I first made a slow cooker beef and ale stew when I was gifted a Jamie Oliver cook book about 10 years ago – and I was hooked. This is my version that uses a slow cooker instead of an oven, and has been tweaked and perfected over the 100-or-so times I’ve made it! Once the weather turns, this is usually the first recipe we turn to for a hearty winter warmer.
My slow cooker beef and ale stew has a top secret ingredient – Worcestershire sauce! It adds an extra kick which sets this slow cooker stew apart from the rest. Let me know what you think in the comments!
What’s the best type of beef for a stew?
Stews work amazingly well in a slow cooker because it allows use of cheaper cuts of meat, which get better the longer they’re cooked. In fact, with beef – the cheaper the better when it comes to slow cooking!
Cheaper cuts of meat come from well-worked muscles, that tenderise as you cook them for long periods of time. Whatever you do, do not let your butcher sell you an expensive cut of meat. After hours of cooking it’ll be dry and horrible!
Our absolute favourite cut of beef to use for a stew is beef shin, but you need to buy a well-butchered piece or it can end up full of fat and sinew. The best place to buy it from is your local butcher.
A worthy alternative is supermarket bought “braising beef”. This is also known as “chuck steak” and comes from the shoulder of the cow.
What’s the best type of ale to use for Beef and Ale Stew?
An ale with a full, malty flavour works best – our favourite types to use are either ruby ales or porters.
They have an outstanding full flavour and add an element of sweetness to the dish. If you’re after a suggestion, then Adnams Broadside is an awesome beer to try.
You may see lots of people online recommending Guinness. Guinness is a stout, and in my opinion is best avoided for this recipe due to its bitterness.
Same goes for IPAs, you’ll get a hoppy twang in the stew which can be unpleasant.
Can I make Beef and Ale Stew with non-alcoholic beer?
Yes! The alcohol from the beer doesn’t add any flavour – it’s all burnt off during cooking.
A good non-alcoholic beer suggestion is Low Alcohol Old Speckled Hen.
Can I freeze leftovers?
Absolutely, and trust me, you’ll want to keep any leftovers! To reheat, defrost in the fridge overnight and ensure it’s piping hot all the way through before serving.
Can this be used to make a pie?
It’s really easy to adapt this beef and ale stew into a pie. Once cooked, divide the recipe into pie dishes and top with ready-made puff pastry. Cook per the pastry instructions.
You can check out our Slow Cooker Steak Pie for a guide.
Slow Cooker Beef and Ale Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g (1 lb) stewing or braising beef chopped into 3cm chunks
- 500 ml (2 cups) ale
- 200 ml (1 cups) beef stock
- 2 carrots sliced lengthways and roughly chopped
- 1 celery stick chopped
- 1 leek chopped
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 150 g (1.5 cups) mushrooms chopped
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 4 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Sear the beef in a hot pan in a little oil. Season well with salt and pepper and coat in 1 tbsp of flour. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Pour the ale into the same pan and cook for a few minutes on a high heat to cook off the alcohol then remove from the heat.
- Add all of the chopped vegetables into the slow cooker, then add the remaining 3tbsp of flour, garlic, thyme and sugar, and stir to ensure an even coating.
- Add the ale, beef stock, mustard, tomato puree and bay leaves, stir well and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
- Once cooked check the seasoning, and add a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
Video
Notes
Choice Of Ale
This stew is made by the choice of ale! Full, malty ales work best, try Adnams Broadside. Don’t be tempted to use craft or pale ales – the extra hops in the beer will add an unpleasant taste to the stew.Gluten Free
If you’re making this recipe gluten free, replace the following ingredients:- Ale – There are loads of gluten free beers on the market – try Old Speckled Hen Gluten Free if you’re after a suggestion.
- Flour – Replace the flour with corn flour.
- Stock – most stock is gluten free, but check before using. We used Knorr Beef Stock Cubes.
Absolutely loved this stew! I used a can of Guinness and it was fantastic. Thank you for this excellent site and its great recipes. I’m trying your chicken Bhuna tonight, can’t wait!
Thanks Eoghan, glad you enjoyed it. It’s a personal favourite of mine!
Hi, I have to tell you that I didn’t read the instructions properly. Went to my local store and bought Guinness. I know you said, Guinness would be bitter, but actually it was quite sweet. I used bottled Guinness, not canned. I also made this with Mince as my local store didn’t have Braising Steak. Tastes absolutely amazing! Thank you! Yum! Yum! Had seconds!
Thanks for the great review, and glad you enjoyed it – even if you did break the rules 😀
@Dave, new review in. Made it “almost” as the recipe, but not quite. I will learn the hard way it seems haha!
This has got to be the best stews I have ever made so many flavours just devine!
Can I ask if you put a top and bottom on the pie or just a top
Great to hear you enjoyed this. I usually just make pot pies with a puff pastry lid which is very quick and easy! But you could use this filling for either type of pie once it has cooled down. Thank you for the review.
Hi. Can I ask is it best to use fresh or dried thyme?
I’ve made the recipe with both, and both work well! I do find that fresh thyme is slightly sweeter and smells amazing when cooking. Hope you enjoy.
Absolutely fab – made this for my other half and not too sure how happy I was to get “this is the best thing you’ve ever made…” but it kept him quiet the rest of the night!
Thanks so much!
Sounds like it went down well! Pleased you both enjoyed it 🙂 Thanks for the review.
This recipe looks great! I am going to try and make it today but just one question will the plain flour go lumpy in the stew as I’ve made a stew in the past and added cornflour and it went really lumpy so just wanted to make sure this didn’t happen again. Thanks
Hi Sara, sprinkle the flour over the chopped vegetables and then mix to coat them thoroughly. Add the liquid after this and that will stop any lumps forming from the flour. Hope you enjoy!
Really delicious it’s the second time of making this! I have tried quite a few different recipe from slow cooker club and so pleased with all of them! So tasty and perfect that it’s all done whilst getting on with other things and looking forward to a lovely meal at the end of a busy day perfect! ???
That’s great to hear you are enjoying the recipes! Thank you for the review:-)
This has to be one of the best beef/ale slow cooker recipes I’ve cooked. I’ve made it twice so far, once using pre-made stock and the second time using knorr stock jelly – pre-made wins hands down. I also used Old Peculier ale which works amazingly. As an added twist, put two teaspoons (level) of star anise power into the liquid mix (about 3 whole dried star anise if you can) – give the dish a slight oriental taste and lovely aroma!
Great shout on the Old Peculier, really pleased you enjoyed it!
Hi. Instead of 4 hours on higher can this beep cooked 8 hours on low. Thanks
Hi Christine, it can definitely be cooked on low, but don’t double the cooking time as it’ll be too much – an extra two hours will be sufficient. Check out our Crock-Pot CSC026 review to see how temperatures differ across settings.
This looks like to absolute best slow cooked recipe I have ever made. But silly me , I used a craft beer and the bitterness is so bad. I made a huge mistake. I’ve tried lots of things to fix it but to no avail. Any suggestions?
Oh no! As you say – craft beers (typically very hoppy) will make it very bitter. You ideally want to use a malty ale. You don’t mention what you’ve tried, but a little tomato paste and a pinch of sugar may help take away the bitterness…
@Dave,
Manns brown ale works well, and is cheap and easy to get.
Broadside is, of course, the Rolls Royce of ales!
Great recommendation, thanks John!