Bike Beer BBQ

Stew And Stout Time

It was a cold, rainy, and windy night; perfect weather for staying inside and making a nice, hearty stew for dinner.  I hadn’t made stew yet this Winter so we decided to do a Beef Stew and pair it with a Stout.  I picked up a 4-pack of Guinness Draught in the 14.9 oz widget can, fired up the gas cook-top, and started cooking:

The Beer

Guinness is a decent beer.  It has a fantastic appearance (due to the Nitro widget), an average aroma and flavor and pretty good drinkability.  Nothing about it is bad at all and it’s an entirely decent beer.  Don’t expect any real complexity but do expect a consistent, easy drinking beer.  It went perfect with (and in) the Beef Stew I made.  I still have 2 cans of the beer in my fridge and I will enjoy them very soon.

Here’s The Score:

1. Appearance- 9 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 6 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 13 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)

Total  36 (out of 50) Points- 3 Mugs

ABV 4.2%

Approximate Calories: 162-194 (14.9oz)

Beef Beer & Barley Stew Recipe

Here is the recipe I used for the stew.  You can use barley groats rather than pearl barley in this stew to give the dish a little more texture.  Substitute rutabagas, parsnips, or other root vegetables of your choice for the carrots and turnips.

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1  pound  beef stew meat
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 3  cups  coarsely chopped onion
• 2  bay leaves
• 2  thyme sprigs
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 2  cups  (1 1/2-inch-thick) slices carrot
• 2  cups  chopped peeled turnips (about 1 pound)
• 3/4  cup  uncooked pearl barley
• 5  garlic cloves, minced and divided
• 2  (8-ounce) packages mushrooms, quartered
• 3  cups  water
• 3  cups  low-salt beef broth
• 2  tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce
• 1  (12-ounce) bottle dark beer (such as stout)
• 3  small beets
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 1  teaspoon  thyme leaves
• 2  tablespoons  prepared horseradish

Preparation

Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add beef to pan & sauté 10 minutes or until browned.  Remove from pan.  Add onion, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs to pan.  Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover; stir in tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high.  Add carrot, turnips, barley, 4 garlic cloves, and mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes.  Add beef, 1/2 teaspoon salt, water, broth, Worcestershire, and beer; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

While stew is simmering, trim beets, leaving root and 1 inch stem on each; scrub with a brush. Place in a medium saucepan, and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until tender. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain; cool. Leave root and 1 inch stem on each beet; rub off skins. Cut each beet into 6 wedges.

Combine parsley, thyme leaves, and 1 garlic clove. Ladle about 2 cups stew into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 3 beet wedges, about 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley mixture, and 1 teaspoon horseradish.

Nutritional Information (based on 6 servings)

Calories:

379 (27% from fat)

Fat:

11.4g (sat 2.9g,mono 6g,poly 1.1g)

Protein:

24.5g

Carbohydrate:

45.2g

Fiber:

10.2g

Cholesterol:

47mg

Iron:

4.8mg

Sodium:

654mg

Calcium:

85mg