Beer Braised Beef and Onions Stew

This post will be a variation on a New York Times recipe post last week. I wanted to try it because it resembles a beef in stout with pickled walnuts I did years ago in England after watching an Anthony Worrall Thompson cooking show.

This recipe works because the large amount of onion sweetens the stew and balances the acid and bitter of the beer. Serve it with noodles, rice, or polenta as an alternative to mashed potatoes.

By the way, the hot mustard is essential!

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds beef stew meat in 1.5 inch cubes ( I used chuck roast that I had trimmed to remove silver skin and excess fat)

3 large red onions, sliced thin

1 Tbs. kosher salt

1 tps. ground black pepper

2 tps. sweet paprika

1 tps. ground coriander

1/4 tps. ground cinnamon

1 Tbs. tomato paste

1 cup Belgian style Ale like Blue Moon

2 cups beef stock

6 bay leaves

6 sprigs fresh thyme

4 sprigs fresh parsley

1 pat of butter

1 Tbs. EVOO

Method

In a large bowl, combine the cubed meat, the salt, the pepper, the paprika, and the bay leaves. Toss the mixture well. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt the butter in hot EVOO in an enameled dutch oven. Working in batches brown two side of the beef cubes and remove them from the dutch oven. Reserve the bay leaves for later use.

In the hot fat and fond cook the onions until they go limp and turn to golden brown while keeping a careful eye not to burn them.

Push the onions to one side and add the tomato paste, coriander and cinnamon. Mix well and cook until the paste turns dark. Add the flour and stir and mix as the mix cooks another minute. Add the beer and stock and mix well.

Tie the reserved bay leaves with the thyme and parsley using kitchen twine. Add it to the pot juices.

Add the seared beef plus any juices to the pot.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and place in the oven. I partially covered the mix with a cartouche. https://www.leiths.com/how-tos/make-a-cartouche

Cook two and half to three hours.

Before serving add water to loosen the stew, if necessary.

Serve with salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley garnish. Serve with a side dish of hot Dijon mustard.