Guinessed Beef

Pour yourself a pint of Guinness (the finest stout ale in the world) knowing in advance that 2/3 of a cup will be contributed to one of the most delicious dishes you've ever tasted.

 

Pre-heat your oven to 325ºF.  This entree will take 15 minutes of preparation time, and will cook for 1 ½ hours.

Ingredients 

1 ½ lbs. of round steak or chuck roast 
½ lb. carrots and/or parsnips (I like to mix half & half) 
2 medium sized onions 
Salt & pepper 
2-3 tbl. flour 
2-3 tbl. oil 
½ tsp. fresh minced basil 
2/3 cup of Guinness 
1 tsp. honey 
2/3 cup of water or beef stock 


Chop the onion into small bits. Peel the carrots and parsnips and slice them into 3" long pieces. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onions until they are soft and slightly translucent. Transfer the onions (retaining the oil in the skillet) to a greased 1½ to 2 quart shallow baking dish which has a lid.

Cut the steak into twelve pieces at least 1 inch thick. Put the flour into a paper or plastic bag and add a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of pepper. Coat the meat pieces with flour mixture and brown in the skillet. Transfer browned pieces of meat into baking dish and layer on top of onions. Cover with carrots and parsnips.

Add a little more oil to the bottom of the skillet and continue cooking the seasoned flour for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the basil and the 2/3 cup of Guinness.

Did you drink the Guinness? Bad cook! No biscuit! 

Pour another Guinness, and this time reserve the 2/3 cup to be added to the flour and basil mixture. Boil it all for for a minute and add the honey and the beef stock. Return it all to a boil and pour it over the meat and vegetables. Cover the dish and bake in the 325 degree oven for 1½ hours.

If the gravy seems thin, mix a teaspoon of arrowroot in two tablespoons of cold water and stir into the gravy 15 minutes before you serve the meal. What, no arrowroot? Then 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a cup of cold water will work as well.

Blithely...  is the creation of
Brenda Sinclair Sutton

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Photo courtesy of Brian Sharples|