GUINNESS COCKTAILS RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Peel and roughly chop the onions, garlic and carrots, then trim and roughly chop the celery. Tie the bay and thyme sprigs together with string.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan over a medium heat. and add the vegetables and herbs. Toss everything in the oil to coat, then season.
  3. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the veg is softening, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a plate.
  4. Toss the beef in the flour and season, then add to the pan and cook until browned all over (you may need to do this in batches).
  5. Deglaze the pan with the Guinness. Add the veg and herbs, then top up with water if needed, to just cover the meat and veg.
  6. Stir in the brown sugar. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.
  7. Cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling salted water, then drain.
  8. Mash with the milk, butter and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
  9. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
  10. Put the meat in an ovenproof dish, top with the mash and drizzle with oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and crisping up.

Steps:

• Cook and stir bacon in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until bacon is browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer bacon into a large stew pot, reserving bacon fat in the skillet.
• Season beef chuck cubes generously with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Turn heat to high under skillet and sear beef pieces in the hot fat on both sides until browned, about 5 minutes. Place beef in stew pot with bacon, leaving fat in skillet. Turn heat down to medium; cook and stir onions in the retained fat in the skillet until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes; season with a large pinch of salt.
• Cook garlic with onions until soft, about 1 minute; pour beer into skillet and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up and dissolving any browned bits of food into the liquid. Pour cooking liquid from skillet into the stew pot. Stir in tomato paste, thyme sprigs, carrots, celery, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and enough chicken broth to cover.
• Bring stew to a gentle simmer, stirring to combine; reduce heat to low and cover pot. Simmer stew until beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours. Stir stew occasionally and skim fat or foam if desired.
• Remove cover and raise heat to medium-high. Bring stew to a low boil and cook until stew has slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• Arrange mashed potatoes in a ring in a serving bowl; ladle stew into the center of the potatoes.