What makes this beef and barley stew better than all the others you have tasted? BEER!!! I added dark beer to this flavor packed dish and will never again cook it without it. You know what else makes it great….. one serving is only about 370 calories and packed with winter vegetables. Doesn’t that make it even better? And it is Hubby approved.
One can safely assume that I am still cooking lots of soups and stews for a number of reasons but mostly because there is something insanely comforting about the smell of a good stew cooking in the kitchen while its so cold outside. I love the smell of sautéing onions, carrots, garlic and herbs.
I like to have shitake mushrooms on hand whenever I need them so I bought a big container of dehydrated ones at Costco. Dry shitake work great in stews as there is time for them to fully rehydrate and lose that chewy texture.
Let me know what you think of it. Enjoy. 
Beer, Shitake and Barley Stew
Total time
Author: Kathy Steger
Serves: 8
- 1 lbs beef stew meat
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, sliced at an angle about 1½ inch thick
- 1 parsnip, chopped into chunks
- 1 cup uncooked barley
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup dehydrated shitake mushrooms
- 1 12 oz bottle dark beer, i used Negro Modelo
- 6 cups hot water
- 2 beef bouillons
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped parsley for garnish
- Cover shitake with hot water and let sit while you’re getting the rest of the stew going.
- In a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat olive oil, add beef stew and sauté about 8-10 minutes until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- to the same pot add onions and thyme, reduce heat to medium, cover and let sweat for about 5 minutes.
- Uncover, add tomato paste, carrots, parsnip, garlic, bay leaf, barley and drained mushrooms. Cook another 2 minutes.
- Dissolve bouillon in hot water. Add to the vegetable mixture.
- Return beef, add beer and worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook 1 hour stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- To serve garnish with fresh parsley
Serving size: 1 cup Calories: 370
3.2.1652
3.2.1596
