Sunday, March 6, 2011

Trad Irish Cookalong : Beef & Guinness Casserole

It's March, so the only Irish Foodies Cookalong topic that we could possibly do was Traditional Irish.  Given my recent shopping (beef in Superquinn) and The Hubs' penchant for the black stuff, the dish that was in my head was a Beef and Guinness Casserole.  Casseroles are a perfect meal when it's cold outside - they take a long time to cook because they use cheaper cuts of meat, which means long, slow cooking to break down the fibres of the meat which gives you meltingly tender results.  It's also a very economical dish because it's crammed full of vegetables which makes the meal go even further.  I served this with a root veg mash to mop up the gorgeous sauce.




Beef & Guinness Casserole

500g Chuck Steak, cubed
2 tbsp Plain Flour
1 tsp freshly ground Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Granules
1 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
1 500ml can of Guinness
300ml carton of Chopped Tomatoes
4 Carrots, peeled & chopped
2 Onions, peeled & chopped
150g Mushrooms, quartered
1 Rich Beef Knorr Stockpot
2 sprigs of Thyme


Preheat your oven to 175c/Gas Mark 4.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan.


Mix the flour, pepper, garlic & onion together & toss the beef in the flour mixture until well coated.


Brown the beef quickly on all sides & then transfer to a large casserole.


Deglaze the frying pan with the Guinness, scraping up all the residue - bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Pour this cooking liquid over the beef.


Now add the carrots, onions, tomatoes, stock & thyme and put the covered casserole in the oven for 2 hours


After 90 minutes, add the mushrooms and cook for a further 30 minutes.  At this stage, the meat should fall apart when prodded with a fork - if  not, stick it back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes.


Serve with a big pile of mashed potato to mop up the gorgeous gravy.  If there's any left over, it freezes really well.

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