Description

This Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew is a hearty and flavorful dish featuring tender chunks of beef chuck simmered slowly with vegetables, rich dark beer, bacon, and a hint of bittersweet chocolate for depth. Perfect for cozy dinners, this recipe combines the robust taste of Guinness with classic stew ingredients, slow-cooked to perfection for an exceptionally tender and savory meal.

Ingredients

Scale

Beef and Meat

2 pounds (907 g) boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ inch chunks
½ pound bacon (about 8 slices)
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Vegetables

3 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large celery ribs, sliced
1 ½ cups (355 g) Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

Liquids and Sauces

1 ½ cups (355 ml) beef broth
18 ounces (510 ml) dark beer (like Guinness)
¼ cup (66 g) tomato paste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Seasonings and Others

1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme (or to taste)
1 bay leaf
1 ounce (28 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
⅓ cup (42 g) flour

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Instructions

Prepare and Season Beef: Cut the beef chuck into 1 ½ inch chunks and generously season with salt and pepper. Set aside to absorb the seasoning while preparing other ingredients.
Cook Bacon: In a Dutch oven over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, crumble it, and set aside. Keep the bacon fat in the pan.
Brown the Beef: In batches, brown the seasoned beef pieces in the bacon fat, avoiding overcrowding. Transfer browned beef to the slow cooker insert. Add crumbled bacon to slow cooker after browning all beef.
Combine Broth and Tomato Paste: Whisk beef broth and tomato paste until smooth. Pour this mixture over the beef and bacon in the slow cooker to coat evenly.
Add Vegetables and Seasonings: Add chopped onions, minced garlic, sliced carrots and celery, cubed potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, ground pepper, dried thyme, and bay leaf to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
Add Beer and Chocolate: Pour in the dark beer (Guinness) and sprinkle chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir everything to distribute the chocolate well.
Slow Cook the Stew: Cover the slow cooker with lid and set to cook on low for 8 hours to tenderize beef and blend flavors.
Thicken the Stew: After cooking, remove lid and ladle 1 cup of stew liquid into a bowl. Whisk in flour until smooth slurry forms. Pour slurry back into slow cooker and stir. Cook an additional 5 minutes to thicken.
Finish and Serve: Remove and discard bay leaf. Stir stew and serve hot, optionally garnished with chopped parsley.

Notes

For best flavor, use a good quality dark beer like Guinness.
Chopping the chocolate finely helps it melt evenly into the stew.
If you don’t have a Dutch oven, a heavy skillet can be used to brown bacon and beef.
The stew can be made a day ahead; flavors deepen after resting overnight.
Serve with crusty bread or over mashed potatoes for a complete meal.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Category: Stew
Method: Slow Cooking
Cuisine: Irish