Originally posted on the Prost! blog, part of BeerCup.com—our site for all things beverage.

There's something about March that leaves us craving homemade stew and craft stouts. To clinch our thirst and our hunger at the same time, we're celebrating craft stouts everywhere and, of course, St. Paddy's Day, with an amazing Irish stew recipe from one of our BeerCup team home cooks.

BeerCup Chef

Sarah Carpenter
Marketing Manager

Slow Cooker Stout Irish Stew

What you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1½ lb. lean beef stew meat (or lamb)
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1½ tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 6 large potatoes, peeled and largely diced
• 4 large carrots, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
• ½ large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 4 cups beef broth
• About 1 cup (+ foam) of your favorite craft stout beer
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Turn the slow cooker on
2. In a large bowl, toss beef together with salt, pepper and whole wheat flour to coat. Add to the pan and cook until all sides of the chunks are browned (about 8 minutes).
3. While beef is browning, add potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic and tomato paste to the slow cooker. Stir to coat.
4. Add browned beef, beef broth and stout beer to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
5. Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a pint of your chosen stout.

Extra tips from Sarah:

• Finding the perfect stout for your stew might take some experimentation. This is the perfect opportunity to get creative and experiment with different craft stouts
• Being Irish, I find this to be as good of an excuse as any to make Irish soda bread to go along with the stew.
• I use whole wheat flour because it offers more nutritional benefits than white flour. However, if you prefer all-purpose flour, then use 2 tablespoons.
• I'm not a fan of parsnips, but if you don't feel the same, substitute a couple of those roots veggies for a couple of potatoes and carrots.

Enjoy, and have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. Sláinte!

(Recipe adapted from Aberdeen's Kitchen)

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