Culinary Disasters

I stole this idea from Jamie Oliver’s new show on Food Network called Jamie At Home.  Great show that features a new ingredient each week and the recipes are focused on that ingredient.  Lot of great ideas and so nice to actually see Food Network showing a show that is not some bimbo standing there reading the side of a box.

I did notice a couple things that I wanted to change from the original Guinness stew and puff pastry recipe such as showing some love to pork in the fan of bacon (in hindsight adding some salt pork would have been an awesome addition).  I also though that the chopped red pepper would add some great color along with a pinch of some crushed red pepper to give it some kick.

In a nutshell this dish is similar to the Guinness stew and cooked so it was not a stew anymore but rather more of a true chili.  After it is cooked there is a good amount of cheese added to the Guinnes cooked beef.  The cheesy beef are then dumped into a pan lined with puff pastry, topped with puff pastry, and then cooked.  So previously I mentioned the 3 B’s of life and life can’t get better well I was wrong.  It is now the 4 B’s of life, beer, beef, bacon, and butter.

What would I do differently next time?

• The bottom layer of puff pastry really did not puff.  Next time I would put the bottom layer of puff pastry in the pan and set it in the oven for 10 minutes.  Remove and then dump in the meat and cheese mixture and continue.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1/4 pound of bacon (I am using an apple wood smoked bacon) cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 lb of chuck roast chopped into 1 inch cubes (The recipe originally calls for brisket but the only brisket I have available has a date with the smoker so I had to turn to my favorite braising cut of beef.)
• 1 red onion medium dice
• 2 carrots medium dice
• 2 stalks of celery medium dice
• 1 red bell pepper medium dice
• 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic finely diced
• 1 TB of thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried
• 1 TB or chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried
• 1 tea of crushed red pepper
• 1 can of Guinness
• 1 cup of beef stock
• 1 box of puff pastry (I am using store bought because puff pastry sucks to make)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of cheddar cheese
• Unsalted butter
• High temperature cooking oil (I am using canola)
• Kosher salt and pepper
• All-purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Dredge the pieces of chuck roast in flour and shake off the excess.

Over medium heat in your favorite oven safe large pan (I am using my cast iron dutch oven) cook the bacon till crispy and remove leaving the grease in the pot.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chuck roast with some salt and pepper in batches.  Brown the chuck roast all over (about 4 minutes a side).  If the pan starts to dry up add in a squirt of oil or some butter.  Remove from the pan.

Dump all but 1 TB of the fat out of the pan and add in the onion, carrot, celery, and red pepper with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook till softened (about 5 minutes).

Add the mushrooms and cook till softened (about 5 minutes).  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add in the Guinness and bring to a boil making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to free up any stuck bits.  Add the stock, rosemary, thyme, crushed red pepper, bacon, and chuck roast back into the pan. 

Put the pan in the oven uncovered and cook till the chuck roast is tender (about 2 hours).  Make sure to check the meat every 30 minutes or so and add more stock or beer if necessary to make sure the pan does not dry up before the meat is done.  Once the meat is done remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven up to 400 degrees.  Stir in the 2 cups of cheese.

Butter a pie pan or a pan that is 8-10 inches by a couple inches deep.  Roll out a piece of puff pastry big enough to cover the pan with a little overhang.  Pour the Guinness beef mixture into this.  Beat the egg and spread it over the edges of the pan. 

Roll out another piece of puff pastry large enough to cover the pan.  If you feel adventurous score this piece making sure not to cut through.  Place this piece on top and push down on the edges to seal.  Brush the top with the beaten egg.  Place in the oven till the puff pastry is golden brown (about 30-40 minutes).

Serve and enjoy.  I decided to follow Jamie’s advice and use peas.

Tags: beef, pork, All //