Guinness Stew tasty at home or for a crowd

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BROOKLIN – On paper, St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of the venerable saint, who drove the snakes from the Emerald Isle.

In practice, however, I think it may be an excuse to drink Guinness. Not that anyone needs an excuse.

At the Brooklin Inn, some people may raise their pint glasses to toast the saint, but others may raise their bowls. The inn’s Irish pub has incorporated the stout in a rich, thick, savory stew. Proprietor Chip Angell got the recipe from his daughter, Jennifer Kerrigan, whose husband works as a chef in New Jersey.

Angell prides himself on using fresh, organic, locally grown ingredients. The restaurant’s stew includes a boneless chuck roast, and he recommends natural beef from Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Freeport. The potatoes are of the Carola variety, from Skylandia Farm in Grand Isle, and the carrots come from King Hill Farm in Penobscot. Angell uses grapeseed oil (though olive oil will do), and parsley fresh from the Brooklin Inn’s cold frame.

I’ve made a similar stew from grocery store ingredients, and it tasted good, but it’s always better to buy local. Included are two recipes – one suitable for a restaurant-size crowd (or a St. Paddy’s Day party), the other better for home cooks.

Guinness Stew, Brooklin Inn style

Makes 10 servings

1 10-pound rolled, boneless chuck roast

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup oil (preferably grapeseed oil)

1/3 cup or white wine

8 medium-sized Carola potatoes

4 large onions, sliced

4 large carrots, sliced

2 cups beef stock

2 pints Guinness stout

chopped parsley to garnish

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop meat into large bite-size pieces and toss in flour, salt and pepper. Brown in a heavy pan with oil, turning frequently until seared (about 5 minutes). Remove from pan and place in large oven casserole with onions, carrots, stock and half of Guinness. Deglaze pan with wine and add that to casserole. Simmer gently in oven for 2 hours at 350 degrees F, and let stand overnight in oven.

Portion into 10 servings which can be kept chilled several days for use as needed.

Reheat each portion in saute pan with about a 1/3 cup of reserved Guinness, pour into individual bowls on top of quartered and boiled potatoes. Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty bread and butter.

Cook’s note: Sometimes Angell sears the whole roast on the grill and cooks it whole, half submerged in the liquids in a deep dish. He portions it out after cooking, keeping the meat separate from the juice until he reheats it, putting it together in a saute pan. Because there is no flour used, he adds 1/2 teaspoon of arrowroot to the saute pan for thickening. The gravy turns out thick, rich and dark.

Adapted from “The Gaelic Gourmet.”

Guinness Stew – Home Version

Makes 4 servings

2 pounds lean stewing beef

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoon oil

2 large onions, sliced

2 large carrots, sliced

2 cups beef stock

11/4 cup Guinness stout

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Chop meat into bite-size pieces and toss in seasoned flour. Brown in a heavy pan with oil. Remove from pan and place in oven casserole with onion, carrots, stock and half of Guinness. Simmer gently in the oven for 2 hours at 350 degrees F, until tender. Add remaining Guinness and chopped parsley. Check for seasoning and serve with boiled potatoes and green vegetable.

Adapted from “The Gaelic Gourmet.”