A Month of Soups: Souper Bowl Beer Stew

Soups and stews. Related but different. It’s a matter of the proportion of solids to liquids. Today’s soup is more of a stew than a soup, but you can make it soupier with more beef broth.

Got some hungry folks showing up tomorrow for your Super Bowl Party? As an aside, and not to offend anyone, but DH calls it “The Super Bore”. But then, he’s a Cardinal’s fan, so what does he know about winning? But, back to you . . .

Everyone serves wings and dips and blah blah blah. Why not make your party stand out from all the others? Make this stew today and re-heat it when everyone arrives. It is much better the second day! It will be a hearty and delicious accompaniment to the cold beer. Serve a loaf of beer bread with it, and, voila! Your reputation as SuperBowl SuperChef is solidified.

Here’s my favorite beer bread recipe: http://bit.ly/9cmtYR I use Guinness Stout in this as well.

Souper Bowl Beer Stew (serves 8-10)

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper

½ cup flour

2# round steak, trimmed of fat, cut into 2” cubes

1 c carrot coins

3 med potatoes, cut into 1” cubes

2 med onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 c beef broth, divided

2 c Guinness Stout (drink the rest as you mix up the ingredients)

1 T dried rosemary

1 T cinnamon

Heat oven to 300°. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to flour and mix well. Put in a paper or Ziploc bag and add meat cubes. Shake around to thoroughly coat the cube. Place cubes in hot oil and fry until all sides are brown. Remove meat from pan.

Add carrots, potatoes, and onions to the pan. Cook until onions are translucent. Add in garlic. Cook 2 minutes more. Remove veggies from pan.

Add ½ c broth to pan to deglaze it. Immediately add remaining broth and the Guinness Stout. Mix together. Add spices and mix well. Add meat and veggies back into the pan.

Cover the pan and place in oven for 2-3 hours, until veggies are . Remove and set aside to cool. The next day reheat on the stovetop and dish it up. Don’t expect many, if any, leftovers.

DH’s Rating: 4 Tongues Up. This is a tangy dish. One is not used to an underlying beer flavor, so the first bite catches you off guard. The beer bread enhances the stew’s flavor.