Beef and Guinness Irish Stew

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup diced (1/4 inch thick) red onion
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 2 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 1/2 cups Guinness (or other dark beer)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp thyme leaves

Instructions

1. Place beef in a large bowl and sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper, tuning to cover completely. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Sear 1/4 of the beef at a time being careful not to crowd the pan. Turn the beef cubes so they are uniformly brown on all sides; be sure to control heat so beef and the drippings don't burn. Remove the first batch to a baking sheet; continue to cook remaining batches until all beef is seared and set aside.
2. Turn the heat down to medium and add onion, carrots, potatoes and garlic to the same pot. Cook stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the beef back to the pot along with the stock, Guinness, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and thyme, stirring to combine.
3. Bring pot to a boil, then pour into slow cooker dish. Cook in slow cooker on medium for 6 hours.