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With St. Patricks Day right around the corner, I felt now would be a great time to share my Instant Pot Recipe for Irish Beef Stew. It's thick, hearty, meaty, and full of flavor. The best part is that It's super easy to make and done in under an hour! Pair the Stew with homemade soda bread, and it's a meal.

What is Irish Beef Stew

Traditionally, Irish Stew is made with mutton. A Mutton is Lamb that is over a year old. The main reason for using mutton was because the lamb was kept into old age for wool and milk. However, mutton is not near as tender as lamb meat, so stewing for long periods was the best way to prepare the meat. Pair the wide availability of mutton with the arrival of potatoes into Ireland; in short, this is where Irish Stew originated.

Today, beef is much more available. Also, I'm the only one in my family that enjoys lamb. I'm not sure if that's due to the flavor or the thought of the animals themselves. However, I love sharing food with my friends and family, so I always try to make things we'll all eat. So Irish 'Beef' Stew is a take on the original, substituting the mutton or lamb with beef.

Now that we've covered a little history lesson let's jump right in!

Irish Beef Stew Ingredients

This recipe for Irish Beef Stew relies on a Guinness and beef stock base, round roast, and plenty of Veggies to get that thick and hearty texture and flavor.

Meat

When selecting the beef for your Stew, I recommend a round rump roast, the eye of round, or precut stew meat. Choose whichever you have available to you and make the recipe most straightforward.

You'll also want to grab some bacon. I love Wright's thick-cut bacon. However, if you're going to stay as cost-effective as possible, choose any bacon you'd like.

Vegetables

You'll need yellow onions, whole carrots, parsnips, celery, Yukon Potatoes, and garlic. If you choose not to use the parsnips, add extra carrots or potatoes in their place.

Herbs and Spices

I used a mix of fresh and dried ingredients in this Irish Beef Stew. Grab some fresh rosemary, dried thyme, kosher salt, black pepper, and a couple of bay leaves, and you're good to go.

Liquids and Extras

All you'll need is some tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, and Beef Stock for the base of the Stew.

You'll also need Olive Oil for sautéing.

Once your Stew has finished cooking in the Instant Pot, you'll want to thicken it. Use a mix of water and flour as the thickener to your desired texture.

How to Make Irish Beef Stew

Begin by slicing all of the veggies, adding the onions, carrots, and parsnips to a bowl, and set them aside. Don't slice the potatoes quite yet.

Next, slice the beef into about one-inch cubes unless you use pre-cubed stew meat.

Now, turn the Instant Pot on, set it to sauté high for 20 minutes, and add the olive oil. Once the oil has started to heat, brown the cubes of beef, it's not imperative to brown each side as you aren't cooking the meat at this stage. It is just getting a bit of sear on the outside. Once the beef is browned, remove it and set it aside.

Cut the bacon into the Instant pot using a sharp pair of cooking shears. Be careful because it can and will pop a bit. Once the bacon has begun to cook and crisp up a bit, add the veggies prepared earlier.

Sauté the veggies with the bacon for about 10 minutes or until the onions become translucent and the carrots and parsnips begin to soften.

While the veggies are sautéing, slice the potatoes into large chunks or cubes and add them to the Instant Pot as soon as the other veggies are done.

Once you've added the potatoes, place the beef back into the Instant Pot and add the dried thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper, stirring to combine.

Lastly, add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, Guinness, and beef stock. Please stir this quickly to ensure it's all mixed, and top it all off with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a couple of bay leaves.

Secure the lid onto the Instant pot and set it to pressure cook, high, for 30 minutes. Allow for a 10-minute natural release and then manually release any remaining pressure.

How to Thicken Irish Beef Stew

Now that the Stew is done cooking in the Instant Pot, you'll want to thicken it.

I like it to be pretty thick, so I used a ¼ cup of all-purpose flour with 1 cup of water. Whisk the mixture immediately to ensure no clumps, and stir this into the Stew. Allow it to sit for about 5-10 minutes, and allow the soup to thicken.

The water/flour mixture can be scaled up or down to meet your desired thickness and texture.

Alternatively, you can stir instant potato flakes into the Stew. I'd say ⅓ of the cup would be suitable for this amount of Stew, but you do you!

In Conclusion

This recipe for Irish Beef Stew is proper comfort food at its finest. When I made the recipe, I thought (out loud), "If this were served at an Irish pub near me, I'd probably eat there once a week."

Luckily I won't need to search for that hypothetical Pub; I'll make it myself!

If you love this kind of stick-to-your-rib comfort food, I know you'll love these too!