Source video by YouTube on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.
This is a vintage, old-school beef and Guinness stew adapted for the slow cooker. Lean skirt steak is bulked out with carrots, celery, swede and pickled onions, then simmered in chicken or beef stock with half a bottle of Guinness for deep malty flavour. The barley is cooked separately and finished with mustard and a little cheese for a silky, comforting side. Steamed leafy greens round out the bowl for a balanced, wholesome dinner.
Slow cooker notes: Original recipe braises in the oven at 180°C for 2 hours under damp greaseproof paper. Adapted for slow cooker: brown the onions, thyme and vegetables in a pan first to build colour, then transfer to the slow cooker with the stock, Guinness, porcini and seasoned skirt steak. Stock kept at 1.5 litres as in the original since barley is cooked separately and the stew should remain brothy. Barley and greens are cooked separately on the hob as in the source, not in the slow cooker.
Editor's note: Salt, pepper and the cheese type for the barley were not specified by quantity or variety (chef said '20 grams' of cheese as seasoning but did not name it). Quantity of water for boiling barley not stated. Quantity of steamed greens not stated. Original was oven-braised; slow cooker timings are standard conversions for a beef braise. | Second-pass critique flagged 9 fabricated and 2 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.
Ingredients
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 100 gsilverskin pickled onions, drained
- 1white or red onion, cut into petals
- fresh thyme, leaves picked
- 3carrots, sliced into 1cm rounds
- celery sticks, 2-3 outer sticks chunked, plus the sliced heart
- 800 gswede, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 20 gdried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated
- 1.5 Lchicken or beef stock
- 0.5 bottleGuinness
- 500 gskirt steak, cut into chunks
- salt and black pepper
- 450 gpearl barley
- water
- 2 tspEnglish mustard (add late)
- 20 gcheese, grated (add late)
- mixed leafy greens (chard, kale, Savoy cabbage), steamed 5 minutes (add late)
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add the pickled silverskin onions and the regular onion petals, then fry until they start to take on some colour.
~5 minPick in a few sprigs of thyme. Add the sliced carrots, chunked celery and the celery heart, and the swede chunks. Fry for a few minutes to build colour.
~6 minTip the vegetables into the slow cooker. Add the rehydrated porcini mushrooms.
~2 minSeason the skirt steak chunks generously with salt and pepper, then add to the slow cooker on top of the vegetables.
~3 minPour over the chicken or beef stock and half a bottle of Guinness. The liquid should just cover the meat and veg.
~2 minCover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 5 hours, until the beef is flaking and tender.
~480 minAbout 45 minutes before serving, put the pearl barley in a pan, cover generously with water, and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer until plump and tender, around 40 to 45 minutes.
~45 minIn the last 5 minutes, steam the mixed leafy greens over the barley pan in a colander until just tender.
~5 minDrain the barley and stir through the mustard and grated cheese with a little salt and pepper for a silky finish.
~2 minServe the stew in deep bowls with a spoonful of cheesy mustard barley and a generous pile of steamed greens. Garnish with the reserved yellow celery leaves.
~3 min