St. Patty's Irish Stew: No Time For Corned Beef? No Worries!

St. Patrick was a pretty amazing dude. And for

much more than the whole casting out the snakes from Ireland story. It's been said that he performed over 1,000 miracles in his lifetime. That's a pretty big deal. And some historians say that he raised 33 men from the dead.

Well, this stew won't raise you from the dead, but it may raise your expectations. I mean, corned beef and cabbage is a pretty amazing St. Patrick's day staple, but not everybody has time for that! So the purpose of this post is to open your eyes to another lucky possibility: Irish Stew. Much less time, excellent results! Especially when served in a beer bread bowl. What makes it Irish? Well, the Guinness of course. And the potatoes. 

Without further ado...

(huh...I'm not even sure what "ado" means...)

IRISH STEW:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. stew meat

1.5 Tbl. Salt (Divided)

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

8 Cloves Garlic, Chopped

6 Cups Water

3 Tbl. Beef Bouillon Granules

1.5 Cups Guinness

1 Cup Cabernet Sauvignon (or whatever other full bodied red wine you like!) 

3 Tbl. Tomato Paste

1 Tbl. Sugar

4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

1 Tbl. Worcestershire

2 Bay Leaves

3 Tbl. Butter

2 Large Potatoes, cut into 1" pieces

1 Large Onion, Diced

6 Medium Carrots, Chopped

1 Tsp. Black Pepper

Directions:

Throw 1 tsp. salt on those glorious little pieces of stew meat. Heat up the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once the oil is ready, throw in your stew meat in two batches. If you don't do them in two batches, you're going to get non-browned meat, and that's no fun. Make sure to get both sides of the meat as well. Once they are browned, throw in the garlic and stir everything together for about 30 seconds. Smells good, doesn't it? Reduce heat to medium. Next add your carrots and onion. Add 1 tsp. of salt to help them sweat down. Cook just until the onions are translucent. 

At this point, it's now time to throw in your water, bouillon, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, fresh thyme, Worcestershire, and bay leaves. And just a tip: Don't let curiosity get the best of you and cause you to see what red wine and Guinness taste like together.... bad idea... Stir it up, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour. 

Okay, it's been an hour. Please don't tell me you've been nursing a glass of wine/Guinness. That's gross. 

Add your potatoes to the stew, along with the rest of the salt (or to taste) and the black pepper. Bring to boil again, and then reduce to simmer. Allow to cook for about 30 more minutes, and then check for seasoning. Remove the bay leaves, along with the stems from the fresh thyme. Serve in a bread bowl, thank God for guys like St. Patrick who make holidays like this possible, and enjoy an Irish evening. 

Because Eating Good Is A Calling Of Its Own, 

The Fat Pastor