Irish STEW! SUNDAY SUPPER!

'McKeel's Original Irish Stew' night!  I LOVE stew, and my family's Irish Stew, I LOVE the MOST!     Sure, I could make it with lamb, as many Irish stews are made with, but we prefer to make it with good old American beef!  :)  (YOUR CHOICE~ you can cut the chuck into pieces, flour them and saute in batches or you can go SIMPLE, like I have learned to do, and 'pot roast' style it whole!)  I was having too much fun with the family tonight, so I FORGOT to put peas in near the end of baking, like I usually do. (I highly recommend putting in the peas the last hour) GREATEST thing about stew, besides how TOTALLY AWESOME it tastes, is that you so easily throw it all together, then go and RELAX!  Got to sit on back deck with my hubby and a bottle of red wine, watching the Texas sunset, a family of Hawks (that have taken a kindness to our back yard) fly about searching for food, and our boys throwing the football around as the Stew simmered away for the 'easiest, relaxing' of hours in the oven!  SO SIMPLE!   Rah-Rah~ GO STEW!!


                                                          Best ever, IRISH STEW!

Made this again, so took a pic with the peas in it! The peas add a lot to the stew~ a slight bit of sweetness!  LOVE the flavor of the sauce, the tender meat, and all the vibrant, great veggies in this awesome stew!  

Fry up bacon til opaque in saute pan, then place into Dutch oven~

Lightly flour all sides of chuck Roast~

Braise both sides of Roast in the bacon grease released from bacon~

Add roast to Dutch Oven~

Add Bay leaves~

Saute carrots, then mushrooms in bacon grease for a bit~

Put slightly sauteed carrots and mushrooms into Dutch Oven~

Saute fingerling potatoes in bacon grease for a bit, as well~

Add potatoes to Dutch Oven~

Make up beef broth, wine, and spices then pour over all~  COVER, and BAKE at 350 for 3 hours~ (put thawed peas in for last hour - 30 minutes of cooking.  The peas are so great in this!)

Remove the greatness out of oven!  Transfer roast to a platter~

Slice against the grain into slices the size you like!

Transfer meat back into Dutch oven, and stir to combine.  May want to taste sauce to adjust flavors, or add more beef broth if too thick!  YUM, YUM, YUM!  It's THAT good!

8 Strips of bacon
3-4 pound Chuck Roast~ lightly floured
1/2 stick butter, when needed as bacon grease is used up
1 pound whole mushrooms, cut in half if too big
1 1/2 pound baby carrots
about 10 fingerling potatoes~ cleaned

2 cups beef broth, plus more as needed

1 cup burgundy, or any red wine

1/4 cup Brandy or Irish whiskey

2-3  Bay Leaves

1 tsp thyme

1tsp Marjoram

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt- or to taste

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 pound of petite peas~ added last hour

After assembled like above pics, cover Dutch Oven and place in a 350 degree oven for 3 hours!  You do NOT have to saute veggies in bacon grease before putting into Dutch Oven!  It just gives them a more caramelized taste if you should choose to go the extra mile!  Irish Blessings your way!! :)  ENJOY!!