Beef and ale stew with root vegetables
Hearty slow-braised beef in dark ale with carrots, parsnips and chestnut mushrooms — perfect winter comfort food.
This beef and ale stew is the sort of dish you want to cosy up to on a bleak winter evening. Long, slow braising turns cheap beef into fork-tender deliciousness and the dark ale adds malty depth that makes the sauce sing.
Make it on a weekend and you’ll have leftovers that taste even better the next day — brilliant for batch-cooking and easy to reheat for a proper midweek treat.
Ingredients
- 900 g beef chuck, diced
- 40 g plain flour — for dredging
- 10 ml sea salt
- 5 ml freshly ground black pepper
- 30 ml olive oil
- 2 brown onion — medium, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves — finely sliced
- 300 g carrots — peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 200 g parsnips — peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms — halved or quartered if large
- 350 ml dark ale — one bottle
- 800 ml beef stock — hot
- 25 g tomato purée
- 10 ml Worcestershire sauce
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 15 g cornflour — for slurry to thicken if needed
- 10 g fresh flat-leaf parsley — roughly chopped, to garnish
Equipment
- large ovenproof casserole or Dutch oven
- tongs
- ladle
Instructions
Pat the beef dry with kitchen paper. Toss the diced beef with the plain flour, half the sea salt and half the black pepper until evenly coated; shake off any excess flour.
Heat half the olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole over a medium–high hob. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, brown the beef on all sides until deeply caramelised, 12–15 minutes total. Transfer browned beef to a plate and repeat with remaining oil and beef.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the sliced brown onion and garlic to the casserole and cook until softened and just starting to colour, about 5 minutes.
Add the carrots, parsnips and chestnut mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have some colour, about 7 minutes.
Return the browned beef and any resting juices to the casserole. Stir in the tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce, then pour in the dark ale. Bring to a gentle bubble and let the ale reduce for 3 minutes.
Add the hot beef stock, fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Braise at 160°C fan/180°C conventional for 2 hours 30 minutes.
Remove the casserole from the oven. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Place the casserole back on the hob over medium heat and skim any excess fat from the surface. If the sauce looks thin, mix the cornflour with about 60 ml cold beef stock to make a smooth slurry and whisk it into the stew. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes to thicken and to cook out any raw starch.
Taste and adjust seasoning with the remaining sea salt and black pepper. Stir through the chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Leave the stew to rest for 10 minutes before serving — the sauce will settle and thicken slightly.
Tips
- Dry the meat thoroughly and brown in batches — that caramelised crust is the flavour base of the stew.
- Use a good dark ale for depth; if you prefer non-alcoholic, replace with extra beef stock and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- If the stew is too thin after cooking, reduce uncovered on the hob for 10–15 minutes rather than adding too much cornflour at once.
- Make-ahead: refrigerate overnight and gently reheat; the flavours develop and the sauce often thickens deliciously.
- Leftovers freeze well in portions for up to 3 months; defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Substitutions
dark ale → extra beef stock (replace same volume) plus 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Stays closebeef chuck, diced → stewing lamb shoulder, diced (same quantity)
Noticeably differentcornflour → plain flour (use 25 g mixed with a little cold stock to make a slurry)
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 520
- Calories
- 39 g
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 29 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 650 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make this on the hob rather than in the oven?
Yes — after adding the stock, cover and simmer very gently on the lowest heat for about 2½–3 hours, turning occasionally, until the beef is tender.
How do I know the stew is done?
The beef should be fork-tender and the vegetables soft. If the meat resists, it needs more time — continue to braise and check every 20–30 minutes.
Can I use tinned tomatoes instead of tomato purée?
You can, but use just 50 g of tinned tomatoes and expect a looser sauce; reduce a little longer to concentrate flavour.
Is there a good vegetarian version of this?
Use large mushrooms, root veg and pearl barley with vegetable stock and a dark ale replacement; add umami (soy sauce or miso) for depth.
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