Irish Guinness Beef Stew with Prunes

This Irish Guinness beef stew uses the sweetness of prunes to offset the bitter flavors of Guinness for a stew that is deeply savory with a balanced sweetness.

Looking for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day beef stew? Look no further than this Irish Guinness beef stew with prunes.

For my St. Patrick’s Day recipe development, I knew I wanted to create an Irish beef stew recipe. I flipped through all my vintage cookbooks looking for ideas to inspire me. Like many Irish recipes, the beauty is in the simplicity! Many beef stew recipes pair just a few ingredients–potatoes, carrots, and turnips–with the beef which makes for a hearty, tasty stew.

One recipe caught my from The Irish Heritage Cookbook, titled simply “Irish Beef Stew with Guinness and Prunes.” It had the usual suspects in Irish beef stew, including beef, onions, carrots, but the prunes caught my attention.

Initially, the prunes did not sound appetizing to me. I did a little more research, and Kathy Maister sealed the deal for me when she noted in her recipe that the prunes “melt” into the stew. Okay, heard. I’m sold. This version of Irish beef stew is sort of an amalgamation of everything I love in stew. I added a turnip based on other Irish beef stew recipes I’ve had in the past, loaded up on a few extra carrots, and the prunes truly are the star of the show. They add just a wonderful sweet undertone and they really do melt into the stew for the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

How to make this Irish Guinness beef stew with prunes

You don’t need many ingredients for this recipe, and you can mix-and-match depending on your preferences or what you have available. Normally, it’s my inclination to go overboard with vegetables in beef stews, but comparing all the beef stew recipes in my cookbooks I noticed a trend: less is more! The focus really seems to be on the beef, one or two vegetables, and in my case, the prunes and Guinness. My heart always wants to add mushrooms or garlic or celery, but I tempered my maximalist stew approach for this one, and I’m thrilled with the results.

What you need

• Beef: Use lean beef stewing cubes. Alternatively, you can buy a beef roast and cube it up yourself. For a richer dish, use a chuck roast which has a higher fat content, though a lean cut like a rump roast works perfectly fine.
• Vegetables: This recipe uses just onions, carrots, and a turnip. You can replace the turnip with potatoes or parsnips instead if you prefer.
• Aromatics: I use bay leaves and a few thyme sprigs to enhance the flavor of the broth.
• Guinness Extra Stout: I used Guinness Extra Stout for the more intense flavor, but you can use Guinness Draught instead.
• Flour: This will create a thick, glossy stew!
• Pitted prunes: The prunes work beautifully in this dish, but you can use dried figs or raisins instead.

How to make it

• Step 1: Brown the beef. Coat the beef in flour and brown it in batches. Transfer it to a bowl.

• Step 2: Sauté the vegetables. Add the onions and bay leaves to the pot and cook until they soften. Add the carrots and turnips and cook for about 5 minutes.

• Step 3: Simmer the stew. Coat the vegetables in flour. Then, add the Guinness and beef stock and whisk until smooth. Add the cooked beef back to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add a few thyme sprigs. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

• Step 4: Add the prunes. Drain the prunes and roughly chop them. Add them to the stew and continue simmering for 30 minutes. The stew will be thick and gloss.

• Step 5: Finish the stew. Taste the stew and season once more before serving. Finish with freshly minced parsley.

Now you’re ready to serve it up! You can enjoy the stew on its own or serve with mashed potatoes or Irish champ! I served mine with Irish champ and the aromatic scallion flavor worked beautifully with this stew! It’s also delicious with a pint of Guinness on the side!

Irish Guinness Beef Stew with Prunes

This Irish Guinness beef stew uses the sweetness of prunes to offset the bitter flavors of Guinness for a stew that is deeply savory with a balanced sweetness.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Inactive time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Equipment

• Wide pot

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted prunes
• 2 pounds beef stew cubes
• ¼ cup flour (divided)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (plus more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (plus more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil (divided)
• 2 yellow onions (peeled, halved, and sliced thinly)
• 4 carrots (peeled and cut into large pieces on an angle)
• 1 turnip (peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 ounces Guinness Extra Stout
• 2 cups beef broth (plus more if needed)
• 4 sprigs thyme
• ¼ cup fresh parsley (minced)

Instructions

Soak the prunes:

• Cover the prunes with water and soak them as you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Prepare the beef:

• Pat the beef dry and coat with 2 tablespoons flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Brown the beef:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a Dutch oven or wide pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the beef in batches and brown for 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a plate.

Sauté the vegetables:

• Add 1 tablespoon of neutral oil to the pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and bay leaves. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and turnips. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Simmer the stew:

• Cover the vegetables with 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir to coat and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the Guinness and beef broth and whisk until smooth. Return beef to pot along with any juices from the plate.
• Return the stew to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Arrange 4 thyme sprigs on top. Simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 1 hour. Stir periodically and add a few splashes of water if the stew reduces too quickly.

Prepare the prunes:

• Drain the prunes and roughly chop them.

Finish the stew:

• Taste and season the stew with more salt and pepper. Add the chopped prunes, and continue simmering, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until thickened and the beef is tender. Taste and season. Discard the spent bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

To serve:

• Finish the stew with freshly minced parsley and serve with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

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