Beer Braised Irish Stew and Colcannon
It is a finger-licking recipe that can be perfect for any occasion or just simple family meal. Here is the recipe of this delicious dish.
Ingredients
Irish Stew:
Vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon
1 beef chuck roast (3 pound), cut into 1/2-inch cubes after trimmed of fat
All-purpose flour – 2 tablespoons
Chopped onion (coarsely) – 1 cup
Roughly chopped carrot – 1 cup
1 bottle or can dark beer (12 fluid ounce)
Two bay leaves
Dried thyme – 1 teaspoon
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Ground black pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Two cloves minced garlic
Worcestershire sauce – 2 tablespoons
Calcannon:
3 slices of bacon
Russet potatoes – cut into chunks after peeled – 2 pounds
Finely sliced cabbage – 2 cups
Warmed milk – 1/4 cup
Butter – 2 tablespoons
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Ground black pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Fresh, minced parsley – 2 tablespoons
Directions
Preheat oven at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
On medium temperature, heat the vegetable oil in a big Dutch oven until it becomes very hot, and brown the beef in two batches, stir fry the cubes on all sides to brown it evenly. Put the meat cubes to the Dutch oven, dust it with flour, and lightly stir meat to coat them with flour. Pour the rest of the ingredients in here, and stir them together. Boil the mixture and put a cover on it.
Cook the mixture for 45 minutes in the preheated oven; stir the stew, and cook the stew for 45 more minutes until the beef become tender, and the liquid becomes half.
In a big deep skillet and over medium heat, put the bacons and cook for 10 minutes by turning occasionally, until uniformly browned. Draining the excess oil, crumble the bacon and keep it aside.
Make the colcannon half an hour before preparing the stew. Put the potatoes in salted water and cover it. Cook it on medium heat for 20 minutes to make it tender. Drain and allow for a minute or two to steam dry.
Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to the cabbage, put a cover on, and for about 2 1/2 minutes microwave it on High; uncover carefully, and stir the cabbage again microwave it for 2 ½ minutes to make cabbage a bit tender, but not squashy. Drain and set it aside, covered.
In a big bowl put potatoes, milk, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, butter and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Beat it with a grinder to make it smooth. Mix well cabbage, parsley and crumbled bacon with the potatoes.
Put a scoop of colcannon on a serving plate, create a hollow, and fill with braised beef stew and serve it hot.
