Beef Stew (made with stout beer) w/ pics!

Let's get this rolling:

Ingredients:

2-4 slices of bacon
2 lbs cubed beef chuck
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
Few cloves of garlic
Flour
Sugar
12-16 oz dark stout beer
Carrots
4 oz tomato paste
3 cups chicken stock (NOT BEEF)
Seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, bay leaf, thyme, hot sauce, cayenne, parsley)



Gonna start with frying up 2 slices of bacon. You can use more but I didn't want a whole lot of bacon in this. Once cooked crumble bacon and set aside.



Next take your beef chuck cubes (seasoned with garlic salt/powder, pepper, and cayenne) and brown in the bacon fat. You'll probably need to add some veg oil as well.



Once browned let beef rest and in the same pot sauté your onions and bell pepper.



After about 10-15 mins, add ur garlic and flour and cook for another min



Now the fun part. Add a can or bottle of a good stout. Guinness works here but I went more local. (Nola Irish Channel Stout) As long as its a dark stout you should be good.



Once the stout deglazes the pot, add carrots, (celery if you like it, I left it ojut) tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme leaves, some salt/pepper, and a dash of sugar to balance the malt of the beer. Oh and ur beef and bacon back to the pot.



From there add chicken stock (you can use beef stock but i prefer chicken) till it covers the contents of the pot. Bring to boil.



Cover and simmer on low. This is after an hour and a half.



After about 2 hours of simmering, I uncover it and crank the heat to med high and boil for another 20 mins or so. Thickens it greatly.



Add parsley and serve over mash potatoes or rice. Pretty easy dish and cooking with the stout adds a nice element. Might be something to think about for St Paddys day around the corner.

Feedback is welcome, and thanks for reading!