Irish stew slow cooker is a great hearty recipe with a lot of flavor. This beef stew is an amazing comfort food which will delight any dinner table. Because the slow cooker is on all day, essentially your kitchen will smell amazing. Having amazing flavors in the stew and getting all of them to work in harmony, is what the slow cooker does best.

You don’t have to be too fussy about the cuts of beef because the slow cooker will tenderize the meat. That’s the magic of low and slow cooking. For this recipe you can use a slow cooker that is 2 quart up to 4 quart.

Do I have to sauté the meat and vegetables before placing them in the slow cooker? No, however if you do you will find the flavor profile goes way up.

Do I have to use beer in my stew? No, this is another layer of flavor in the final stew.

Is there alcohol in the stew? No, the alcohol is cooked off. You have the remaining flavor of the beer without any alcohol.

When cooking with alcohol, Rule #1. Use a beer you enjoy drinking.

Can I use lamb instead of beef? Yes you can. The flavor profile will be a little different, but still amazing flavor!

Irish Stew Slow Cooker

Irish beef stew cooked in a slow cooker

Print Recipe

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 8

8 40

Servings: 6 people

Course: beef, Beef stew, Dinner, Irish beef stew, Lunch

Cuisine: irish

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

1 3/4 pounds Beef chuck roast cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 large carrot cut into 1 inch pieces
2-3 medium Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large parsnip cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup peas
1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 medium leek or onion sliced
1 cup beer stout or porter
2-3 cups beef broth
1 1/2 Tablespoon diced rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon ketchup
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons Butter

Equipment

1 slow cooker
1 frypan
1 spatula
1 Cooking tongs
1 Set of measuring spoons
1 set of measuring cups
1 Cutting board
1 Kitchen knife
4 medium size bowls for various vegetables and meats

Method

Cut up the carrots, parsnip, onion and set aside. These are relatively large pieces.
Slice the mushrooms and set aside.
Cut up the meat and salt and pepper the meat.
Take the meat and coat in flour and knock off the extra flour. Set aside.
In a frypan on medium heat add butter and saute the mushrooms until golden brown and set aside.

If cooking leeks, saute in oil on medium heat until softened. Set aside.

Heat the frypan on medium-high heat and add oil and brown the meat on all sides and set aside. Cook in batches.
Deglaze the frypan with the vegetables. Sauté in batches and set aside.
Take about 2 ounces of beer and pour into the frypan and scrape the bottom of the pan.

Assemble the slow cooker

The bottom of the slow cooker has some carrots, parsnips and potatoes in one layer.

This is to prevent the meat from burning on the bottom.

On top of that layer add the meat and all the other vegetables. When the slow cooker is full add the beer and brown bits from frypan the remaining beer and top off with beef stock and add the ketchup and rosemary.
Start the slow cooker on high for the first 30 minutes and reduce to low. Cook for an additional 8-9 hours.