traditional beef stew with Guinness and dumplings
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
alias British mechado, according to my cheeky children. although it’s really Irish, i think.

well anyway.
it’s the merry month of May, but we still have cold spells here and there. i like having the screens on and windows open, to vent the house and let in a refreshing burst of air and the whiff of hope that warmer days are here.
but it still gets quite cold. i’ve had to un-bury the woolies and sweat pants…husband’s even turned on the heat again at one point.
this stew and dumpling combination surely warmed us up. i had to get a six pack of Guinness for this! it adds such a depth of flavor to the stew. too bad my bad eyesight got the better of me: i mistakenly turned the oven up to 350 F instead of 325 so the sauce got thick too quickly. still, with the dumplings…something i’ve been meaning to make for the longest time! i disobeyed the recipe and used butter instead of vegetable shortening. i balked at the thought of using anything not quite natural for this down-to-earth and hefty stew. my kids, especially the boys, loved the dumplings so much.
recipe based on one from “Farmhouse Cooking,” edited by Liz Trigg, JGPress 2008.
preheat the oven to 325F. season 1 tbsp. flour w/ salt and pepper and sprinkle over cubed stewing beef (2 & 1/2 lbs.; i used bottom round rump roast), tossing to coat.
heat 2 tbsps. olive oil in a large casserole and lightly saute 2 large onions, sliced, and 1 lb, carrots, sliced. remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside.
using the same casserole, brown the meat well in batches. return the vegetables and add any leftover seasoned flour. add the 1/2 pint or 1 & 1/4 cups Guinness or dark beer, 3 bay leaves, 2 tsps. brown sugar, 3 fresh thyme sprigs, bring the liquid up to a boil, and then transfer to the heated oven.
after the meat has been cooking for 1 hour and 40 minutes, make the dumplings:
mix 1/2 cup chilled butter (Crisco in the original recipe) and 2 cups self-rising flour and cut with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine cornmeal. add 2 tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, etc.–i used fresh chives from the garden) and enough water(about 2/3 cup) to make a soft, sticky dough. form the dough into small balls with floured hands. add 1 tsp. cider vinegar to the meat and spoon the dumplings on top. cook for a further 20 minutes, until the dumplings have cooked through and serve hot.
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