Mexican Chipotle Pork and Beans is a big pot of saucy, shreddable meat in a rich, spicy, chipotle sauce. Pork shoulder is slow cooked into fall-apart submission with meaty lima beans that absorbs the bold flavoured sauce. Stuff in tacos, serve over red rice, or eat like stew! Mexican Chipotle Pork and Beans This food... Get the Recipe
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]]>Mexican Chipotle Pork and Beans is a big pot of saucy, shreddable meat in a rich, spicy, chipotle sauce. Pork shoulder is slow cooked into fall-apart submission with meaty lima beans that absorbs the bold flavoured sauce. Stuff in tacos, serve over red rice, or eat like stew!
Mexican Chipotle Pork and Beans
This food is me on a plate.
Well, in a pot.
Hunks of juicy meat that’s so tender, it’s barely holding together when you scoop it out. A bold sauce that’s spicy, tangy and deeply savoury. Big creamy beans littered throughout that’s absorbed the flavour of the sauce, making beans tastier and dreamier than you ever imagined possible.
That it’s straightforward to make is a (big) bonus. It’s just like making a stew. In fact, that’s my favourite way to serve this – ladled into bowls like stew, except with tortillas on the side for dunking instead of serving it over the usual mash!
Ingredients in Mexican Chipotle Pork and Bean
Here’s what you need to make big pot of Mexican deliciousness!
Seasoned pork
This dish is made with pork shoulder which is an economical tough cut of meat that needs to be slow cooked to fall-apart tenderness. I just use cumin to flavour it before searing because the pork absorbs so much flavour while it’s slow cooking, it really doesn’t need much on the surface!
The chipotle sauce (and beans!)
And here’s what you need to make the rich chipotle sauce that the pork is braised in. Flavour to the max!!
Chipotle in adobo (photo below) – The hero ingredient, I adore this Mexican sauce! It’s made with chipotles which are rehydrated and canned in a tangy, spicy red sauce that packs a load of flavour. (Chipotles are smoked, dried jalapeños).
In this recipe, we’re using both the chipotles and sauce (some recipes only use one or the other) and pureeing the chipotles for maximum flavour release and to make a smooth sauce.
Where to find it – Those of you in the States are lucky enough to find chipotle in adobo virtually “everywhere”! In Australia – find it in the Mexican aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies), Harris Farms, as well as independent grocers. I use La Morena which I buy from Harris Farms – $3.29 for 200g/7 oz (we use the whole can).
Butter beans (aka lima beans) – The big, fat, meaty beans you always see at the store that you wonder what to do with. Well, now you know! 😂 Feel free to substitute with other beans, though I do think creamy beans work better than smaller, firm ones like black beans, chickpeas etc.
Why canned instead of dried beans? I find that the cook time for dried beans (especially large ones like butter beans) can vary quite drastically depending on the age, size and quality of the beans. Which means for dishes like this, sometimes the beans are done before the pork is, sometimes they are still hard when the pork is done. It’s not too bad pulling the pork out and leaving the beans to cook for longer. But it is a pain to take the beans out to continue cooking the pork! So, canned is my preference here.
Orange juice – Yes! A secret ingredient used in Mexican cooking to add sweetness and more flavour than just adding sugar into things (eg carnitas, fajitas). Doesn’t make it taste orangey because once it’s slow cooked, the flavour completely transforms.
Chicken stock – For the braising liquid. Low sodium please, otherwise your dish might end up too salty.
Tomato paste – For flavour and thickening. It’s sautéed to cook out the raw, sour flavour before mixing into the braising liquid.
Herbs and spices – Nothing unusual here! Oregano, coriander, allspice, bay leaves.
Onion and garlic – Flavour base.
How to make Chipotle pork and beans
This recipe starts off by searing the pork on the stove before transferring to the oven to braise until the pork is fall-apart tender, giving the sauce time to develop fabulous deep, savoury flavour.
Puree the chipotle in adobo using a stick blender. The chipotle is really soft so it literally takes seconds.
Season pork – Cut the pork into 6 equal pieces, for ease of handling to sear, more surface area for browning and so they cook faster than a whole pork shoulder. Then sprinkle with the cumin, salt and pepper.
Brown the pork in two batches, using a heavy based oven-proof pot. Rotate the pork to brown all over. Remember, colour = flavour! Once done, remove the pork onto a plate.
Sauté sauce flavour base – Using the same pot, sauté the garlic, onion, dried herbs and spices. Sautéing dried herbs and spices is a neat trick for getting extra flavour out of them – it makes them “bloom”.
Next, cook off the tomato paste followed by the pureed chipotle in adobo. Cooking off pastes is a great flavour trick as it intensifies flavour as well as taking off the raw, sour edge. It also depends the savoury flavour so you get more out of less!
Braising liquid – Add all the remaining ingredients except the beans into the sauce – the orange juice, stock, spices and bay leaves. The beans are added later else they will overcook and become too mushy.
Give it all a good mix then place the pork in, along with any juices pooled on the plate (never waste free flavour!). Arrange the pork as best you can so they are submerged under the liquid. But don’t worry if there’s some of the surface poking above because it will steam-cook and also the pork will shrink as it cooks so it will eventually sink below the surface.
Slow cook – Put the lid on and transfer to the oven to slow cook for 2 hours at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). This temperature might sound high for slow cooking but it equates to a gentle simmer on the stove, which is suitable for slow cooking meats.
Other cook methods – 6 hours in a slow cooker on low or 2 hours on the stove.
Beans – Remove the pot from the oven. The pork should be pretty much fork tender by this stage. Add the beans and push them in as best you can under the liquid.
Bake uncovered – Return the pot to the oven to bake uncovered for 30 minutes to caramelise the surface which adds extra flavour. Also by this stage, the pork should be tender enough so you can pry it apart using two forks without any effort at all.
If you used your slow cooker or the stove, I do recommend doing this final step in the oven because the caramelising of the surface does add extra flavour!
And that’s it! To serve, just scoop up pieces of pork and beans, and ladle into bowls or onto a plate for serving. See below for ways to eat this pot of fall-apart-spicy-meaty-beany deliciousness!
How to serve Chipotle Pork and Beans
As I mentioned at the beginning, my favourite way. to serve Chipotle Pork and Beans is in a bowl like stew. Just use a spoon or fork to cut off bits of pork (which takes barely a touch!) then get a big scoop with beans and plenty of sauce.
I like to add a bit of avocado and sprinkle of coriander/cilantro for freshness, and tortillas for dunking / bowl mopping is essential in my world.
Having said that, here are some other options – all dish worthy!
Served over Mexican red rice – or put a big Mexican plate together with Mexican corn cobs (pictured above).
As a taco filling with your toppings of choice! It’s pictured above with avocado slices, finely chopped white onion, fresh coriander/cilantro leaves and lime wedges. There’s no need for a separate sauce – this is saucy enough as is!
Burritos to die for! Switch the chicken in this burrito recipe.
Shred up the pork and mix it up into the sauce with the beans. Then use it to make a giant nachos (switch out the chicken in this nachos recipe), as an enchilada filling, make tostada or simply scoop up with corn chips.
Turn it into a hearty soup – Add extra chicken stock/broth to thin the sauce and make it less intense, so it becomes suitable to be a soup broth. Then serve it as soup!
So many possibilities! What do you think? Which serving option appeals to you? – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Mexican Chipotle Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Pork:
- 1.5kg / 3lb pork shoulder (skinless, boneless), cut into 6 equal pieces (Note 1)
- 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp cumin powder
Sauce:
- 200g / 7 oz chipotle in adobo – the chillis + sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup orange juice (real, not reconstituted sweetened stuff – Note 3)
- 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
- 2 bay leaves (fresh, else dried)
- 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 3 x 420g / 16 oz canned butter beans / lima beans , or other of choice (Note 4)
Dried herbs & spices
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
- SPICINESS – Read note above about spiciness!
- Puree chipotle in adobo until smooth using a stick blender or similar.
- Sprinkle pork all over with salt, pepper and cumin.
- Brown pork – Heat all the oil in a large oven-proof pot over high heat. Brown the pork all over in 2 batches, the remove onto a plate (~ 1 minute each side).
- Sauté – Cool the pot slightly then return to medium heat. If the pot looks dry, add 1 tbsp oil. Sauté onion, garlic, the herbs & spices for 3 minutes.
- Cook off tomato & chipotle – Add tomato paste and cook it off for 2 minutes. Add chipotle puree and cook for 2 minutes.
- Slow cook 2 hours – Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT beans. Stir, then bring to simmer. Place pork in – arrange so its submerged as best as possible. Cover with lid. Place in oven for 2 hours. (Note 6 other cook methods)
- Add beans, cook 30 min – Remove lid, add beans. Return to oven for 30 minutes without lid to caramelise the surface. The pork will be fork-tender!
- Serve like stew over Mexican red rice or with tortillas for dunking. Or make wickedly food tacos with finely chopped white onion, fresh coriander/cilantro, avocado slices and a squeeze of lime. More serving options above the recipe video.
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
The Coronation of Prince Edward Dozer Maehashi the first.
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Extremely hands off, foolproof way to cook beef ribs – slow cooked in the oven in a homemade BBQ Sauce braising liquid until the meat is fall apart and ridiculously juicy inside, and the outside is bronzed and sticky. Also known as short ribs, these are a prized cut for slow cooking! BONUS: this all happens... Get the Recipe
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]]>Extremely hands off, foolproof way to cook beef ribs – slow cooked in the oven in a homemade BBQ Sauce braising liquid until the meat is fall apart and ridiculously juicy inside, and the outside is bronzed and sticky. Also known as short ribs, these are a prized cut for slow cooking!
BONUS: this all happens in one pan, it’s 100% perfect for make ahead and freezing, and makes its own barbecue sauce (and it might be the best you ever have in your life!).
Slow cooked BBQ Beef Ribs
Beef ribs are the king of all beef cuts for slow cooking (pretty sure I said that in my Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce too). They are juicier than brisket and chuck (there’s always a few lean-ish patches, that’s just the way that cut is). Beef Cheeks come close, but ribs have one big thing going for them that cheeks do not:
THE BONE.
I don’t know what it is about fall apart meat on a bone, but it gets me every time. Hence my ever increasing collection of lamb shank recipes. And pork ribs. And now it seems I’ve moved onto beef ribs!
If you’re new to beef ribs, this is an excellent way to introduce them into your life, and I’ll wager that they’ll become a regular fixture. The sweet-savoury flavour of the BBQ Sauce is a perfect match with the beefy flavour of ribs.
And it’s virtually a foolproof recipe – you just need to ensure it’s cooked long enough so the beef becomes like THIS:
BBQ Beef Ribs Rub
Here’s what you need for the Rub. There’s quite a few substitutions possible so don’t fret if you don’t have every item:
Beef Ribs
Beef ribs do come in a variety of cuts, but I’m using the most common cut (here in Australia) which is also called beef short ribs. It’s a chunky rectangle block, cut with individual bones and are very meaty.
They shrink about 30% so try to get big meaty ones. But if you can only get small ones ~250g/8oz, that’s still ok!
Beef rib RACK: sometimes you see beef ribs in rack form. They typically have less meat on them. They will work great in this recipe too – see recipe card for directions. However, make sure you do NOT use the rib racks that come vac packed – these have been brined and will be too salty (read ingredients, if it has anything in it other than beef, then it’s brined ie salt injected).
Beef alternative cuts: beef cheeks and chuck (cut into baseball size chunks) will both work really great here. For brisket, use the Barbecue Beef Brisket recipe.
Other meats: For pork ribs, use this recipe and for chicken, use this recipe.
Rub substitutions:
-
Brown sugar – sub white
-
Garlic powder – 1 tsp minced garlic (using press) per 1 tsp powder
-
Onion powder – garlic powder
-
Mustard powder – dijon or standard mustard
If subbing fresh garlic or mustard spread, then rub those wet ingredients on first before pressing into dry rub.
Beef Ribs braising liquid / homemade BBQ sauce
And here’s what you need for the homemade BBQ Sauce which doubles as the braising liquid for the beef ribs (so it absorbs flavour as it slow cooks which is why we don’t need to marinate these ribs):
-
Ketchup is the primary flavour base for homemade barbecue sauce. You’ll find it in all my barbecue sauce flavoured recipes, including this (easy!) midweek Baked BBQ Chicken, BBQ Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce and slow cooked brisket with BBQ Sauce. Sub with Aussie Tomato Sauce – it’s almost as good;
-
Cider vinegar – the tang in homemade barbecue sauce. Sub with white wine vinegar, sherry or Champagne vinegar OR 1/3 cup normal white vinegar;
-
Brown sugar – barbecue sauce is sweet. If you don’t like sweet, you can cut it back.
-
Garlic – I really like using fresh but powder is fine too;
-
Onion powder – sub garlic powder;
-
Mustard powder – sub with dijon or normal yellow mustard (not hot English mustard! Unless you WANT the heat!)
-
Worcestershire Sauce – savoury element. Soy sauce (all purpose or light) is an acceptable sub (it won’t make it Asiany);
-
Cayenne – for a hum of warmth. This is not overly spicy. If you’re concerned, start with less and you can adjust right at the end. If you like it hot, start with the recipe amount then add hot sauce at the end.
How to make BBQ Beef Ribs
Dead easy – everything goes into the pan, then you slow cook it in a moderate oven until the meat is fall apart tender. It’s fabulously foolproof because there’s a big window before the meat will start to dry out from overcooking – I’ve left it in 1 1/2 hours too long and it was STILL juicy!
PRO TIP: Make in advance
If you’re a first timer or worried about cook timing for a scheduled meal (re: whether it will take longer for the beef to become fall-apart tender), make it earlier in the day or even the day before…or the day before! As with all slow cooked things (like stews, shanks), the flavour gets better with time and it’s really straightforward to reheat.
That makes this a sensational dinner party option! It plates up really elegantly, posh restaurant style – and I have options below for fine-dining type sides instead of the hearty finger-licking type sides pictured (Coleslaw and steamed corn, classic BBQ sides)
Here’s a close up look at the homemade Barbecue Sauce you end up with in the pan. The beauty of this method of cooking is that the juices from the ribs mix in with the sauce, so you’re essentially making it with the ultimate money-can’t-buy beef stock!
ANOTHER PRO TIP: For a posh restaurant experience, strain the sauce to make it silky smooth. I do this for VIPs only.😂
Grilling option!
In the recipe video, I make this entirely in the oven, including the caramelisation at the end. But if it were warmer weather, I would have finished it on the BBQ! I’ve included directions for grilling in the recipe.
What to serve with BBQ Beef Ribs
As promised, I’m going to offer up a couple of different options for how to serve beef ribs – rustic, finger lickin’ barbecue style OR elegant fine dining style (and yep, beef ribs certainly appear on the menu of fine dining restaurants, prized for the juicy qualities and because it CAN be plated up elegantly):
Rustic Finger Lickin’ Good Barbecue Sides
I don’t know what it is about sides with mayo based dressings, but they just go so well with anything glazed with barbecue sauce!
My picks: Steamed corn, our best No Mayo Coleslaw, Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomato Feta, cornbread (for mopping).
Elegant sides, fine dining style
My picks for a posh plate: Potato Gratin Stacks, Garlic Sautéed Spinach, Garlic Mushrooms.
Whichever way you go, it will be a hit. I know it, you know it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Beef Ribs with Barbecue Sauce - slow cooked short ribs!
Ingredients
- 6 x 300 - 350g / 10 - 12 oz beef ribs (aka beef short ribs) (Note 1), patted dry
RUB:
- 1 tbsp brown sugar (sub white)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder (sub 1 tsp fresh garlic)
- 1 tsp onion powder (sub garlic powder)
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 3/4 tsp mustard powder (Note 2)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Barbecue SAUCE:
- 2 garlic cloves , minced (sub 2 tsp powder)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (Note 2 subs)
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup , or Aussie tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar , loosely packed (ie don't pack it tight)(sub white)
- 2 tsp EACH black pepper, onion powder, mustard powder (Note 2)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste re: spiciness)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (sub soy sauce)
- 2 cups water
Optional garnish:
- Parsley or chives , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (all oven types).
- Mix Rub in a small bowl large, enough to fit one rib.
- Press beef ribs into the rub, coating all sides. Shake off excess.
- Mix Barbecue Sauce ingredients, except water, in a baking pan. Then mix in water.
- Place ribs in sauce, turning to coat. Arrange meat side down in the sauce, bone side exposed (sauce won't cover completely, that's ok).
- Cover tightly with foil or lid, bake 3 1/2 hours.
- Remove from oven, remove foil. Turn ribs (some may have fall over, that's ok, just turn them). Spoon over sauce.
- Bake 30 minutes uncovered, spooning over sauce again halfway through, until surface is caramelised and sticky. Check to ensure ribs are tender - pry a bit apart using two forks. (If not, cover and return to oven, but after 4 hrs they certainly should be!)
- Remove ribs onto serving plate (use a spoon as meat will barely be attached to bone, if at all). Mix sauce to bring together (Note 3 on adjustments). Serve with ribs!
SERVING OPTIONS:
- Share platter (rustic!): Serve ribs on a platter for people to help themselves with some sauce on it, and some sauce on the side for people to help themselves.
- Individual posh restaurant style: place rib on plate, spoon over sauce (see note about straining option). Garnish.
- See in post for side options (both rustic and posh!).
Notes
- Mustard powder - dijon or yellow mustard
- Cider vinegar - white wine vinegar, sherry or Champagne vinegar OR 1/3 cup normal white vinegar.
- Stove - 2.5 hours on low simmer, lid on (handle with care when removing)
- Slow cooker - 8 hrs on low, 5 hrs on high, then transfer to oven to caramelise 30 min uncovered, per recipe.
- Pressure cooker - 1 hr on high, follow slow cooker directions above. Depressurise naturally for 10 min, then release valve.
- Instant Pot - Follow slow cooker directions above but do the searing in your Instant Pot. Cook using slow cooker or pressure cooker function using above times.
)Nutrition
Life of Dozer
Calendar boy!
This calendar was a gift. And I was secretly extra thrilled because I thought it might be borderline too crazy-dog-lady to make one myself.
So I keep my fingers crossed every year on my birthday and Christmas that someone will give me a Dozer calendar. Eight years in, and I’ve never had to!! Someone always comes through! 😂
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There’s no greater comfort food than a hearty stew. And Irish Beef and Guinness Stew might be the king of them all! Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavour, and the beef is fall-apart tender. While it takes time to slow cook, this is very straight forward to make. Stove, oven, in your... Get the Recipe
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]]>There’s no greater comfort food than a hearty stew. And Irish Beef and Guinness Stew might be the king of them all! Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavour, and the beef is fall-apart tender. While it takes time to slow cook, this is very straight forward to make. Stove, oven, in your slow cooker or pressure cooker – directions provided for all.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Irish Stew may well be the mother of all stews. I mean, you know that anything simmered for hours is going to be a good thing. But this…. this is the stew of your dreams. Arguably the most deeply flavourful sauce of all stews, with a rich dark brown flavour, this is the best of the best.
THIS is the stew I make for company when I want to impress!
With it’s deeply flavoured rich sauce, Guinness Beef Stew is THE stew you make when you want to impress!
What kind of beer goes in Guinness Stew?
The not-so-secret ingredient that goes into Guinness Stew that gives the sauce the deep flavour and colour is Guinness Beer.
Guinness Beer is so dark it is almost black and it’s why the gravy of the stew is such a beautiful deep brown colour. Guinness is also much richer than most beers, which you can see just by looking at the thick creamy head (the foam) that Guinness is famed for.
It’s pretty widely available these days – here in Australia, you’ll find it at most liquor stores.
Meat in Guinness Stew – beef OR lamb
Traditionally, Guinness Stew is made with lamb. But in many parts of the world including here in Australia and North America, Guinness Stew is more commonly made with beef.
I hope the Irish aren’t offended! I’ve made it with lamb and to be honest, I do prefer it with beef.
Tip: Use big chunky hunks of beef. Don’t even think about using tiny cubes of beef. It needs to be chunky pieces so it can be cooked for a looooong time to get all that flavour into the sauce! If the pieces of beef are too small, they will cook too quickly and fall apart in the stew before it’s had enough time to develop the deep flavours.
Ingredients in Guinness Beef Stew
In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew.
Garlic and onion – essentials
Bacon – adds extra flavour! Can be skipped, or sub with pancetta or speck
Carrot and celery – potatoes could also be added
Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour;
Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids. I prefer using chicken rather than beef broth because it allows the flavour from the Guinness beer to come through better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like beer at all, it transforms into a deep savoury sauce! Also, all the alcohol is cooked out.
Thyme and bay leaves – to add a hint of flavour the sauce.
How to make Irish Beef and Guinness Stew
Though this Irish Beef and Guinness Stew takes time to cook, it is very straightforward. The steps are no different to usual stews like classic Beef Stew:
Brown the beef – brown them well, this is key to flavour. It’s not just the browned beef itself, also the brown bits left on the bottom of the pot (fond) adds extra flavour to the sauce;
Sauté flavour base – onion, garlic, bacon (speck or pancetta), carrot and celery;
Cook off flour and tomato paste;
Add liquids – beer, broth and herbs;
Simmer covered for 2 hours until the beef is pretty tender, then simmer for a further 30 minutes uncovered to let the sauce reduce a bit and for the beef to become “fall apart tender”.
Yes it takes hours but your patience is rewarded with beef so tender you can eat it with a spoon!
The one thing I do differently to most Guinness Beef Stew recipes, including very traditional Irish recipes, is to thicken the sauce slightly with flour. If you don’t do this step, the sauce is quite thin and watery, and while the flavour is still lovely, I really prefer the sauce to be more like a thin gravy.
What to serve with Irish Stew
Serve Beef and Guinness Stew over mashed potato or cauliflower mash for a low carb option. And what about some warm crusty Irish Soda Bread to mop your bowl clean??
I am so glad I have a tub of this in the freezer. I cooked most of the day but gave it all away. The minute I hit Publish on this post, I’m going to get cracking reheating some of this Irish Stew for dinner tonight! – Nagi x
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Beef and Guinness Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2.5 lb / 1.25 kg beef chuck , boneless short rib or any other slow cooking beef (no bone)
- 3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 onions , chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 6 oz / 180g bacon , speck or pancetta, diced
- 3 tbsp flour (all purpose/plain, Note 3 for GF)
- 440ml / 14.9 oz Guinness Beer (Note 1)
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock/broth (or beef broth – Note 4)
- 3 carrots , peeled and cut into 1.25 cm / 1/2″ thick pieces
- 2 large celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 1″ pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme (or sub with 1 tsp dried thyme leaves)
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 5cm/2″ chunks. Pat dry then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Add beef in batches and brown well all over. Remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Lower heat to medium. If the pot is looking dry, add oil.
- Cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softening, then add bacon.
- Cook until bacon is browned, then stir through carrot and celery.
- Add flour, and stir for 1 minute to cook off the flour.
- Add Guinness, chicken broth/stock and tomato paste. Mix well (to ensure flour dissolves well), add bay leaves and thyme.
- Return beef into the pot (including any juices). Liquid level should just cover – see video or photos.
- Cover, lower heat so it is bubbling gently. Cook for 2 hours – the beef should be pretty tender by now. Remove lid then simmer for a further 30 – 45 minutes or until the beef falls apart at a touch, the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Skim off fat on surface, if desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves and thyme.
- Serve with creamy mashed potatoes!!
Notes
– SLOW COOKER: Reduce chicken broth by 1 cup. After you add the Guinness and broth/stock into the pot, bring to simmer and ensure you scrape the bottom of the pot well. Transfer everything into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients per recipe. Cook on low for 8 hours. If sauce needs more thickening, simmer with slow cooker lid off (if you have that function), to ladle some of the sauce into a separate saucepan and reduce on stove.
– PRESSURE COOKER: Follow slow cooker instructions, cook on HIGH for 40 minutes (this might seem longer than most but we’re using chuck here which needs to be cooked for a long time until tender and also the pieces are large). 3. FLOUR: I prefer my stew sauce a bit thick, not watery, so I always add flour to slightly thicken the sauce. Some recipes say to dust beef with flour before browning – I prefer not to use this method because the flour burns then this permeates throughout the whole stew. 4. Beef vs Chicken Broth – I use chicken broth because the flavour is slightly more mild which lets the guinness flavour come through more. But beef broth works just as well and you can definitely still taste the Guinness!! 5. Nutrition per serving, excluding mashed potato. This nutrition is overstated because it does not take into account the fat that is skimmed off the surface.
Nutrition
Originally published July 2016, updated with new video and step photos. No change to recipe.
More slow cooked fall-apart beef recipes
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and Faster Chicken Stew – when you need a rich stew on the table in under an hour!
Browse Winter Warmer recipes and see more Stews!
Life of Dozer
Sulking because he didn’t score any Irish Stew.
Let’s not feel badly for him though. He lives a very cushy life!
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A hearty Vegetable Beef Soup with melt-in-your-mouth slow cooked chunks of beef, potato and vegetables simmered in a herb infused savoury broth. You’ll love how the broth of this beef soup recipe is slightly thickened so it’s like gravy and has extra flavour from a secret ingredient! Vegetable Beef Soup So many beef soups are watery and... Get the Recipe
The post Vegetable Beef Soup (Fall apart beef!) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.
]]>A hearty Vegetable Beef Soup with melt-in-your-mouth slow cooked chunks of beef, potato and vegetables simmered in a herb infused savoury broth. You’ll love how the broth of this beef soup recipe is slightly thickened so it’s like gravy and has extra flavour from a secret ingredient!
Vegetable Beef Soup
So many beef soups are watery and dull. Not this one!!! The thing that sets this beef soup recipe apart from the rest is the broth. It’s slightly thickened so it’s more like a thinnish gravy. It’s infused with herb flavour and also gets an extra depth of flavour from the secret ingredient: red wine. Or beer or stout. (They’re all good)
It’s not about boozing up our soup! It’s about adding complexity and character to the soup broth flavour without simmering for hours up hours like we do with Beef Stew and Pot Roast.
Without the wine, the broth still tastes very, very good.
With the wine, it’s stellar! (And in care you’re concerned, the alcohol gets cooked out, just leaving behind flavour.)
This Beef Soup is like beef stew in soup form – except faster to make!
What goes in Vegetable Beef Soup
Here’s what you need.
-
Stewing beef – anything economical, in small bite size pieces (remember, we’re making a soup here, not a stew)
-
Red wine, stout or guinness – all of these work great here. Red wine gives it a classic beef stew flavour, Guinness or stout will give the soup a more intense, deep flavour like Irish Guinness Stew. I use wine most frequently because I always have some on hand, and because I prefer not to just use part of a can of beer that I wouldn’t choose to drink!
How to make Beef Soup
The key step here is to brown the beef well – aggressively is the term that I use. This adds a ton of flavour to the beef itself and the broth, from the brown bits on the bottom of the pot that dissolves into the broth.
I like to sauté the mushrooms in butter and add them towards the end – but this is optional. Because golden brown buttery mushrooms vs mushrooms just simmered in the broth? There is no contest! (But really, it is optional )
Fall-apart slow cooked beef!
I promised you fall-apart beef, and fall apart beef you shall get. And you will see just how tender the beef is in the recipe video below using the most ridiculous method – chopsticks of all things!!
I know, I know, it’s soooo Asian.
But right at that moment while I was filming, it was the first thought that came to me as the easiest way to show it on camera! 😂 I mean, how else can I pry a piece of beef apart using one hand??
What Beef Soup goes with
There’s a ton of veggies in this soup, and you could add even more into the soup. Green beans would be ideal, but they were extortionately overpriced on the day I shot this and I just couldn’t do it.
So it’s an ideal meal-in-a bowl that doesn’t need anything more. But I’m pretty sure no one would say no to a side of quick Cheesy Garlic Bread!!! Or try one of these soup dunkers:
Soup Dunkers
Also, this soup just gets better with time and freezes 100% perfectly. So make a double batch! ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Vegetable Beef Soup (Fall apart beef!)
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 500g/1 lb stewing beef , cut into 1.75cm / 2/3" cubes (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 onion , chopped
- 3 garlic , minced (1 tbsp)
- 2 celery , cut into 0.8 cm / 1/3" slices
- 3 carrots , cut into 0.5 cm / 1/5" thick slices (halve larger ones)
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 1/2 cups (625ml) beef broth/stock , low sodium
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) dry red wine, Guinness beer or stout (Note 2)
- 1.5 cups (375ml) water
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 potatoes (any), cut into 1.5cm / 2/3" cubes
Buttery mushrooms (optional):
- 1 tbsp (15g) butter or oil
- 200g/ 6oz small mushrooms , quartered or halved
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp oil until very hot in a large, heavy based pot over high heat.
- Pat beef dry with paper towels, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Brown beef aggressively in 2 or 3 batches, adding more oil if needed. Remove browned beef into a bowl.
- If pot looks dry, add a touch more oil.
- Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add carrot and celery, cook for 2 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Stir in flour, then slowly pour in beef broth while constantly stirring.
- Add beer, water, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme, stir well. Then add the beef back in.
- Cover, adjust heat to medium low so it's bubbling gently. Simmer 1 hr 15 min or until beef is pretty tender.
- Add potatoes and peas, simmer for a further 20 minutes without the lid. Add cooked mushrooms in the last 5 minutes.
- The soup is ready when the potatoes are cooked and beef is very tender (see video).
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper in this!).
- Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread if desired. Try quick Cheesy Garlic Bread or super easy Irish Soda Bread!
Buttery Mushrooms (optional):
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until browned. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Red wine - any dry, full bodied red wine. Cab Sauv and Merlots are ideal.
- Guinness Beer and Stout are dark beers, labelled as such on the cans. You should find these at most liquor stores. Use some, drink some - or tip the whole can in an simmer for longer with the lid off!
- Non alcoholic sub - add 400g/14 oz can of crushed tomato, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce. This will add alternative flavour to compensate.
Nutrition
Originally published May 2019. Updated for housekeeping matters March 2020, no change to recipe.
More chunky, hearty soups
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