Beef and Ale Stew | Beef Recipes | Jamie Oliver Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best ale for stew? ›

You want a malty brown ale to add lots of deep flavor to this stew. Brown ales and Belgian dubbel ales are malt-heavy and differ from beers like pilsners or IPAs that are more hop-heavy.

Sear the meat well.

Searing meat takes a long time, and it's tempting to skip it. Don't. Searing the meat until it develops a dark brown crust and a sticky “fond” starts to glaze over the bottom of the pan are both key to creating the kind of rich, caramelized flavors that make stews irresistibly good.

There are flavors in tomatoes that are alcohol-soluble, so adding red wine along with tomato paste also helps to enhance beef stew." Laurence has a few other tricks I've borrowed to create the best beef stew, including adding Worcestershire, which gets a serious umami punch from anchovies.

"Soups and stews really need to simmer for long periods to allow the ingredients to meld together. Taking that a step further, most soups and stews are better if you prepare them the day before serving. Allowing them to cool and then reheating them really helps bring out the flavors and textures."

Coating the meat in flour and searing adds incredible color and flavor to the beef, which is then infused throughout the stew. It also creates browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and when we deglaze those with red wine, it takes the flavor to new heights.

Vegetables: small chopped carrots, celery, and onion or shallot practically melt into the sauce. Mushrooms: button mushrooms are a nod to the quartered mushrooms many classic beef stew recipes call for, but are thinly sliced instead of being left in bigger pieces. Garlic: minced garlic brings lots of cozy flavor.

Stews pair well with ale. Cheese goes well with ale as well. If you're cooking desserts, you need light fruity beers.

For cooking, use brown ales for pork, beef, stews and chilis. They also work well in batters and in baking. Porter: Another type of ale, porters are medium-bodied with a cocoa-like sweetness. They're also medium hoppy, so less bitter than a pale ale and less sweet than a brown ale.

Go for a pinot noir if you like your stews light and fruity, cabernet sauvignon if you like it strong and rustic, and a merlot if you fall somewhere in between. But most importantly, use a wine that you're also happy to drink.

Is IPA good in stew? ›

Filled with braised beef short ribs and the hearty flavor of IPA beer, this stew is the ultimate comfort food for cooler weather. Serve the stew on top of mashed potatoes or with a side of grilled bread to soak up the savory sauce.