I will be honest. I am partial to Irish Stew made with lamb. But Irish Stew made with beef is tasty in its own right! This Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew is a flavorful, comforting dish perfect for colder rainy days too!
This recipe is very similar to my OG Irish Stew I shared over a decade (!) ago, with a few adjustments. Recipes like this Irish Beef Stew are perfect to make in your slow cooker (paid link), which helps develop the flavors of the dish while perfectly cooking the meat and vegetables.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 onions, chopped
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced into half moons
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
5 lbs stew beef
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
5 cups beef stock, divided
1 (15 oz) can Guinness
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons pearl barley
2 lbs baby red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
I thoroughly dislike rainy, cold weather. The only perk of this crummy weather is the awesome comfort food that typically emerges from it! Dublin Coddle is one of those dishes.
This slowly simmered dish uses all of the traditional Irish fixin’s — bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Dating back to the 1700’s Dublin Coddle makes use of leftover rashers (bacon), bangers (sausage) and potatoes and turns them into a wonderful winter comfort food dinner.
This dish is a great Saturday dish… it takes while to cook but is well worth the wait!
I was recently invited to a tasting event, which was conveniently in my own neighborhood. Nick’s Roast Beef, an Old City staple, has changed their name to Nick’s Bar and Grille and has a snazzy new menu to go with it’s new name.
Nick’s Bar & Grille in Old City, established in 1969, is “the” neighborhood corner bar of Philadelphia. In 2012, bartender-turned-owner Joseph Schultice hung up most of his infamous shorts and trimmed his signature long hair to usher in a new era for the long-time Old City staple. Today, Nick’s continues to serve as a laid back and friendly alternative to neighboring clubs and upscale fine dining restaurants.
The new barbecue-themed menu is filled with house-smoked meats, including smoked applewood chicken wings, St. Louis BBQ spare ribs, pulled pork with jalapeno slaw, mac ‘n cheese, house-made sauces, and more.
Nick’s long-time dishes that will remain on the menu include the Ground Bacon Burger, Roast Beef and Pork, six flavors of chicken wings and other bar favorites. New cocktails and spirits will be added to the drink menu, and customers can look for drink tastings with local purveyors.
The tasting took place in Nick’s newly renovated dining room which included custom-designed tables and whiskey barrel high-tops, a new community tasting table, old-time Old City imagery on the walls, and embellishments to the walls and ceilings.
The food was super tasty, I really loved the smoked wings and ground bacon burger. But my favorite tasting of the night had to be their new Pulled Pork with Jalapeno Slaw. The smokiness of the pork was offset by crunchy and slightly spicy jalapeno slaw, making for one awesome sandwich.
I wanted to try to recreate a version of the pulled pork with jalapeno slaw, but I (obviously) don’t have a smoker hanging out in my tiny apartment. So I made a slow cooker version with a Chipotle-Guinness barbecue sauce to add some smokiness to it, so here are my Pulled Pork Tacos with Jalapeno Slaw!
Pulled Pork:
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (7 pound) pork shoulder or Boston butt
corn tortillas
Chipotle-Guinness Barbecue Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (~12 oz) bottle of Guinness
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato puree
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo
I mentioned these delicious brownies in my “A Taste of Ireland” post over the weekend. They were so yummy that I thought they deserved their own post. Also, because it’s technically two brownie recipes together, I thought step-by-step photos might prove helpful. Enjoy!
I am having way too much fun trying out all these new meats through Arganica. This week I thought I’d try to conquer elk. Elk has a similar taste to beef and is low in both fat and cholesterol. I thought it was another perfect excuse to use my slow cooker, and to invent my own barbecue sauce! I decided to make a Chipotle-Guinness barbecue sauce.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (~12 oz) bottle of Guinness
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato puree
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo
With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to test out my recipe for Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting before the big day to make sure it didn’t need any tweaking.
Guinness cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes that use a dark stout to enhance the flavor.
To keep with the theme, I decided to also make Bailey’s frosting.
Ingredients (makes 24 cupcakes)
Guinness Cupcakes:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 12 oz bottle of Guinness (or any other dark stout) – if your bottle is more than this, just measure out 12 oz
1 (4 oz) stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
