Chocolate Stout Beef Stew
The weather here has now dropped below zero… it didn’t even happen gradually… only a couple weeks ago it was 19 above… and then within a day, it dropped below zero… and stayed there! As soon as the weather drops like this, I am craving dark beers and rich soups and stews. I have made a few Guinness beef stews in my time, but thought it would be just as tasty to use a different stout beer to make this chocolate stout beef stew. I used Rogue Chocolate Stout Beer from Rogue Brewing. This beer is rich with loads of milk chocolate, roasted malts and sweet brown sugar and caramel. The result of this beer in this beef stew was epic. I don’t use that word lightly either. The flavour was rich, like the beer, and it warmed us both up, which is exactly what a stew should do for you!
Chocolate Stout Beef Stew
After you have tasted and picked your beer, gather all the ingredients together for the chocolate stout beef stew. Any stout will work, but a chocolate stout adds a lot of great flavours.
Cook the pancetta in a large, oven-safe pot, over medium heat, while continually stirring, until the fat renders and the pancetta is a little crispy, about 10 – 15 minutes. Remove the pancetta and set aside. Season the beef with salt and pepper in a bowl, and cook beef in the pancetta fat, until browned on all sides, about 10 – 12 minutes.
Remove the beef from the pot, and fry the garlic, onions, celery and carrots until soft, approximately 10 minutes. Add in the tomato paste, marmite, stout beer and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine well. Add the beef and pancetta back to the pot. Pour in the beef stock, bay leaves and thyme springs. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for an hour, covered. Add in the potatoes, parsnips and sweet potatoes and continue to simmer for another hour, until the root vegetables are soft.
Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Thicken the stew with cornstarch if necessary. Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put whole stew pot into preheated oven for 30 minutes, uncovered. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Enjoy your chocolate stout beef stew with a fresh Pilsner beer biscuit or your favourite bread! And of course pair with your favourite dark beer – try one from this roundup of fall beers!
Stout Beer Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pancetta diced
- 400 g stewing beef chopped into bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 4 sticks celery chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1.5 large white onion chopped
- 2 large potatoes diced
- 1 parsnip diced
- 1 cup sweet potato diced
- 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 10 oz. stout beer
- 1/4 tsp marmite
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 bay leaf
- 4-5 sprigs thyme
- Cornstarch if needed
Instructions
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Cook the pancetta in a large, oven-safe pot over medium heat, while continually stirring, until the fat renders and the pancetta is a little crispy, about 10 - 15 minutes.
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Remove the pancetta and set aside. Season the beef with salt and pepper in a bowl, and cook beef in the pancetta fat, until browned on all sides, about 10 - 12 minutes.
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Remove the beef from the pot, and fry the garlic, onions, celery and carrots until soft, approximately 10 minutes. Add in the tomato paste, stout beer, marmite and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine well.
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Add the beef and pancetta back to the pot. Pour in the beef stock, bay leaves and thyme springs. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for an hour, covered.
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Add in the potatoes, parsnips and sweet potatoes and continue to simmer for another hour, until the root vegetables are soft.
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Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. If the stew is thin, mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of the stew liquid in a small mason jar and shake well. Add slurry to the stew and bring stew back to a simmer.
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Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Put whole stew pot into preheated oven for 30 minutes, uncovered.
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Enjoy with a fresh Pilsner beer biscuit or your favourite bread!
