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When choosing a beer to use for this beef and beer stew, choose one that you like to drink – and the more interesting, the better. Serve the stew with the same beer. Scroll for the puff pastry version.

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This stew is rich, meaty, and flavorful. I paired it with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, which I mashed only very crudely, to produce equal parts of creaminess and chunkiness. This meat-and-mashed pairing is such a fantastic combination of not just taste, but texture, that I prefer it hands-down to including potato chunks in the stew. Beef and beer stew’s a lot of work, I’ll grant you – but it’s not overwhelming. The huge plus is, once it’s in the oven, you have very little to do, and once it’s ready, it can be held indefinitely. It also loves being reheated. I prefer to make a stew like this earlier in the day, then reheat it as I whip up the mashed right before dinner.

I prefer big chunks of meat that you have to break apart with your spoon as you eat the stew. It has a pot roast vibe to it. Although you can add nearly any kind of vegetable, I like to keep it simple, with the flavor boldly centered on the beef.

So, when’s your meat done? There’s a wide window of opportunity, and you get tons of chances to check on it … so, relax. After the initial baking time, remove one of the chunks of meat and place it on a small plate so you can check it out. What you’re looking for is something that is fork-tender and not excessively chewy. You may feel that you want a knife, but if you feel a knife is absolutely required, then it’s not done enough. On the other hand, if you can hardly pull a chunk out of the stew without it falling apart, then it’s overly done. You want something right in between; maybe leaning to one side or the other as you prefer. Each time you check the meat, also correct the seasoning as necessary.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

10 oz. of beef broth 
1 oz. tomato paste
1 oz. balsamic vinegar
1 oz. Worcestershire sauce 
2 or 3 Bay leaves 
10¾ oz. chopped white onion (from one large onion)
3 Tbs bacon fat, plus olive oil as needed
4 oz. of flour
2½ lbs all-natural, boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into man-sized cubes
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
12 oz. of beer – something manly and hearty, such as Anchor Winter Wheat 
Additional vegetables, such as carrots, peas, and potatoes, optional
1 Tbs olive oil
14 oz. button mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

1. Stir together broth, tomato, vinegar, Worcestershire, and bay. Set aside.
2. Sauté onion in 1 Tbs fat until translucent around the edges: about 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the meat and toss until each piece is well coated. Gently shake excess flour off of cubes.
4. Add 2 Tbs fat to sauté pan, turn heat to high, and once the fat is hot, brown the meat. Leave the meat undisturbed as it’s browning, turning only when it’s time to brown the next side. Don’t overcrowd the pan; you may have to do this in batches, adding oil as necessary. Season the beef as it browns.
5. Meanwhile, place a Dutch oven in the oven, and preheat it to 375°F.
6. Once the meat has browned, add beer and broth mixture. Stir to deglaze the pan. If the beef isn’t fully submerged, add more broth. Transfer to Dutch oven. Add onion; stir. Cover and bake for 1½ hours, or until the meat is tender.
7. (Meanwhile, drink one or two of the other beers from your six-pack. Also, if you’re including optional vegetables in the stew, brown them in olive oil. Add them to the stew during the last ½-hour, more or less depending on how done you like them. The meat should be just approaching fork-tender as you add the vegetables.)
8. Add the mushrooms during the last 10 minutes. The meat should be fork-tender and right on the very threshold of perfection as you add the mushrooms.
9. Once the shrooms are cooked through, the stew is ready.

Serve hot with a beautiful mashed, a salad, or just a cool beer…

It’s easy to turn this stew – or its leftovers – into a delicious pot pie, using frozen pastry dough. Click here to continue reading and find out how.