Here on the front range of Colorado the weather is generally pretty mild in the winter. It’s spring when we get heavy, wet snow and all that moisture can chill you to the bone. It’s the perfect weather for a hearty stew.

This Guinness Beef Stew is a perfect fit for a cold and blustery day. I’ve made this one for St. Patrick’s Day a number of times, when corned beef just doesn’t sound good. It’s chock full of root vegetables and herbs that blend perfectly with the Guinness.

Ingredients:
2-3 lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 medium onions, chopped (about 5 cups)
1 ½ cups sliced carrots
1 ½ cups sliced parsnip
1 cup turnip, peeled and cubed
3 Tbs cooking oil (I use avocado or coconut oil for high-heat)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs tomato paste
4 cups low sodium beef broth or stock
1 bottle Guinness Stout (11.2 oz)
1 Tbs raisins
1 tsp caraway seeds
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and dredge through flour, coating all sides.

Add half the beef to the Dutch oven and cook 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Remove beef from pan with slotted spoon and set aside. Repeat with remaining beef.

Add onions to pan and cook 5 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and continue cooking onions an additional minute, stirring frequently. Stir in the broth and beer. Return meat to the pan.

Add raisins, caraway seeds and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 90 minutes, add carrots, parsnip and turnip. Cover again and simmer an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and bring to a boil, cooking 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Serve hot with warm crusty bread and garden salad.

Variations:
The variations for stew are endless, but being Irish, I’m a big fan of potatoes, so I always add potatoes to this stew, too. The key to getting the root vegetables to cook evenly is to make sure they’re all cut about the same size and thickness.

I also like to change herbs up sometimes, adding thyme or tarragon which both seem to work pretty well with the Guinness. The beer, by the way, is not overpowering. It really adds great flavor and dimension and keeps the beef tender.

You can use a different beer if you have something else on hand. It will change the flavor of the stew somewhat, but unless it’s a fruity-flavored beer, it will probably be just fine.