Low Sodium Guinness Beef Stew
On my Dad’s side of the family, we’re Welsh, Scottish, Irish, and German. All heritages that enjoy a good and hearty stew! So whether it is for St. Patrick’s Day, or just something hot and hearty to warm you to the core on a chilly night, you will love this low sodium Guinness Beef Stew.
Cooking Stew At Home
It’s low enough in sodium, you can enjoy a big hunk of crusty bread to mop up the broth. It is one of those dishes that make the whole house smell delicious. Seriously, my home office in down a floor and almost completely opposite of the kitchen and the yummy smells were making it increasingly hard to focus as it simmered away. If you are of mind to, you can also easily make salt free French Bread at home with my recipe.
Comfort Food To Warm The Soul
It is also a dish that has some shortcuts. that make it super easy and quick to prepare, and it can be cooked up in your dutch oven or crockpot, depending on how much of your day you have to cook. I have three kids and know how busy that day gets. On days where I can work out of the home office, I usually have a bit of time right after I eat my lunch to work on something for dinner. Sometimes it is just grabbing something to thaw or whipping up a sauce or two to use later, or like today, I could whip up a whole beef stew.
Can I Skip The Guinness?
Since I know that many of you might not be able to have alcohol, I have a low sodium replacement for the Guinness. If you wish to leave out the beer, double the amount of low sodium beef stock called for in the recipe. Then add 3 Tbsp of malt vinegar, and a cup of my low sodium “soy” sauce. The flavors will approximate the taste of the beer, without any alcohol. For those that can enjoy a Guinness, use the recipe as stated below.
OK, now I’m going to share the secret to amazing beef stew…it’s all in how you brown the beef. If you plan on cooking the stew in a dutch oven, you can brown the beef right there in the oven on the stove. If you are going to use your crockpot, you will need a skillet to brown in.
Prior to browning, you will toss the beef in olive oil and then dredge it in the seasoned flour. You can use Cayenne pepper and fresh ground black pepper. I kicked it up a notch this year. One of my favorite salt free spices right now is the Dak’s Smoked Bourbon Barrel Peppercorn. They smoke peppercorns in a Bourbon barrel and the result is such smokey goodness I will have to find many more ways to use this. If you’d like to order any of Dak’s spices, they offer a 10% discount and FREE shipping when you enter the code Hacking Salt.
Should I Add Cabbage?
You can get your full Irish on if you add cabbage to this stew. To do so, you will add 1 small head that has been cored and cut into 6 wedges and add into the pot on top of the stew. Then, let it wilt and cook in the steam for the remaining hour then stir it all into the stew. So let’s get cooking!
The Recipe for Low Sodium Guinness Beef Stew
Low Sodium Guinness Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Beef Roast can sub stewing beef if preferred
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Flour (use a low/no sodium brand like King Arthur's.
- 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp Fresh ground black pepper I use the Dak's smoked bourbon barrel peppercorns
- 2 medium Yellow Onions coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic crushed and minced
- 1 cup Tomato Juice I use Campbell's 100% Tomatoes Low Sodium Tomato Juice
- 1 12 oz bottle Guinness Extra Stout or Guinness Draught can or bottle
- 2 cups of carrots coarsely chopped
- 6 whole roma tomatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups of celery coarsely chopped
- 1 sprig of fresh Thyme
- 2 cups portobello mushrooms coarsely chopped
- 2 cups of red potatoes in 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup Beef broth Swanson's unsalted is 75 mg of sodium per cup
- 1 small head of cabbage
Instructions
- Trim all fat from your beef. Cut into 2 inch cubes.
- In a small bowl toss the beef with 1 Tbsp of the Olive oil to completely coat the beef.
- Mix together the Cayenne, Black Pepper, and Flour to make a seasoned flour.
- Add the seasoned flour to the bowl with the beef and shake or stir to coat the beef with the flour.
- Heat the other 2 Tbsp of Olive oil in your dutch oven, or in a skillet over high heat.
- Add the beef and brown it on all sides, sealing in the moisture with a nice crust.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add the celery, onions, carrots and potatoes to the pan where you just browned the beef and saute over medium high heat for 6 minutes or until translucence has begun.
- If you are using a crock pot, transfer all of the vegetables and beef to the crock pot.
- If using a dutch oven, add the beef back to the pan.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic, Thyme, tomato juice, beef stock, and beer to the pot.
- In the dutch oven, cook over high heat until it comes to a simmer, stirring frequently.
- For the crock pot stir together all the ingredients and cover and start cooking on low for a total cooking time of 6 hours.
- In the dutch oven, once the stew has reached a bubbling simmer, reduce the heat and cover the stew with the lid.
- Cook on the stovetop over low heat for 2 hours, or place the dutch oven in your oven, set at 300 degrees F for two hours.
- Whether in the crock pot, or the oven, with one hour to go, core the cabbage and cut into 6 wedges. Lay the wedges on top of the stew to cook in the steam for the remaining hour.
- Stir the cabbage into the stew and serve up.
Nutrition