Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Guinness Stew

All of the St. Patrick’s Day flavors you love in one bowl!

Tender corned beef, perfectly cooked potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, all simmered in a rich braise of Guinness beer and beef stock. I have never been the biggest fan of a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, but I still make it every year because my family loves it. This stew, on the other hand, is right up my alley! It has all of the same components and flavors, but I think it is even better than the sum of its parts. This stew cooks low and slow in the oven so it takes some time, but it is totally worth it!

The Guinness adds wonderful flavor to this stew! By adding the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage towards the end of cooking, you ensure they maintain their texture. The taste is quite distinct from a typical beef stew due to the corned beef, which has a unique flavor from the pickling spices it's marinated in. The corned beef becomes incredibly tender in this dish. You won't need to add salt until the stew is finished. Usually, you would salt the meat during browning, but since corned beef is already quite salty, you can skip this step initially and adjust the seasoning at the end based on your preference and the saltiness of your stock. I only added about a teaspoon, which is minimal considering the stew's volume. Add salt gradually until it suits your taste.

This would be a great St. Patty’s day dinner…especially if you are serving a crowd. Turning the roast into stew stretches it a little further and it tastes even better the next day if you want to make it in advance. Serve it with some crusty bread or some Irish soda bread on the side. And some Guinness, of course!

Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Guinness Stew

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 3 to 3.5 pounds corned Beef Brisket in pickling spices

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 2 celery stalks, sliced into quarter inch pieces

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• 1 pint of Guinness Stout

• 1 quart of good quality beef stock or beef bone broth

• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp whole grain mustard

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 sprigs of thyme OR 1/2 tsp dried thyme

• 4 medium carrots, peeled & cut in to 2 inch pieces

• 2 lbs of gold potatoes, peeled & cut into 2 inch pieces

• 1 head of cabbage, cut into 2 inch pieces use one head if it small or 1/2 of a head if it is a large one

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian parsley

  
  

*Optional to thicken stew:

• 1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup of water

  
  

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees

2. Rinse the pickling spices off of your corned beef and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off any big pieces of fat from the roast and cut into large chunks - about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Season the meat with plenty of ground pepper but hold off using any salt at this point.

3. In a large dutch oven (like a Le Creuset) heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until pan is good and hot. Brown the meat on all sides in 2 – 3 batches. This should take about 5 minutes per batch. It is important to do this in batches or the pan will get over crowded and the meat will let off all of its juices and steam instead of brown. Once all the meat is browned, remove it from the pan and set aside.

4. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter and sauté the onions and celery for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one more minute. Add the flour and stir well until all of the veggies are coated and it starts to brown a little. Add the beer and stock and mix well incorporating all of the flour and scraping up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Mix in the mustard, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce and add the meat back to the pan along with the whole thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover, and put the pot in the oven for 90 minutes to 2 hours.

5. While the stew is in the oven, prep your carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. After 90 minutes check your meat to see if it is tender (you should be able to cut a piece in half with the side of a spoon). If it is still a little tough, put it back for another 30 minutes. Once your meat is tender, transfer your pot to the stove, fish out the thyme sprigs, and add the carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Bring back to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 more minutes or until all of the veggies are tender. Season with plenty of pepper and salt if needed. You won’t need much salt because the meat is so salty that it flavors the stew quite well. I added about a teaspoon at the end. Add the fresh parsley saving a little to garnish each bowl and serve with some good crusty bread or Irish soda bread!

*If You Want a Thicker Stew...

Once the vegetables are tender, whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1/4 cup water to make a slurry. Slowly add to the stew and bring back to a simmer for a few minutes to thicken the stew.