Guinness Braised Beef
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2½ pounds beef (crosscut shanks, chuck short ribs or beef for stew)
Salt and pepper
6 medium shallots, sliced thin
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
¼ cup all-purpose flour
16 to 32 ounces Irish stout, depending on how much liquid you want
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 bay leaves
Rosemary sprigs
¼ cup tomato paste
2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups baby carrots
Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish
- Heat oven to 300 F.
- Trim any excess fat from the beef and cut into cubes. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Gently dust with a bit of flour, and reserve the rest of the flour. If working with crosscut beef shanks, leave whole and skip flour-dusting.
- Add the cooking oil to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, then remove it from the pot. Lower the heat to medium. Sauté the onions with the thyme.
If needed, add a little more cooking oil. - When the onions are translucent, stir in the flour. Cook for about 1 minute. Deglaze with some of the stout, scraping off brown bits from the bottom. Add the remaining stout, brown sugar, garlic, tomato paste, rosemary sprigs, carrots and bay leaves. Increase the heat and stir. Return the beef to the pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, then transfer to the oven.
- Cook for 2½ to 4 hours, or until the meat is tender. Check on the meat around the 2-hour mark. Remove from the oven. Discard the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs. Serve as is, or over mashed potatoes or rice.
Shamrock Shake
1½ cups vanilla ice cream
¾ cup whole milk
1 drop green gel food coloring
½ teaspoon mint extract
Whipped cream
1 tablespoon green sprinkles
2 maraschino cherries
- In a blender, combine ice cream, milk, food coloring and extract. Blend until smooth. Divide into two glasses.
- Top each with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry.
Colcannon Potatoes
1 medium head cabbage, about 2 pounds, shredded
4 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chopped green onions
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup butter, melted
Minced fresh parsley
Cooked bacon, crumbled
- Place cabbage and 2 cups of water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Keep cabbage warm in a separate dish.
- In the same pan, combine potatoes and reserved cooking liquid. Add additional water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, until potatoes are tender about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place milk, green onions, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Drain potatoes. Place them in a large bowl and mash. Add milk mixture, and beat just until blended. Stir in cabbage. To serve, drizzle with butter, and top with parsley and bacon.
Easy Corned Beef and Cabbage
2 to 3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
4 cups beef broth
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 pounds small red potatoes
2 pounds baby carrots
1 large head green cabbage, cut into wedges
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
- Place corned beef into a large pot with lid. Pour beef broth over brisket to cover. Add Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle spice packet over brisket.
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pot and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 50 minutes per pound of brisket, until the meat shreds easily with a fork.
- Add potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes start to get tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add carrots and cabbage wedges. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, with lid on, for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Cooking time depends on the size of the carrots and potatoes.
- Remove meat from the pot. Let rest for 15 minutes. Slice against the grain, then shred. Serve vegetables with liquid. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup butter, softened
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cup buttermilk, divided
1 egg
¼ cup butter, melted
- Heat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
- Mix flour, softened butter, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead slightly. Form dough into a round, and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Combine melted butter with ¼ cup buttermilk in a small bowl. Brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an ‘x’ into the top of the loaf.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.
Shepherd’s Pie
Mashed potato topping
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup sour cream
¼ to ½ cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Filling
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups frozen peas, carrots and corn medley
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon rosemary
½ teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Boil the potatoes until fork tender. Drain. Add butter, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes until desired consistency. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. Drain excess grease. In the same skillet, add the frozen vegetables. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Sprinkle flour over the meat and veggies. Stir to mix. Add tomato paste; mix. Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low heat. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, adding additional broth if necessary to prevent the meat from drying out.
- Remove from heat. Remove the bay leaf, then spread the meat mixture in an even layer in a 9-by-13-inch dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Top the meat with the mashed potatoes, making an even layer of potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes until brown and bubbly. If desired, place the dish under broiler to brown further.