Irish Beef Stew
This Irish Beef Stew slow cooks on the stove for hours until the meat is fall apart tender. I grew up with this stew and it was one of my family’s favorite meals.
I like to serve this stew with Homemade Bread, Sprite Rolls, Homemade Cornbread or Angel Biscuits. It would also be amazing with a dollop of sour cream. I also have heard it is good served over rice, which sounds awesome! If you’ve never made cornbread before, it is so easy to learn How to Make Cornbread From Scratch. Cornbread is a delightfully comforting side dish, and this cornbread recipe is ready in a swift 30 minutes!
You can use with Tomato Juice or V8. If you go with V*, I recommend using low sodium V8 juice so the salt in the stew can be controlled. More salt can always be added according to taste.
For the meat, I buy beef “stew meat” at the grocery store and it works well. You could also buy a 2-pound bottom round roast and she cuts it into 1-inch chunks for the stew.
The stew can be thickened at the end with a cornstarch and water mixture, or served as is. If you add too much cornstarch mixture and the stew ends up too thick, it can be thinned with a little water or V8 juice and then allow the stew to simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the cubed stew meat in the olive oil for 20 minutes over medium heat.
Add the chopped onion, 2 cups of the water, V8 or tomato juice, lemon juice, salt, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and black pepper. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Once the stew begins to simmer, reduce the heat to low and allow the simmer with the lid on for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add the potatoes and carrots and allow the stew to simmer over low heat for one hour, or until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Do not overcook as the potatoes could break down into the stew if overcooked.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of water with the cornstarch. Add some of the cornstarch mixture a little at a time to the stew, stirring well between each addition, until the stew reaches your desired thickness.
Serve hot.
*Note: If your kids like to take this to school, but don’t have access to a microwave – (mine don’t!) – just heat it up in the morning at home and pack it in a thermos. It will still be warm at lunch time & they can enjoy a hot, homemade lunch 🙂 If you need examples, there are some links to what we use at the end of this post.
Irish Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 2 1/4 cups water divided
- 3 cups V8 or tomato juice reduced sodium V8 juice recommended
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3-4 large carrots peeled and chopped into large bite-sized chunks
- 4 large potatoes peeled and chopped into large bite-sized chunks
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 426Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 112mgSodium: 552mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 10gProtein: 42g
These are a few items I find helpful in my own kitchen when preparing this Irish Beef Stew:
AmazonBasics Enameled Cast Iron Covered Dutch Oven, 6-Quart, BlueHOMWE Kitchen Cutting Board (3-Piece Set) | Juice Grooves w/Easy-Grip Handles | BPA-Free, Non-Porous, Dishwasher Safe | Multiple Sizes (Set of Three, Gray)OXO 1137680 Good Grips 3-Piece Peeler Set, 10-inch, Green/Orange/RedOXO Good Grips Prep Y-PeelerSet Of (4) Four – PRADO STONEWARE COLLECTION – Stacking/Stackable Soup, Chili, Stews Cups/Mugs/Bowls – Chocolate BrownSweese 108.101 Porcelain Bowls with Handles – 20 Ounce for Soup, Cereal, Stew, Chill, Set of 4, WhiteGet Your Stew On!: The Best Stew Cookbook for Any OccasionThermos Stainless King 16 Ounce Food Jar with Folding Spoon, Stainless SteelThermos Stainless King 24 Ounce Food Jar, Midnight BlueThermos Foogo Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel 10-Ounce Food Jar, Charcoal/Teal
Steven Cook
Wednesday 3rd of November 2021
Tried this out tonight, and it came out great. Also, the 1 inch cube potatoes were still crunchy after 90 minutes. May not have had the simmer quite hot enough, but wanted to caution people that if the simmer is too low, you'll need more time. :-)
yulio
Wednesday 28th of August 2019
This looks delicious.