Guinness braised beef stew

Happy new year guys!!! Sure everyone's still recovering from all that food during the holidays...lol. Well, i hope there's room enough for one more dish! This is sure to make you scream for more...it's a yummy, very rich, hearty stew, with Irish origins (sure you've guessed that by now from the guinness). I'd really urge everyone to try this out, you'll see why after you do.


You will need

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds of beef, cubed
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups Guinness stout beer - unfortunately i don't drink guinness so i had to throw away what was left in the bottle! lol
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 1 stock cube
• 1 1/4 cups beef broth

Directions

• Season the beef chunks all over with salt and pepper, and set aside. Heat up the oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
• When the oil is hot, add half of the seasoned beef and sear until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Then using a slotted spoon, transfer unto a plate. Repeat with the remaining half.

• Add the bacon to the pan and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate with the beef.
• Next, reduce the heat, add the butter and onion, and season with a bit of salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes. Then pour in the Guinness and stir to incorporate the flour, breaking up any lumps and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture simmer until it's reduced by about half.

• Return the beef and bacon to the pan, along with any accumulated juices and add the carrots and stock cube. Add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer until the beef is tender, about 1hr 45min, stirring halfway through. 
• Raise the heat to high, take off the lid and allow sauce to thicken. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Note: You could use a slotted spoon to take out the beef, carrots, and allow the sauce to thicken to your desired consistency, and then put back the beef. That's how it was done in the original recipe. I just prefer mine not too thick.

Serve with steamed or mashed potatoes. 

My serving suggestion: mashed potatoes. Tastes absolutely divine!

Recipe adapted from http://www.yummly.com/