Easy Weeknight Beef and Beer Stew

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Easy Weeknight Beef and Beer Stew

Sometimes it’s the simple flavors and preparations of food that are the most near and dear to our hearts.

This is how I think and feel about Easy Weeknight Beef and Beer stew. 

Stew is full-flavored comfort food that’s simple enough for a busy weekday or a lazy weekend.

Brief History of Stew

History tells us that mankind has been making stew for eons of time.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus records that an ancient people, the Scythians, made stew by putting the flesh of an animal into its paunch and boiling it over a bone fire.

There’s no need for an animal’s paunch or bones for a fire to simmer up a delicious pot of soul-warming stew. 

An electric crockpot, or a pot on the stove, or in the oven will do just fine. 

Simple Flavors of Stew

The key to a flavorful stew is the building up of flavors. Honestly, this is the key to any dish that rocks your tastebuds.

Typical stews begin with a mix of vegetables.

The recipe I’m sharing today, Easy Weeknight Beef and Beer Stew, begins with flavor base of onion and carrot.   Mushrooms add an additional meaty flavor and garlic, well, garlic adds an additional layer of flavor that just can’t be replicated by anything else. 

Thyme and bay leaf add the perfect herbal notes with fresh parsley stirred in at the end.

A Surprise Ingredient – Dark Beer

Here’s a layer of flavor you may be surprised by. In addition to the beef broth that you would expect, this stew recipe also includes a bottle of dark beer that will impart flavor layers of hops, dark-roasted grains, and yeast.

Even if you don’t drink, the beauty of cooking with alcohol, beer or wine are the flavors it will impart to your dish.

If beer just isn’t your thing, substitute a non-alcoholic dark beer or add additional beef broth.

Simple Preparation

The best part of this beef and beer stew recipe is that once assembled, leave it be in the oven for a couple of hours. 

Or compile it in the morning and let it simmer in your crockpot. On your arrival at home after a long workday, the aroma from this beautiful creation will beckon you to the table.  

Serve this flavor-stuffed stew with a slice of crusty bread or cornbread. You won’t find a more down-home and soul-satisfying meal any day of the year.

Beer Beef Stew

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Simmer this easily assembled beef and beer stew in the oven, on the stovetop, or in your crockpot. Serve it with crusty bread or cornbread.

• Prep Time: 0 hours
• Cook Time: 0 hours
• Total Time: 0 hours
• Yield: 6-8 people 1x
• Category: Entree, Recipes, Week Night Meals

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean beef, cut in 2-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup flour
• I large onion, thinly sliced half-moon style
• 16 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups baby gold potatoes, quartered
• 2 cups carrots, 2-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 can dark beer
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• kosher salt
• olive oil

Garnish

• parsley, chopped

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325˚
2. Dredge beef in flour.
3. Heat an oven proof Dutch oven over high heat. Once hot add a drizzle of oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the flour-dredged beef to the pan and brown. Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt as they brown.
5. Once browned, remove the beef and set aside.
6. Add the onions to the Dutch oven. Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt.
7. Sauté the onion just until it begins to soften.
8. Add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
9. Add the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms.
10. Add the brown sugar, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of salt, beef broth and beer.
11. Cover and bake 2 hours or until tender.
12. Uncover, stir in the red wine vinegar and the thyme.
13. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the parsley.

Notes

Once the red wine vinegar has been added, taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. It’s possible that you will need a bit more brown sugar to balance the bitterness of the beer depending on the beer that you use.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Bowl
• Calories: 313
• Sugar: 10.1 g
• Sodium: 702.3 mg
• Fat: 8.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
• Trans Fat: 0.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 29.3 g
• Fiber: 4.7 g
• Protein: 31 g
• Cholesterol: 68.1 mg