On the Menu Today~
Irish Beef Stew
Happy St. Patrick's Day

This delicious recipe comes to you via Chef John at
Food Wishes for Allrecipes
I made four changes to this recipe....
First instead of serving this delicious stew over chive mashed potatoes,
we opted for adding potatoes to the stew instead. Why?
While at the grocery store,
I found these cute, small Dutch potatoes.
I love adding these smaller versions of their larger counterparts to stews.
Second, we also couldn't find fresh thyme,
(that looked fresh anyway)
so I went with so-so fresh looking tarragon.
Third, we went with one full bottle of Irish stout dark beer and
we used a brand called O'Shea's Irish Stout Beer instead of Guinness.
Fourth, we used the full 6 oz can of tomato paste.
Since I didn't use Guinness beer,
I'm calling the stew Irish Beef Stew.
I hope Chef John doesn't mind the changes I made.....
because this beef stew recipe is wonderfully delicious.

I've included the video of Chef John making Guinness Beef Stew,
which includes the link to his recipe and so much more.
Thanks Chef John~

Irish Beef Stew

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
2 1/2 pounds boneless, beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.9 oz) bottle dark beer, such as Guinness or O'Shea's
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bag small Dutch baby yellow potatoes
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or as needed to cover

Cooking Directions

Cook and stir bacon in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until bacon is browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer bacon into a large stew pot, reserving bacon fat in the skillet.
Season beef chuck cubes generously with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Turn heat to high under skillet and sear beef pieces in the hot fat on both sides until browned, about 5 minutes. Place beef in stew pot with bacon, leaving fat in skillet. Turn heat down to medium; cook and stir onions in the retained fat in the skillet until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes; season with a large pinch of salt.
Cook garlic with onions until soft, about 1 minute; pour beer into skillet and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up and dissolving any browned bits of food into the liquid. Pour cooking liquid from skillet into stew pot. Stir in tomato paste, tarragon sprigs, carrots, celery, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and enough chicken broth to cover.
Bring stew to a gentle simmer, stirring to combine; reduce heat to low and cover pot. Simmer stew until beef is fork-tender, about 2 to 3 hours. Stir stew occasionally and skim fat or foam if desired. Add potatoes the last hour of cooking.
Remove cover and raise heat to medium-high. Bring stew to a low boil and cook until stew has slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard tarragon sprigs and adjust salt and pepper to taste.