Irish Stout Braised Chicken Stew

Irish Stout Braised Chicken Stew is a hearty, rustic stew made with chicken thighs and vegetables braised in a gravy made flavorful and robust by the addition of Irish stout beer.

While this is a deviation from my usual Southern-inspired dishes, its rustic nature makes it seem familiar and comforting.  And, it uses lots of bacon. In fact, the only thing that sets it apart from the American South dishes that are in my bailiwick, is the addition of Irish Stout beer.  The gravy certainly benefits from that addition and finishes off hearty and robust.  Check out Shephard’s Pie with Guinness for another great recipe that uses Irish Stout for remarkable flavor. 

Because it’s rustic in nature, the chicken thighs are cooked on the bone which probably necessitates the use of fork, knife, and spoon for eating. That’s a minor inconvenience and adds to the eating experience, in my humble opinion. 

Directions for Irish Stout Braised Chicken Stew

1. Salt and pepper chicken thighs and set aside.
2. Add diced bacon to a Dutch oven heated on medium heat. 
3. When crisp, use a slotted spoon and remove bacon to a dish. Set aside.
4. Drain bacon grease and wipe down Dutch oven.  Add one tablespoon of cooking oil to Dutch oven. Add chicken thighs, skin side down, to Dutch oven.  Cook 5 -7 minutes or until skin is crispy and brown. Pay careful attention that the chicken skin doesn’t burn.  Flip and cook remaining side 2-3 minutes or until brown. Work in batches, if necessary, to prevent overcrowding. If the cooking oil starts turning too dark between batches, discard it and add more to the pan. 
5. Remove chicken thighs to a plate and set aside.
6. Add carrots, celery, and onion to two tablespoons of grease in Dutch oven. You might have enough left in there from cooking the chicken.  If not, add more.  Cook 5  minutes or until vegetables have softened and onions have browned slightly. Add minced garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.
7. Add flour to vegetable mixture.
8. Stir until all traces of white have disappeared.
9. Add Irish stout to Dutch oven. Stir and remove all bits on the bottom of the pan.
10. Add chicken stock, cabbage, potatoes, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir.
11. Nestle chicken in the vegetables. Cover and cook 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees.
12. Add English peas. Cover and cook until peas are thoroughly heated.
13. Add bacon and garnish with parsley.  Serve with Irish Soda Bread to sop up the gravy.

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5 from 6 votes

Irish Stout Braised Chicken Stew

Irish Stout Braised Chicken Stew is a hearty, rustic stew made with chicken thighs and vegetables braised in a gravy made flavorful and robust by the addition of Irish stout beer.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Irish

Keyword: chicken stew, Guinness, Irish stout

Servings: 6

Author: Jackie Garvin

Equipment

• Enameled cast iron Dutch oven (aff. link)

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs bone-in and skin on
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 pound bacon diced
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil for frying
• 4 medium carrots cut in 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 3 celery stalks diced
• 2 medium onions diced
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 12 ounces Irish stout such as Guinness
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 head of green cabbage shredded
• 1/2 pound baby red potatoes left whole with skins on
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup petite English peas such as Le Sueur brand, drained
• parsley for garnish

Instructions

• Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
• Heat Dutch oven over medium heat.  When hot, add diced bacon and stir frequently.  Drain and remove bacon when crisp.  Pour bacon grease small bowl.
• Add one tablespoons bacon grease back to Dutch oven. Working in batches, add chicken, skin side down.  Cook 5-6 minutes or until skin is brown and crisp. Flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes on opposite side until brown. Remove chicken and set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Add carrots, celery, and onions to Dutch oven.   Stir.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until vegetables have softened and onion is browning. Add garlic and cook two minutes longer.
• Stir in flour. Cook, stirring frequently, until  white disappears. Deglaze pan with Irish stout. Scrape all bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Add chicken stock, cabbage, potatoes, salt pepper, and Italian seasoning to the Dutch oven. Stir.
• Add chicken to Dutch oven and nestle among the vegetables. Cover and simmer about 40 minutes until potatoes are tender and chicken cooks to an internal temperature of 165 °F
• Remove cover.  Add drained English peas. Return cover and cook 5 minutes to heat peas.
• Remove cover. Add bacon. Garnish with parsley. Serve warm.

Notes

Frozen English peas can be substituted for canned. Make sure they're  heated thoroughly before serving.

Serve with Irish Soda Bread to sop up the rich gravy. 

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