Stout Braised Beef

In the end, you're going to eat this as sort of a stew, but what you have with it is up to you. Bread, potatoes, noodles, or even oats are options. If you're not one with the carbs, you're covered, too.

For the meat, choose a flat cut roast that's about two inches thick. If you can't find one, buy a roundish roast and plan to cut it into large, two inch thick portions for braising.

This is a great crock pot or slow cooker dish.  Use one if you can.

Stout Braised Beef

2-3 lb flat cut bottom round or chuck roast (boneless optional)
2 onions, any color you like
3 cloves garlic (6 if you're using a crock pot or slow cooker)
1 bottle of stout (Guinness, Black Hart, Murphy's, etc. If it's a black beer, you're good)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dry thyme or 1 big sprig of fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
lots of fresh ground pepper (I cranked it about 10 times, but whatever)

If you're doing this on the stove, you'll need a large pot or deep skillet with a lid.  The bottom of the pan needs to be able to fit the beef without stacking, piling, or cramming.  It needs to be deep enough for the beef, onions, and enough liquid to almost cover it all.  Got one?  Good.

If you're using a crock pot (crockery base), you'll need a skillet for browning.  Slow cooker with a removeable metal pan that can also go on the stove?  Just that.  What a smart purchase!

Ready?  Let's go.

Heat your chosen pan on the stove over medium high heat.  Add the beef, browning very well on both sides. 

While the meat is browning, peel and cut the ends from each of the onions, and cut each into four wedges.

Mince or press the garlic.  If you're using a slow cooker, you really can use a lot of garlic.  The extremely long cooking really breaks down the garlic afterstench.  Try it.

When both sides of the beef are good and browned, remove to a big bowl or platter (the smartest of you, with the metal based slow cookers, can probably just put the beef in the cool glass lid!).

Add the onions to the pan and cook until slightly browned and translucent.  Crack open the beer, but don't put it in the pot yet.  Just be ready!  Add the garlic, stiring  constantly for about 30 second.  It's important that it not burn.  Now!  Pour in the beer to stop the cooking!

Return the beef to the pot, adding enough water to almost cover the beef.  Add the thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.  Cover and simmer on very low heat for about two hours.  Crock Pots on low all day or overnight.  Slow Cookers on medium low all day or overnight (mine goes from 1-5, and I used 2 for 8 hours.  It would have been fine even longer.)

When it's done, salt the broth to taste and serve with bread, mashed potatoes, noodles, steel cut oats, barley, etc.  Add a salad or some steamed vegetables and you're good to go.  If you like turnips, parsnips, or rutabaga, but never know when to use them, this is the time.  These root veggies are almost born for beef and beer.

Low carb options would be mashed or steamed cauliflower and maybe some asparagus.  All go good with this dish.  Steamed cabbage wedges would be good, too.

I made some thick steel cut oats and chopped steamed asparagus  and ladled some broth and onions over it, cut a big slab of beef and laid it right on top.  Knife, fork, and spoon.  Full belly.

No pictures because it's just a big slab of stewed beef.