Start gravy:
Add onions, celery and garlic ( leek if using ) to pot and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute. Pour Guinness over meat,
scratching any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
Cook stew:
Simmer
(on sauté setting) until beer has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Then switch off instant pot and stir in beef broth, potatoes, carrots, thyme, rosemary, Worcestershire
and browned meat. Close lid and seal . Press "stew"
button.
Pressure release:
Once pot is indicating it's done with cooking, do a natural pressure release
for 15-20 minutes (just unplug your pot and leave it alone). Then
manually release any remaining pressure and open the lid.
Thicken stew:
Set instant pot to sauté and blend 1 cup of stew with flour and stir it back in.
Notes
- Meat: You can absolutely go for cheap stew meat here.
- Celery: Use finely sliced leeks in place of the celery or combination.
- Guinness beer: Any dark beer can work.
Recipe tips
- Do not skip the natural pressure release, as it helps to tenderize the meat.
-
While the stew won’t thicken in the
pressure cooker (the liquid cannot cook away because the lid is always
closed), you can thicken the stew to your taste after cooking using one
of the following methods:
- blend 1 cup of the stew with flour and stir it back in or
- make a slurry of 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water, set the instant pot to sauté and stir the slurry into the stew.