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recipes_ guinness beaf stew
==Glorious Guinness Beef Stew==
Gloriously black and bitter, creamy and smooth, Ireland’s fine Guinness stout is undoubtedly one of the finest beverages known to man. And it is also a superb product to cook with, believe it or not.

During my recent sojourn in the lovely land of green I came across a number of very unusual recipes in which Guinness plays a key role. Two of my favourites were oysters cooked in Guinness and a hearty beef stew, slowly simmered in the magical brew.

Today I will show you how easy it is to prepare the wonderful winter warmer beef stew. Seeing that you have to buy one tin or bottle of Guinness to pour into the stew, you might as well buy a few extra to sip while you cook.

Incidentally, if, like my wife, you find the bitter taste of beer not to your taste, why not try the age-old social lubricant — Guinness mixed with sparkling wine. You will be surprised how smooth it is and how pleasantly it slips down…

But back to the kitchen. To serve four generous portions of Guinness beef stew you will need:

* 1kg lean stewing beef
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 2 tablespoons oil
* 2 large onions, thickly sliced
* 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
* 2 cups meat stock
* 1 can or small bottle of Guinness beer
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
* ˝ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Slice the meat into cubes and pat dry.
Spoon the flour into a plastic bag, add the meat and shake well.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat.
Add the onion, carrots, stock, salt and black pepper and half the Guinness.
Cover and simmer gently for about two hours until meat is tender.
Add remaining half of the Guinness and the parsley.
Simmer for five minutes and serving steaming hot.

Try this delectable dish with oven-baked potatoes, or boiled new potatoes and a plain green vegetable. And crusty bread is a must for mopping up the gravy!

As they say in Ireland before eating or drinking, slainte!