Everything is going wrong today, and I need a virtual hug. We have some old friends coming to dinner, and I am attempting to make a Guinness stew. I browned off the meat in the flour and oil and then added the Guinness. I've just tasted it and yuck... it tastes of flour. I've hunted online and see it can be a common problem. BUT apart from washing the sauce off and starting again, is there anything else I can try? IT's already been cooking for 1.5 hrs. I don't want to admit to my husband I've fecked up because I also fecked up the trifle last night and had to remake this morning.
I've made Guinness stew before (perhaps not the same recipe... it was from a cookbook I checked out from the library lol) It shouldnt just be the Guinness. if i remember correctly, the Guinness is added to give the beef flavor. it should simmer down, and then broth is added along with all the spices and herbs and veggies. I thought it tasted pretty good. the recipe i used also had me add some kind of cheese to it as a topping.
Normally you fry bacon and onions then toss the beef in the flour and brown it in the bacon fat before adding the Guinness and deglazing the pan before adding beef stock and simmering for four or five hours it sounds like you added too much flour at the beginning there’s not a huge amount that can be done about that apart from potentially adding more liquid to balance it out
Yep, I did. I also discovered I'd used strong bread flour. Phew! I finally rang a friend who was a chef. He said there was nothing much I could do with sauce, so boil a kettle. and dip the meat and veg in the hot water to wash off the flour and start again. Because I needed another tin of Guinness, I had to come clean with hubby. Oh my God ... the world just ended. Yeah right. "Just hand over another tin of freeking Guinness! Your moaning ain't gonna solve the problem, and the clock is a-ticking." I did as the chef instructed, but instead of using flour to make the base of the sauce, I used gravy granules. Cheat. Feck it. I then knocked over the 2nd tin of Guinness then went to find his secret supply... sneaked it into the house and hid the tin. Meanwhile, the Dauphanois potatoes were still hard and drying out. Found more cream added and turned up the oven. We finally sat down over 1.5 hours late, by which time everyone was too pissed and would have eaten rabbit-dropping stew. The fact our friends came back for seconds (even after I explained the rescue plan) on both the trifle and the disaster Irish stew made the stress worth it. Hubby said. I couldn't taste much Guinness, which earned him the 'death stare', and he's sleeping in the spare bed tonight. Luckily, the pot was empty; otherwise, he would have worn the stew.
He deserved it. I'm sorry things didn't go as planned, PiP. Here's a virtual hug. I'm glad it turned out well anyway, and everyone came back for seconds. I'm not much of a chef, sorry. I know enough to fry, grill, bake, and make fricassees. But when my SO's cooking, I volunteer to help (e.g. setting the table, chopping veggies, or washing up afterwards). If she says no, I stay out of the way. But it's nice to able to do something to help. Ah, well.
Anyways, I have made notes and will probably include this in one of my future books. RL experience are good fodder ...
Next time make your life easier. Go with beer butt chicken. Just cut the top off a can of beer, place the chicken on top of the can. You may need to brace the chicken so it stays upright on the beer can. Then bake. It's a complicated recipe but very tasty.
