Beef in Guinness

How can you fail with a name like that? This is a crock pot (slow cooker) meal that smells and tastes great. Your crock pot will need to be family sized to take the contents. Its a big amount of food, but it tastes even better the next day and freezes well too. You can start this the night before, or in the morning to eat that night.

Equipment:

• Large bowl
• Frying pan
• Large chopping knife
• Chopping board
• Crock Pot (or slow cooker)
• Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

• 1kg chuck steak
• 1/4 cup plain flour, plus 2 tablespoons extra
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 white or brown onion chopped
• 2 sticks celery, sliced
• 1 carrot cut into chunks
• 4 medium to large potatoes 
• 4 rashers of bacon
• 1 440m can of Guinness
• 1/2 cup of Beef Stock
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• Bread rolls to serve

Method

• Trim your chuck steak of as much fat as you can, cut your chuck steak into 3-4cm cubes. Place your 1/4 cup of flour into your large bowl, put in your chuck steak, and toss lightly so the chuck steak is dusted all over. Put the oil in the frying pan, heat it up to high, and brown the beef (basically seal each side, but don't cook all the way through), and put into the crock pot.
• Cut the rind and fat off the bacon, and dice it. Chop the onion into small pieces, slice the celery, and cut the carrot into chunky pieces. Fry the bacon for a minute or two on a high heat, then turn the heat in the frying pan down, and vegetables over a low heat, cook the onion, celery, and carrot through for five minutes to get a bit of colour. Stir through the 2 tablespoons of additional flour, then put the cooked bacon and vegetables into the crock pot.
• Peel and chop the potatoes and put them in the crock pot. 
• Empty the large bowl of remaining flour, and pour in the Guiness, tomato paste and beef stock, and stir to break up the tomato paste, and pour over the crock pot contents, and stir through gently. Add your pepper and salt

At this point, you can put the crock pot ceramic bowl and lid into the fridge if you are preparing this the night before, and take it out in the morning to cook.

• Put the crock pot on to cook on slow to cook all day. Half an hour before serving, taste the  stew, and add any extra salt and pepper you might require.

Serve

Warm up your bread rolls in the oven for five minutes, prior to service.