Chef Jean-Pierre's Guinness Beef Stew

I’ve recently been getting really into slice-of-life genre. Have anyone watched Frieren: Beyond Journey's End? I binged on the show and caught up on the manga within days. The sleeper-hit The Makanai was a little too placid for my taste, but I started listening to the soundtrack whenever I'm cooking or baking, which helped to keep a lid down on some of the anxiety and impatience that I get while working in the kitchen.

The braised beef stew from Anne Burrell occupies a special place in my heart, but I admit, the ingredients can be a little out of reach. Beef short ribs only appear sporadically at the grocery store near me; I don't always keep tomato paste on hand; and, I really much prefer to drink my red wine than to cook with it. Though, when the stars align and I manage to get my hand on the ingredients, the beef ribs are incredible and I've not met anyone who had a bad thing to say about them. 

This recipe is no less stunning. It's made in the same vein, using Guinness and bacon to amp up the flavours. If you haven't heard of Chef JP before, you're missing out on a great deal. I spent many evenings indulging in my ennui on his YouTube channel and watch him enthusiastically working in the kitchen. As testament to the fact that you don't have to be a jerk to be a great chef, this recipe creates one of the best, most flavourful stews that I've had. It's also more forgiving, and you can use whichever cheap cut of beef that you have on hand.

Chef Jean-Pierre's Guinness Beef Stew 

Original recipe from Chef Jean-Pierre. Video available here. 

This recipe calls for roux to thicken the stew up at the tail-end of the recipe. I had a miscalculation when I was experimenting with French onion soup recipes in April, and made far more roux than I knew what to do with. So I froze the excess, which 6 months later, I'm still going through. But if you hadn't been careless enough like me, it's easy enough to whip up on the side during the long downtime while the stew is in the oven. 

INGREDIENTS
1.6 kg Chuck Roast (or any cheap cuts), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
225 g Bacon, diced
1 large Onion, chopped
15 g Fresh Thyme Leaves, chopped
22 g Fresh Rosemary, chopped (or substitute with oregano)
4-5 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
800 g (28 ounces) canned of peeled Italian Tomatoes, drained
440ml Guinness Beer
300g Leeks, thinly sliced, both white and light green parts
225 g Celery, diced
225 g Carrots, diced
600 ml Beef Stock or Broth
150 g Pitted Prunes
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Roux, or all purpose flour, as required 

STEPS
1. Preheat Oven to 190°C (375°F). 

2. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan, then add the beef in batches and lightly season with pepper (you may lightly season with salt too, if your beef stock does not contain sodium.). Sear the beef until well-browned on the exterior. Frying in batches is tedious but necessary to ensure proper browning. Remove the seared beef and set aside.

3. In a large Dutch oven or in an oven-safe pot (I use a stainless steel pot), set over medium heat and sauté diced bacon until it starts to render. Add the chopped onion, stirring occasionally, until the onions are light golden brown. Add thyme, rosemary and sliced garlic and cook until the aromatics releases their fragrance. 

4. Add the drained tomatoes, Guinness beer, leeks, celery, and carrots, then the seared beef. Add the beef stock and then the prunes. Allow the stew to come to a simmer, then cover with a lid and place it in the oven to continue cooking for about 2.5 hours. (At the 1.5 hour mark, check on the level of liquid and top it up with boiling water if necessary.) 

5. Around 45 minutes before the stew is ready, remove it from the oven. The beef should start to be more tender but not yet fall apart when tested with a fork. Set a metal strainer into the stew, and add raw flour into the strainer. Using a whisk, stir the flour, which will begin to mix with the stew and then leak out of the strainer. (If you have roux, or if you’re feeling industrious enough to mix some up - it’s not that difficult! - you can add the roux to the stew using the strainer method as well). Add until the stew is thickened to your preference. Return the pot to the oven and continue cooking for another 45 minutes, until the meat is tender enough to be cut with the side of a fork.