Beef and Guinness Pie

• 2 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• Rough puff pastry dough
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• Special equipment: 4 (14-oz) deep bowls or ramekins (4 to 5 inches wide; see Shopping List, page 301) or similar-capacity ovenproof dishes

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Pat beef dry. Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add beef, turning to coat, then shake off excess and transfer to a plate. Heat oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown meat in 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring to a bowl.

Add onion, garlic, and water to pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef with any juices accumulated in bowl, broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns, and thyme and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard thyme and cool stew completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (If stew is warm while assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.)

Put a shallow baking pan on middle rack of oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F.

Divide cooled stew among bowls (they won't be completely full). Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. Stir together egg and water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square. Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape, pressing sides lightly to help adhere. Brush pastry tops with some of remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to thoroughly chill dough.

Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook dough.

Thanks to bbs.chrismoore.com

8 Hour Irish Stew

• 2 lbs. lean stew beef (or lamb, if preferred)
• 1 clove garlic, grated or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1–12 oz. bottle Extra Stout beer
• 2 cups beef broth (low-sodium)
• 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cups carrots sliced
• 4 new potatoes, cut into quarters
• 2 turnips, cut into quarters
• 1 4-inch stem of rosemary, or 1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Combine all ingredients (except the cornstarch and water) in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Combine the cornstarch and water in a bowl and stir into the stew. Cover the slow cooker and allow the stew to cook an additional 10 minutes, until thickened slightly. Top with parsley. Serves 8.

Thanks to Sara's Kitchen

Pasta With Lamb Shanks in Beer and Tomato Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks (about 5 pounds total), trimmed of fat
• 3 ribs celery, sliced 1/3 inch thick
• 2 large carrots, sliced 1/3 inch thick
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 cup dark beer or ale
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (or 2 teaspoons dried, crushed)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
• 1 pound thick pasta in a chunky shape

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and cook the shanks until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes in all. Brown in batches, if necessary, and move to a plate when finished. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the celery, carrots and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. In the slow cooker, make a bed of the vegetables and arrange the lamb on top.

Add the beer to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. Stir in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes with their liquid, rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the lamb. Cover and cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, 7 to 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. With a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the shanks to a shallow baking dish and keep warm in the oven while you cook the pasta and finish the sauce.

Strain the sauce, reserving the solids. Remove as much fat as possible from the sauce and pour sauce into a small saucepan. Stir in the carrots and celery and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, about 10 minutes.

Cook the pasta, and drain. Serve pasta topped with sauce and lamb.

4 servings; Hands on: 20 minutes; Total time: 8 hours

Thanks to Lufkin Daily News

Beef and Irish Stout Stew

• 2 pounds lean beef stew meat
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups Irish stout beer (e.g., Guinness)
• 2 cups chopped carrot
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 tableespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Toss the beef cubes with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Dredge the beef in this to coat.

Heat the remaining oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and brown on all sides. Add the onions, and garlic. Stir the tomato paste into a small amount of water to dilute; pour into the pan and stir to blend. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour 1/2 cup of the beer into the pan, and as it begins to boil, scrape any bits of food from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This adds a lot of flavor to the broth. Pour in the rest of the beer, and add the carrots and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Thanks to ritten

Sheperd's Pie

Serves 6 to 8

Filling

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 2 medium carrots , peeled and chopped fine
• 2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
• Table salt and ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup beer
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup frozen peas

Topping

• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes . peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• Table salt
• 2tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
• 1/3cup heavy cream , warmed
• Ground black pepper
• 1 large egg , beaten

1. For the filling: Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. Add onion and carrots and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add meat, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until browned, about 12 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste and cook until paste begins to darken, about 1 minute.

2. Add cream and cook about 1 minute. Add broth, beer, soy sauce, and thyme and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick but still saucy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in peas, adjust seasonings, and transfer to broiler safe 2-quart casserole dish.

3. For the topping: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and water to cover to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to saucepan, and mash potatoes with butter and cream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Spread potatoes over filling, using spatula to smooth top. Brush with egg and drag fork across top to make ridges. Bake until filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Turn on broiler and cook until top is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Serve.

Thanks to WhatDidYouEat?

Chili Con Carne

• 3 pounds stew meat (any red meat, or combination of meats will do just fine)
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer, preferably a medium ale (this helps control bitterness)
• 1 (16-ounce) container salsa (whatever's on sale)
• tortilla chips, crumbled (bottom of the bag stuff works great for this)
• 2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the chipotle peppers in adobo)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Put the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss it with the oil and the salt. Set aside for a little while (about as long as it takes you to hunt down your wallet to pay off the foolish bet you made on the damn football game).

Using a 6 quart pressure cooker over a high flame, brown the meat in batches until brown evenly all around. About two to three minutes. When the meat is browned put it into a bowl that is lined with paper towels to drain.

When the meat is all browned use the beer in the cooker to deglaze the pot. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to the pressure cooker along with the salsa, tortilla chips, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, and ground cumin and stir to combine. Lock the lid in place. When the steam begins to hiss out of the cooker, reduce the heat to low, just enough to maintain a very weak whistle. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully release the steam. Serve immediately.

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