Medium | Prep: 20 min | Cook: 2.5 hrs | Serves: 4

A good stew asks very little of you and gives a great deal back. Cheap beef, a can of ale, some root vegetables, and time — that’s essentially it. The ale does something to the meat that wine doesn’t quite manage: it adds a slight bitterness that cuts through the richness, a maltiness that deepens the sauce, and a robustness that suits cold weather food. This is Sunday afternoon cooking. You make it, you walk away, you come back to something that tastes like someone spent all day on it.

Ingredients

  • 800g beef chuck or braising steak, cut into 4cm chunks
  • 2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 330ml dark ale or stout (Guinness works perfectly)
  • 400ml beef stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
  • 300g baby potatoes, halved
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Crusty bread or mashed potato, to serve

Method

  1. Brown the beef Preheat the oven to 160°C. Toss the beef chunks in the seasoned flour until coated. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole over high heat. Brown the beef in batches — don’t crowd the pan. You want a deep, dark crust on every piece. This takes about 10–12 minutes total. Remove the beef and set aside.

  2. Build the base In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.

  3. Deglaze and add liquid Pour in the ale — it will sizzle and lift all the caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble for 2 minutes. Add the stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Return the beef to the pan along with any resting juices. Season well.

  4. Slow cook Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hour 45 minutes. Add the baby potatoes and return to the oven for a further 30–40 minutes until the beef is tender enough to cut with a spoon and the potatoes are cooked through.

  5. Finish Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks. Taste and adjust seasoning. The sauce should be thick and glossy — if it’s too thin, simmer on the hob for 5–10 minutes uncovered.

Cook With Your Senses

Inspired by Ethan Chlebowski’s sensory approach to cooking — the idea that your senses should tell you more than a timer ever could.

  • Look: The beef should be a deep mahogany brown before it goes in the oven — not grey. That colour is flavour. The finished sauce should be dark and glossy, almost syrupy at the edges of the pan.
  • Listen: The bubbling in the oven should be a quiet, low murmur when the lid is on — not a rolling boil. If you can hear it clearly from across the kitchen, the temperature is too high.
  • Smell: After two hours, the kitchen should smell like a pub on a cold day. The ale, meat, and vegetables meld into something deeply comforting and savoury.
  • Touch: A well-braised beef chunk should yield completely to gentle pressure with a spoon. If it bounces back, it needs more time.
  • Taste: The ale’s bitterness should have mostly cooked out, leaving maltiness and depth. Season towards the end, not the beginning — the sauce concentrates as it cooks.

Notes

  • Chuck or braising steak is the right cut here. It has connective tissue that breaks down over long, slow cooking into gelatin — that’s what makes the sauce thick and glossy. A lean steak will go dry.
  • The beer matters. A dark ale or stout gives richness and depth. A pale lager will taste thin and sad.
  • This is even better the next day. The fat solidifies overnight and is easy to skim off, and the flavours deepen considerably.
  • Add a handful of mushrooms in the last 30 minutes for an earthier, more complex sauce.

Inspiration

Adapted for Ryan’s kitchen. Original inspiration: bbcgoodfood.com