Pub Classics · England-wide

Beef in Ale Casserole

Name: Beef in Ale Casserole
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h 40 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 900g braising steak, large chunks; 2 tbsp seasoned flour; 2 onions; 3 carrots; 2 celery sticks, chopped; 500ml dark ale; 300ml beef stock; 75g pearl barley (optional); 1 tbsp tomato purée; 2 bay leaves; few thyme sprigs; Horseradish dumplings, if you’re going properly to town

Slow-braised beef with carrots and pearl barley in dark ale — the sort of pot that has been bubbling beside inn fires for three centuries.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 160 min
Total: 180 min
Yield: Serves 4–6
Difficulty: Easy
Era: Coaching inn

Ingredients

900g braising steak, large chunks
2 tbsp seasoned flour
2 onions; 3 carrots; 2 celery sticks, chopped
500ml dark ale; 300ml beef stock
75g pearl barley (optional)
1 tbsp tomato purée; 2 bay leaves; few thyme sprigs
Horseradish dumplings, if you’re going properly to town

Method

Oven160°C320°FFan 140°CGas 3

Toss the beef in seasoned flour and brown in dripping in batches.
Soften the vegetables for 8 minutes; add the tomato purée, ale, stock, barley and herbs.
Cover and cook at 160°C / 320°F (fan 140°C, gas 3) for 2½ hours until the beef is spoon-tender.
Adjust the seasoning and consistency — it should be thick, dark and glossy.
Serve with mashed potato or suet dumplings and a glass of the same ale.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.