Somewhat related to my “Shepherd’s Pie” thread, is this one. A British publican of my acquaintance, used to make what he called “Beef and Guinness.” It was a stew, nearly black in colour, that was made out of (obviously) ground beef and Guinness beer. Problem is, that I have no idea how to replicate it.
Do any UK or other Dopers have any idea how to make a proper British “Beef and Guinness”?
Mince, Guiness, mirepoix, and bovril… right that. Perhaps a thickening from natural gelatization and a bit of stark… some of the wooster sauce.
I’d use cubed steak myself (chuck will do as it’s going to be simmered for a long time).
Chop 1 large onion and fry until translucent in a large casserole dish, toss 1 lb steak pieces in flour, add to pan and brown off, pour in 1 pint strong beef stock, 1 large can guinness, 4 chopped carrots, 3 chopped potatoes, bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer. Add a bunch of fresh thyme and a bay leaf. Simmer, covered, for two hours or more, add more stock or water if it reduces too much. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of Worcestershire sauce to taste, remove bay leaf, then thicken up before serving with cornstarch.
Mmm, I know what I’m having for dinner on this freezing night…
Meanwhile here’s a version made with dumplings, and another with just carrots.
ETA I like the idea of the tastes of mirepoix, but the chunkiness of the veg would be missing.
But isn’t that the whole idea of Beef and Guiness? It is a bit more refined than Guiness Stew? Mince and gravy.
Well this is the kind of thing I think of when I hear “Beef and Guinness” - a stew. But I didn’t read the OP thoroughly enough: if it’s a kind of cottage pie that has Guinness in it, I concur.
Yeah. It is pretty standard upmarket pub fare in Australia. We have many varieties of meat pies, the common one being made with mince, but beef and guinness is always chunks of beef.
More or less what jjimm said. I always chuck in a bottle of stout when making beef stew. Can’t imagine it with mince though.
Thanks to this thread, I made beef and Guinness stew tonight. I substituted sweet potato for the potato (and left out the Worcestershire sauce because of the sugar content of the sweet potato), and added a big teaspoon of Marmite to my above ingredients. Absolutely gorgeous hearty warming dish, seriously delicious. I am in love with my own cooking. 
Thanks for the replies, folks. Looks like something I could do, and given our weather lately (cold and snowy), something that would be very nice to have inside when the weather is ugly outside.
Sorry, I should add…
This is what I was thinking of. I especially like the idea of steak pieces instead of the mince–guess my publican friend was cutting a few corners. I’ll try it with the steak rather than the mince.
It also sounds like it might do well in a slow cooker–would this be an idea?
I think a slow cooker would work very well for a stew. The only concerns I’d have are a) the beef not being browned - though I have had stew with pink beef before, and it was just fine; b) reduction of the stock/Guinness - am I right in thinking that slow cookers are hermetically sealed? c) Thickening the sauce.
I guess if you browned the beef and onion together in a skillet, then added them to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients and cooked it all day, you could finish it off before serving with 10-20 minutes’ reduction on the stove or in a hot oven, before adding the thickening agent.
Yes, that’s what I’d do. I’ve done stews in my slow cooker before, and I brown the meat/veg in a skillet before I add them to the cooker. So it sounds like it is certainly possible–thanks, jjimm!
Hmm. I wonder if an imperial stout would work? I can’t decide if the extra sweetness of the beer would complement the meat or just make it taste very odd.
I think it would be fine - my sweet potato version was great.
As to reduction in a slow cooker, you don’t get much, not because of a hermetic seal but because of the lower temperature. Just use less liquid to compensate, or finish off by removing the liquor to the stovetop, reducing and thickening, then return to the cooked meat, as you said.