Cooking with Guinness

In the mood for a hearty meal? An HSI member named Melba is.

In the 1/9/04 “This week in the HSI e-Alert” I told you about a Forum thread titled “Guinness is good for you!” A member named Jo from the UK wrote: “My favourite way of using Guinness is to make a beef casserole with it. It’s beautiful!”

Now Melba wants to hear more. She says, “Why didn’t you share the recipe for the beef casserole? It sounds ideal for these cold, dreary, rainy days.”

Of course, all Melba needs to do is go to our web site at www.hsionline.com, and then click on “Forum” where she’ll find the Guinness thread among many other discussions about nutrition and natural healthcare. But just to give Melba and others a “taste” of the wealth of information available on the Forum, I’ll share Jo’s recipe, which she passes along from Deryck, who she calls “the best cook in the house.” Deryck? Take it away:

“This is a simple dish which can either be slow cooked in Guinness or any other dark beer (stout in UK – I sometimes use Mackesons).

“Allow about 8oz of lean beef and half a largish onion per head. The remaining ingredients being ‘to taste.’ I include some or all of the following: Butter, Olive oil, Flour, Strong beef stock (1/2 pint per 3lbs beef), Guinness (3/4 pint), Thyme, Wine vinegar (1 teaspoon), Brown sugar (1 teaspoon), Garlic (about 4 cloves), Bouquet garni, 2 Bay leaves, Soy sauce (Japanese ‘Tamari’ is best), Mushroom ketchup, Tomato puree. I also like to throw in some button mushrooms.

“Prepare stock. Cut beef into strips roughly 3″ x 1”. Melt butter and olive oil in pan to quickly brown meat. Set aside. Chop onion, garlic and thyme and lightly fry in pan juices. Stir in sufficient flour to make a roux, then add the stock and beer. (At this stage I also add soy sauce, mushroom ketchup and tomato puree. Optional extras – mostly for colour.) Alternate beef and onion layers in casserole and pour over stock/beer mix. Add mushrooms, bouquet garni, bay leaves, wine vinegar and sugar.

“Cover casserole dish and cook in oven (gas Mark 3) for two and a half hours. Let it ‘rest’ overnight (for some reason this improves the flavour). Good time to check for seasoning. Choose one of the following: A garlic bread covering or mashed potato. With the latter I sometimes mix either parsnip or celeriac. Beat in butter, cream or olive oil (to taste). Sprinkle with marjoram and grated nutmeg. Back in the oven at slightly higher temperature for half an hour. If the mashed potato covering fails visual inspection, a brief spell under a hot grill will brown and crisp the top. Serve with vegetables of choice.”

Melba’s right; that does sound like it would hit the spot on a cold, dreary, rainy day on either side of the pond.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute