Ireland - Guinness Irish Stew

Anyone Order A Guinness?!?

Ireland holds a special place in my heart; Irish coffees, amazing grass fed beef and as much Guinness as you can possibly drink!  Oh yeah, it's also where I got engaged!

Now, I am not going to lie; some of the meals did leave much to be desired.  But the good meals we had there, I would travel back for in a heartbeat!  Plus, the country side is unbelievably beautiful; everything is just so green from all of the rain!

After a day trek around visiting castles, kissing blarney stones and bouncing around on the slog on the bog (all while out in the rain), you are ready for a good hearty meal to warm you up.  That is just one of the reasons why this meal is so great.

There are two reasons this meal rocks (besides that it tastes so good).  First, it is not your normal stew; your normal broth element is closer to a sauce, making it a more elegant meal and also giving it a much richer flavor.  Second, instead of the same boring old potatoes in the stew, they are mashed with some celery root and the stew sits upon them. 

Now I know St. Paddy's Day just passed; but this meal works any day and is an excellent excuse to have a Guinness after March.  Plus we are going to have one of our very rare raining days in LA tomorrow, so it is the perfect opportunity to try it!

Wanderer's Shopping List

• 1 Large Yellow Onion
• 3-4 Carrots
• 1 Turnip
• 15 Mushrooms
• 4lb Beef Chuck Roast
• 2tbsp Olive Oil 
• 2tsp Sea Salt (Kosher Salt will work too)
• 1tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2bottles Guinness (and more to drink with)
• 1cup beef stock
• 1tsp Thyme
• 6 Garlic Cloves - chopped
• 1-2 Bay Leaves
• 1 Celery Root
• 2 Potatoes
• 2tbsp Butter
• 2tbsp Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
• 1tsp Corn Starch (optional)
• 2tbsp Water (optional)

 Coat slow cooker with cooking spray.  Cut onion, carrots and turnip into 2 inch cubes and place in slow cooker along with whole mushrooms.  Cut Beef into 2 inch cubes; season with salt and pepper.  Coat skillet with olive oil; brown beef and add to slow cooker on top of veggies.  Mix tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, beef stock Thyme, chopped garlic, and bay leaves; and to slow cooker (pour around the sides).  Turn slow cooker to low and let it work its magic for 7-8 hours. It is done when the meat falls apart. 

About an hour before meal time.  Cut celery root and potatoes into quarters, place in pot and cover with water; boil until tender.  Drain, place back in pot; add butter and Greek yogurt and mash until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle out a couple of cups of the liquid from the slow cooker and place in pot on the stove.  Reduce down for about 15 minutes.  Recommend to thicken it up further by adding corn starch and water (combine the two first in a separate bowl whisk and then add to sauce).

Now to put it all together.  Place mashed celery root/potatoes in large shallow bowl; add veggies and beef; ladle your reduce sauce over the top.

Don't forget your glass of Guinness to drink along with it! Slainte!