Stay Warm With This Humble Beef Stew Recipe

By James Sparks, founder and head brewer of Fable brewing

There’s nothing quite as warm and comforting in the cold months as a simple beef stew. Make this one as rough or as refined as you want – it’ll still come out hearty and filling.

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Ingredients

1 lb beef stew meat

⅓ c (5 tbsp) butter

⅓ c flour

1 tbsp each salt, pepper

½ head celery, stripped of leaves

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 pt Fable Brewing Gothel

International Dark Lager

1 lb baby yellow potatoes

1 lb baby carrots

1 pt baby bell mushrooms, coarsely chopped

2 qt beef stock, no salt added

5 sprigs rosemary, whole

¼ c parsley, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large 8-qt stock pot set on medium-high.
• Combine flour, 1 tbsp salt, and 1 tbsp pepper in a medium mixing bowl and toss beef to coat.
• Place the meat in the pot and cook undisturbed, about 5 minutes on each side, until seared. The flour and butter will combine to make a roux that will later thicken the stew.
• Set aside meat; add onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently and scraping sides/bottom, until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. The fond (dark crispy bits) in the pot will start flaking off on the veggies.
• Add the remainder of the flour mixture to the pot.
• Add the beer, scrape sides and bottom, and continue cooking until liquid reduces by half. Add mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, & meat and cover with beef stock.
• Bring to a rolling boil and cook until meat and veggies are tender, an hour or more.
• Add the rosemary and cook another five minutes. Finish with chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread and, if desired, another pint of Gothel.

TIPS FROM CHEF JAMES!

• Save your mushroom stems, celery leaves, etc. for a stock.
• You can chop your potatoes, carrots, and rosemary or leave them whole.
• You can use any alcohol you’d like or replace the beer with more beef stock.