Slow-cooked Beef in Beer
Leave an open bottle of Picaroons Timber Hog, Dark and Stormy Night or Man's Best Friend on the counter for a couple of hours before you start to cook
Cube into good-sized chunks as much thickly cut round steak as you like
I buy all our beef from Larry Yerxa: no growth hormones, no antibiotics, no feed lots,
beautifully raised in New Brunswick and exquisitely butchered
Toss the cubed beef in flour and brown it in batches in a frying pan with a little oil
As the batches are done, place the browned cubed beef in a slow cooker
Cut a large onion in half lengthwise, slice into 1/2 rings and place in the cooker
Squeeze two or three garlic cloves over the beef and onions
Slice 6 or more carrots on the diagonal, making medallions that are neither thick nor paper thin and add them to the cooker
Deglaze the frying pan with a cup or two of beef bouillon
Stir in a good dollop of tomato paste, about 2 Tbsp, and simmer very gently
Grind as much black pepper as you like into the sauce
Add whatever green herbs you have on hand:
a bay leaf
some oregano
a little summer savoury
a very little rubbed thyme
a good spoonful of basil
I don't add salt as I use organic Better than Bouillon beef paste to make the bouillon and it is heavily salted
Pour the sauce over the beef and vegetables in the cooker
Add the beer and turn the meat and vegetables over a few times, gently
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours
Serve in soup plates with chunks of baguette for dipping and your favourite Picaroons beer
(We do this with lamb cut from the leg and cubed, but we add a little rosemary to the herb mix and use a sweeter dark beer such as a porter made with dates)