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Beer-Braised Beef

Beer-braised beef: a tender, flavorful main course slow-cooked with amber beer, spices and vegetables.
Recipe Beer-Braised Beef
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 20 minutes
  • Cooking 3 hours and30 minutes
  • Servings for 6 people

Picture yourself gathered around a festive table on a winter Sunday, while the rich, inviting aroma of a slow-cooked braise, wrapped in the scent of dark beer and herbs, fills the air. That is exactly the feeling this beer-braised beef recipe gives you: real comfort food, perfect for Sunday lunches, the Christmas holidays and any occasion when you want to impress your guests with a one-dish meal for special dinners. The beef, surrounded by spices, onion and carrots, is left to marinate in the beer, which during a long, patient cooking time turns into a thick, velvety, flavorful sauce, soaking every fiber of the meat with an unmistakable, perfectly balanced taste.

Choose an amber or dark beer for this dish: it brings the slightly toasty aroma typical of this braised beef main course. From the very first bite you will notice how well the beer, paired with fresh vegetables and herbs, brings out the tenderness of the meat compared with the more traditional red wine. The result? Tender beef braised in dark beer that melts in your mouth, perfect with mashed potatoes or simple roast potatoes, and just right for warming up any gathering.

Looking for more pairings? Try the Beer-Braised Pork Loin and the Pork Rolls with Speck, Sage and Beer, or experiment with Beer Chicken and the creamy Beer Risotto. And if you have never tried Beer Chicken Wings, let them inspire you.

Find out how to cook beef braised in beer step by step, choosing the best ingredients for beer-braised beef and letting the herbs that make it unique guide you. Every serving will be a memorable experience to share with the people you love.

Ingredients for 6 people

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Method

  1. To make the Beer-Braised Beef, start with the vegetables: peel the carrots and cut them into small dice, peel the onion and slice it thinly, and cut the celery stalk, already washed and trimmed, into cubes as well.
  2. At this point, for a more aromatic result, you can marinate the meat in the beer with all the chopped vegetables for 3 hours. This step isn’t essential: if you’re in a hurry, you can skip it.
  3. After marinating, or straight away, tie the piece of meat with kitchen twine, if you didn’t buy it already tied. Dredge the whole surface well in flour, pressing it onto every side.
  4. Then pour a drizzle of oil and the butter into the pot you’ll cook the beer-braised beef in. Add the floured meat and brown it over medium heat for 3 minutes per side, turning it, until an even golden crust forms on all sides.
  5. Once the surface is well seared, add the vegetables, the cloves and the bay leaves. Let everything cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables start to soften.
  6. Now slowly pour in the beer you chose, letting it run down the sides of the pot so the simmer doesn’t drop.
  7. Let it cook off for 2 minutes over medium heat: it’s important for the alcohol to evaporate before you go on. When the beer no longer smells of alcohol, move the pot to the smallest burner you have.
  8. Turn the heat down to the minimum, cover with a lid and cook for about 3 and a half hours. Some tougher cuts can need as much as 5–6 hours: don’t rush it, tenderness is the real sign that it’s perfectly cooked. Check every 30 minutes, turning the meat; add the salt only halfway through cooking.
  9. At the end of cooking the juices will be dark, aromatic and full-bodied, but not too reduced: slow cooking keeps them from drying out too much. Turn off the heat and let the beer-braised beef rest in the pot for at least 30 minutes, so it firms up and is easier to slice.
  10. My advice is to slice it once it’s completely cold. So after the 30 minutes, lift it out of the pot, wrap it in aluminum foil and set it aside to cool. Don’t cut it while it’s hot, or it may fall apart.
  11. When it’s cold, remove the twine, place it on a cutting board and, with a sharp knife, not serrated but smooth and very sharp, cut slices about 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick, following the grain.
  12. Meanwhile, separate the vegetables from the cooking juices. Blend the vegetables with a little of the liquid to make a cream. Heat the rest of the juices and reduce them over the heat so they can be added separately over the individual slices.
  13. Pour the vegetable cream in the center of the plate, while in the serving bowl add the cooking juices over the individual slices to make your Beer-Braised Beef even juicier. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

You can also make beer-braised beef with dark, red or light beer: thanks to the cooking tips you will always get tender meat. Add juniper berries or nutmeg for a more pronounced spicy note. You can also serve it cold, thinly sliced, as a summer main course.

Tips

If you can’t find chuck (cappello del prete), the most suitable cuts for this dish are the tough muscles from the leg or shoulder, which need long cooking. For a gluten-free version, you can use rice starch or rice flour. The secret of this recipe is patience: slow cooking turns the meat into a masterpiece of tenderness.

Storage

Beer-braised beef keeps perfectly for 3 days in the fridge, wrapped in aluminum foil and then in a kitchen towel. Then just warm it in a skillet over very low heat, or reheat it in the oven, in the microwave or in the air fryer wrapped in aluminum foil. The vegetable cream and the cooking juices keep the same way. You can of course also freeze it, preferably already sliced. When you thaw it, do so in the fridge, then eat it within 24 hours.

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