Stew is super-easy to prep and is the perfect hearty dinner for a rainy day on camp. Stew actually tastes best when it's made the night before, but at a minimum you need to let it cook on low heat for 4 hours for the meat to become tender - so plan your day accordingly. For shorter camps, bivvying and hikes you can make this at home the day before, freeze a portion in a plastic bag. Bring it along frozen, then re-heat it in your Trangia. It will keep for up to 2 days!
Some Irish families put the potatoes right into the stew (if you do, add a bit more stock), but it feels fancier with mashed potatoes on the side (also, it's fun to make mashed potatoes).
Good to know: Beef comes at about 16€ per kg, which makes this recipe pretty pricey.
Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park.
Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going, wash your hands and give all vegetables a rinse!
Prep Work
- Boil 2 liters of water in a pot, then take from the heat and dissolve the stock cubes in it.
- Peel the onions and cut them into chunky pieces.
- Peel the carrots and parsnip and cut it into marshmallow-sized pieces.
- Cut the bottom part of the stem off all mushrooms and cut them into halves.
- Wash the celery, cut off the ends and cut the rest into thumb-long pieces.
- Dice the meat (marshmallow-sized cubes are good) if you bought a whole piece.
Cooking the Stew
- Heat a large pot with 2 cups of oil and add the onions. Cook them for a minute or two.
- Add the beef and fry it until it's brown on all sides (make sure there's a good fire going for this part).
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt and pepper the beef well.
- Add the Guinness all at once and stir. Let it cook for a minute or so.
Add the thyme, and all the cut vegetables. Add enough stock to just about cover everything. - Bring everything to a boil, but then you can reduce the heat (by letting the fire die down)
- Let the stew cook for at least four hours with a lid on. It should be simmering, which means not boiling, but maybe a few tiny bubbles are showing. Stir it once in awhile so nothing burns at the bottom.
Make the Mashed Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters
- Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with water
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt
- Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes. You can check if they're done by sticking a fork in them. If it comes out easy, they're done.
- Strain the water from the potatoes.
- Add half of the milk, and then mash the potatoes well. Keep adding milk until the mash has the consistency you like (so don't add all the milk at once).
- Finally, add the chunk of butter and a dash of ground nutmeg and mix in well.
Shopping List for 8 Scouts
- 1 pint beer (Guinness or other stout)
- 1kg Diced beef
- 2 Large onions
- 8 Carrots
- 1 Stalk of celery
- 2 Parsnips
- 1 Box of mushrooms
- Stock cubes to make 2 liters of stock
- Fresh thyme (only if you can find it)
- 2kg potatoes
- 500ml milk
- A good chunk of butter, maybe 200g
- Nutmeg (if you’re feeling fancy)
- You’ll also need: Oil, salt, pepper