Guinness Beef Stew

From

February/March 2013

Guinness Beef Stew

Dark Irish beer seemed like the perfect match for hearty beef stew—if we could lose the bitterness and keep the deep, roasty flavor. We added dark brown sugar, which balanced some of the bitterness with sweetness and bolstered flavor with its molasses-y notes. Cooked beer can be especially bitter; introducing some of the beer before cooking created a restrained bitter background, and adding the rest just before serving gave us robust stout flavor. We managed to bypass the step of searing the meat by cooking the stew uncovered in the oven. This not only helped brown the exposed meat but also let the sauce evaporate, concentrating its flavor.

Serves 6 to 8

Use Guinness Draught, not Guinness Extra Stout, which is too bitter.

Ingredients

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