The Off-Campus Kitchen: Guinness Beef Stew and Yorkshire Pudding
The following meal set off the five overeager fire alarms in my apartment seven times. Not because I burned anything, but because said overeager fire alarms are activated also by steam, and billowy, Guinness—scented steam was plentiful in the preparation of this meal.
For the stew (serves 4-6):
1.25 pounds beef
2 cloves garlic
1 quart beef stock
1 yellow onion
2 pounds potatoes
4 medium carrots
2 parsnips (optional)
1.5 cups apple cider
1.5 cups Guinness or other stout
2 tbsp sugar
Several bay leaves
Several sprigs of sage
dash olive oil, salt, pepper
Sauté the beef in oil in the stewpot you intend to use for the rest of the meal. Brown on each side. While beef is browning, mince garlic and onion. Add this to the pot and sauté until onions are translucent. Now add the beef stock and Guinness. Keep the pot on medium to high heat, so the liquid is just at a low boil. Cut the potatoes, carrots and parsnips (if desired) into chunks that’ll fit into your soup spoon. Peel the vegetables first if you care about that sort of thing. Now add the veggies. This whole concoction should be cooked covered for at least 30 minutes. I'd recommend you cook this for an hour or longer; the longer it cooks, the more tender the beef.
While the stew is stewing, prepare the Yorkshire Pudding (the granddaddy of popovers).
Yorkshire Pudding:
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. The amounts below reflect a doubled recipe, because this is delicious and you’re serving it with the stew. This will require 2 brownie pans or pie tins. You can also use a muffin tin to make individual popovers.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups milk
5 Tbsp melted butter
4 eggs
Beat the eggs and melt the butter. When the butter is melted, use 1 tablespoon to grease the pans. Mix the flour, remaining 4 tablespoonsmelted butter, and beat eggs in a mixing bowl. Add a dash of salt. Mix the batter until it’s roughly smooth. Add a few spoonfuls of stew broth to each pan. Pour the batter into the pans and insert into oven, setting a timer for 14 minutes. Make sure each pan has room for the batter to rise—it will puff!
While the Yorkshire pudding is cooking, check on the stew. Add the apple cider and 2 tablespoonsugar to the broth, plus salt and pepper to taste.
Check on the Yorkshire puddings after ten to 14 minutes. When they’re done, they will be puffy as f*** and golden-brown on top. If they’re not done, keep them in the oven a bit longer and sneak peeks at them every few minutes to check for puffiness and brownness. Obviously, remove them from the oven once you reach this state.
Keep the stew simmering until your guests are ready to eat. In an English pub, I once had stew served in a Yorkshire pudding bowl. You can serve slices of the Yorkshire pudding either in the stew bowls or on the side.