Slow Cooker Highland Beef Stew

A very rich and hearty beef stew that is great on it's own or served with tatties and neeps (potatoes and turnips). Although I served it with a round of Bannock, that did just nicely.      

Slow Cooker Highland Beef Stew

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

1 1/2 kg stewing beef, cut into 2inch/5cm pieces

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

2 bay leaves

2 x 440ml cans of dark Stout, preferably Scottish

100g smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cups brown mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup Port 
frozen peas, optional
chopped parsley for garnish  

Place the beef, garlic and bay leaves in a large non metallic bowl and pour the Stout over top. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for a least an hour or overnight. 

Transfer the meat to the slow cooker. Keep the remaining marinade and set aside. Add the chopped onions, chopped mushrooms and chopped bacon. Sprinkle the flour over top and give everything a toss. Pour the Port over the meat and vegetable mixture and then pour the reserved marinade over top of everything. Give a gentle stir. 

Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 3 to 5 hours

Add the frozen peas in the last half hour of the cooking time. And serve with fresh chopped parsley. 

Notes: Slow cookers vary so cooking times may vary. If you find that the stew's sauce is not thick enough you can mix a bit of cornstarch with water and add that to thicken the sauce when the stew is done. If you can not find a dark Scottish Stout then use Guinness or any other dark Stout. If you do not want to use Port then red wine may be substituted.   

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD