Beef Guinness Stew With Bacon Dumplings Recipes

Steps:

• First, make the dumplings. Gently fry the bacon until crisp in a large lidded casserole dish. Stir in the thyme leaves, then tip into a bowl and leave to cool slightly. Add the flour and suet to the bacon, and stir everything together. Make a well in the middle, then add the egg yolk, parsley, ½ tsp pepper and 2 tbsp very cold water, and start to mix into a dough. Keep adding water until you a have a firm but pliable dough. Divide the mixture into eight balls and chill until needed.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Quickly clean the casserole dish with some kitchen paper, then heat the oil. Brown the meat really well in batches, then set aside. Tip in the onions or shallots, carrots and celery, brown well, then stir in the flour. Add the meat and any juices back into the dish, give everything a good stir, then pour in the stock and Guinness. Season, then tuck in the thyme and star anise and bring everything to a simmer. Cover with a lid, then cook in the oven for about 2 hrs until the meat is tender.
• Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the dumplings evenly on top. Put the lid back on and return to the oven for 20 mins, then cook for a final 10 mins with the lid off to brown the dumplings. Bring the dish to the table in all its glory. Spoon into bowls with cabbage and mash, to serve.

Steps:

• Cook and stir bacon in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until bacon is browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer bacon into a large stew pot, reserving bacon fat in the skillet.
• Season beef chuck cubes generously with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Turn heat to high under skillet and sear beef pieces in the hot fat on both sides until browned, about 5 minutes. Place beef in stew pot with bacon, leaving fat in skillet. Turn heat down to medium; cook and stir onions in the retained fat in the skillet until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes; season with a large pinch of salt.
• Cook garlic with onions until soft, about 1 minute; pour beer into skillet and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up and dissolving any browned bits of food into the liquid. Pour cooking liquid from skillet into the stew pot. Stir in tomato paste, thyme sprigs, carrots, celery, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and enough chicken broth to cover.
• Bring stew to a gentle simmer, stirring to combine; reduce heat to low and cover pot. Simmer stew until beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours. Stir stew occasionally and skim fat or foam if desired.
• Remove cover and raise heat to medium-high. Bring stew to a low boil and cook until stew has slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• Arrange mashed potatoes in a ring in a serving bowl; ladle stew into the center of the potatoes.

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large dutch oven, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Toss the meat cubes with the 1 ½ tbsp of flour, and then in batches, brown them until seared. Remove to plate as you go.
• Add more oil if you need to, then add the celery, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the mushrooms, bay leaves, broth, tomato paste, and Guinness; bring to a boil, then cover and put into the oven.
• Let the stew bubble away in the oven for two hours. Mean while, make the dumplings.
• In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, a pinch of nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cut in your bits of butter with a pastry cutter, and then stir in the cheese. Add milk, stirring until you get a wet dough. You may need more or less, use your judgment.
• Spoon out portions of the dough about the size of a ping pong ball, roll them with your hands, and place on a cookie sheet. Put them in the fridge to chill while the stew cooks.
• When the stew is finished, plop the dumplings in one at a time, pushing them under the juices, and then put a lid back on and allow them to cook for another 30 minutes.