Dinner · British

Beef & ale stew

Name: Beef & ale stew
Total time: 160 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 800g Diced braising steak; 2 tbsp Plain flour; 2 tbsp Vegetable oil; 2 Brown onions; 3 Carrots; 2 cloves Garlic, crushed; 1 tbsp Tomato purée; 1 tsp Dried thyme; 500ml Brown ale; 1 cube Beef stock cube; 1kg Potatoes; 30g Butter

Cheap beef, a bottle of ale and two hours in the oven that you spend elsewhere.

Start to finish: 2 hr 40 min
Hands-on: 40 min
In the fridge: 3 days
Freezes: Yes

Contains gluten, dairy, celery, sulphites

Ingredients

4 portions

800gDiced braising steak
2 tbspPlain flour
2 tbspVegetable oil
2Brown onions
3Carrots
2 clovesGarlic, crushed
1 tbspTomato purée
1 tspDried thyme
500mlBrown ale
1 cubeBeef stock cube
1kgPotatoes
30gButter

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan). Toss the beef with the flour and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
2
Brown the beef in batches in half the oil in a large casserole, about 4 minutes a batch. Do not crowd the pan. Set aside.
3
Meanwhile, slice the onions, cut the carrots into thick chunks and crush the garlic.
4
Add the rest of the oil and soften the onions for 8 minutes, scraping up the brown bits. Stir in the garlic, purée and thyme for a minute.
5
Pour in the ale and let it bubble for a couple of minutes. Return the beef with the carrots and the stock cube crumbled into 250ml water, and bring to a simmer.
6
Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours, until the beef falls apart when pressed with a spoon.
2 hr, mostly hands-off
7
Season well. Serve with the potatoes mashed with the butter, or cool and portion into tubs.

On the day

Reheat gently until piping hot all the way through. Make the mash fresh on the night: boil the potatoes for 15 minutes, then mash with the butter and plenty of pepper.

Cook’s tip

Use a malty brown ale rather than a hoppy IPA. Hops turn bitter over a long cook.