Originally Posted by
thegent
The meat should not be dusted in flour or even seasoned. It should be thoroughly dried and at room temperature before being placed in a hot oiled pan in small batches of no more than, say, 6 chunks at a time. It is crucial to brown these forming a crust with the fat bits rendered crispy where it appears. Remove them to a dish and set aside until all pieces are browned - too many at one time and they will not fry but will steam, a disaster.
Sweat the vegetables next in the same pan with the vestiges of the browned meat, adding a little more olive oil. Then add garlic and a concasse of fresh beef tomatoes using only the flesh - tinned tomatoes are too astringent. Once the mix is combined add a full tablespoon of fine flour and stir rigorously into a roux careful not to let it stick. Then, thicken slowly with the Guinness until a slightly bubbling, gloopy soup consistency. Add herbs, bouquet garni is sufficient, a good beef stock cube or gel, a little water, adjust seasoning with salt and fresh black pepper and as soon as it reaches a soft boil pour it all into a casserole pot with the beef pieces - I add a smidgen of marmite and HP brown sauce for a slight kick and helps to give a nice rich colour.
The pot should be sealed with foil and then covered with a heavy lid and left to simmer very gently on the stove for 90 minutes - two hours on a low heat or, preferably, in the oven at 135c or so. DO NOT PESTER IT or be tempted to break the seal. You should have a wonderfully tender, unctious dark brown stew. At this point I add mushrooms and baby shallots fried in butter and lardons of bacon and leave it on top of the stove for a final simmer of 20 mins or so.
Works every time.