gravy is some nice crusty bread. I love it with my miracle no-knead bread.

I don’t have Guinness, can I use anything else in its place?

Guiness is a popular Irish stout with rich and dense flavors. You can try it with any other stout.

Another great option is red wine. The flavor will be different, but equally yummy. For a teetotaler option, just add more beef broth.

Leftovers and storage

This makes great leftovers, as the flavors have more time to mingle. Just refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months, though the potatoes will lose some quality.

It’s all yum. Don’t we love such meals, where you invest less than half an hour of your time and let the crock pot do the work? That beloved friend in your kitchen will slave all day for you! Sounds like music to my ears!! Happy eating…

Guinness Beef Stew, on my Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Try these other great soups and stew!
Smoky Chipotle Chili
Zuppa Toscana
Kedjenou Chicken
Mediterranean Braised Chicken
White Bean Turkey Chili
Bahamian Boiled Fish
Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup
Greek White Bean Soup (Fasolada)

Guinness Beef Stew (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes

Who doesn't like a nice steaming pot of stew? Melt in your mouth beef, hearty veggies, and an amazing Guinness stout based gravy. So comforting!

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Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs beef, cut into 1.5 in chunks
• 1 lb baby potatoes
• 4 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 12oz bottle Guinness stout
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)
• 7-8 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 tsp dried)
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil
• 2-3 Tbsp flour

Instructions

Slow Cooker Method

1. In a skillet over medium high heat, add oil then beef chunks. Give a quick sear to all sides. Don't overcrowd, work in batches if necessary.
2. In slow cooker, add half of veggies, then meat, herbs, and chopped garlic then remaining veggies. Add liquids. Everything should be submerged. If needed add additional water or broth.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
4. Mix 2-3 tablespoons of flour with cold water. Gradually stir into cooked stew until you get your desired consistency.

Instant Pot Method

1. Set Instant Pot to sauté setting. Add oil, then beef chunks. Brown all sides and remove to a plate. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding.
2. Add half of veggies, then beef, chopped garlic and herbs, then remaining veggies.
3. Add in liquids.
4. Seal and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.
5. Mix 2-3 tablespoons of flour with cold water. Gradually stir into cooked stew until you get your desired consistency.

Nutrition Information

Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 572Total Fat 32gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 123mgSodium 411mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 41g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.