Slow Cooker Beef Stew With Guinness Recipes

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish; add beef pieces. Toss to coat each piece evenly. Reserve remaining flour mixture for later use.
• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet; cook and stir coated beef, working in batches, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer cooked beef to a slow cooker.
• Cook and stir onion in the same skillet used for beef until golden, about 5 minutes. Add beer and garlic; bring to a boil for 1 minute. Scrape browned bits of food from bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Pour onion mixture into the slow cooker.
• Mix beef broth, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves into beef mixture in slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until beef is almost tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Sprinkle in the reserved flour mixture; stir well. Add potatoes and carrots.
• Cook on High until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Arrange puff pastry on baking sheets; pierce each piece several times with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and crispy, about 10 minutes. Ladle stew into individual dishes; top each with a pastry square.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef and 2 tablespoons flour. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high. Working in batches, add the beef and let it brown on two sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add a bit more oil if the meat sticks. (You can brown it on more than two sides if you have time, but two sides is enough to build flavor and texture.) Transfer the browned beef to a bowl or plate.
• Make the gravy: Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add the garlic, dried shiitakes (if using), tomato paste, brown sugar, cocoa, onion powder, caraway seeds and espresso powder. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is fragrant and evenly blended, 1 to 2 minutes. (Reduce the heat to low or remove from the heat temporarily if the bottom of the pan threatens to burn.) Add the remaining 1/3 cup flour and cook, stirring and scraping constantly, until the mixture forms a thick, dry paste, about 1 minute. Add the beer and broth. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, whisking constantly to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let it boil until it is smooth and noticeably thickened, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
• Add the beef and any juices, the thyme, potatoes and root vegetables to a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the gravy and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 8 hours.
• When ready to serve, add the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Taste, and season with more salt, pepper and lemon juice, if necessary. (If the stew tastes flat, add more lemon juice first, then more salt and pepper; acid is key to making it taste lively. It may need a surprising amount of salt, especially if you have used unsalted or low-salt stock.) Discard the thyme sprigs.
• Make the horseradish sour cream: Stir together the sour cream, horseradish and scallions in a small bowl. Season with salt. Serve stew in low bowls with a spoonful of the horseradish sour cream on top.