Bourbon & Barley Beef Stew
Despite my goal for simplicity this year, I went a little wild with this one. BUT just know that you can change up the recipe to make it simpler for you. You don’t NEED smoked olive oil and you don’t NEED to sear your meets if you don’t have time or just don’t want to. So…
PLEASE READ THE NOTES SECTION FOR SUBSTITUTIONS & EASIER METHODS
With that being said please enjoy my take on beef stew. It includes some different ingredients you probably haven’t used in stew before: bourbon, bacon, maple syrup and barley (instead of potatoes).
Bourbon
Like most times you cook with alcohol, you can get away with a cheap option. I happened to have a bottle of Basil Hayden so I went with that. We do cook off the bourbon before it hits the slow cooker so no worries about getting tipsy off this stew. The bourbon is simply there to add flavor.
Barley
Yes. Barley it’s a tasty grain that’s high in fiber, protein and beneficial to your health in other ways. It’s very similar to farro. My grocery store didn’t have barley, so I picked up farro instead. Which is fine by me because farro actually has more protein (and I’m a high protein gal).
If you don’t have a slow cooker…
You can cook the stew on low on the stove top in a dutch oven pot. OR at the very least a pot with a lid. Cook on low for the same amount of time. Just don’t leave your stove on if you are not home. This is why we love the crock pot.
If you want to use an instant pot…
I have not tried this recipe in an instant pot (I don’t have one), but a good rule of thumb is to:
Hold off on the flour until the end. Omit all of the flour until the stew is done. If you feel the stew is not thick enough you can add the flour at the end, mix well and let the stew sit to thicken.
Depending on the size of your instant pot, you will want to cut this recipe in half. It is important to leave room in your instant pot while cooking.
This should only take 30 minutes in the instant pot.
Ingredients
Marinade
2 t smoked salt (see notes)
1 t pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t paprika (see notes)
1/2 t celery seed
1/4 t ground mustard
1 T flour
~2.5 lbs stew meat (value pack)
2 butcher thick slices of bacon
2 T smoked olive oil (see notes)
2 T syrup
Liquids
3 cups beef stock (1 tall carton)
1/2 c bourbon
Other
1 T tomato paste
2 T flour
8 carrots, peeled and sliced into bite-size pieces
1 package of pearl onions (see notes)
1 shallot, sliced very thin
1/2 bag / 6oz of frozen peas
1 T fresh parsley, finely chopped (or dry)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups dried barley
Directions:
Mix your marinade spices together. Sprinkle your bacon with a few pinches of the spice blend. Toss the stew meat with the remaining spices, 1 T flour, oil and syrup so that each piece is coated. Let these sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Heat a saute pan on medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, cook the bacon so that it gets very crispy. Remove from the pan and slice into small pieces.
OPTIONAL: In the same pan, brown your meat for about 30 seconds on each side. If it is taking longer, turn the temperature up. We don’t want to cook the meat, we just want to sear it.
In the same pan add 1 cup of beef stock and bourbon. Use a spatula to scrape the browning from the bottom of the pan and stir. Let simmer for 10 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
Add your liquids to the crock pot. Add the remaining beef stock, tomato paste and 2 T flour. Stir well. Add your stew meat, bacon, carrots, onions, shallots, peas. Try to cover all these with the liquids as much as possible. They top with parsley and thyme. Cook on low for 6 hours.
Meanwhile be sure to cook your barley according to package directions.
Remove your thyme sprigs from the stew. Serve over a bowl of barley.
Notes
Smokey Ingredients: If you don’t have smoked salt or oil, you can use smoked paprika instead if you have it. Or omit all the smokey ingredients if its not your thing.
Bacon: If you only have regular bacon (not butcher cut thick bacon) just use a few more slices.
Optional Browning: This improves the texture of the meat and adds flavor because you do use the browning on the bottom of the pan to further flavor your beef stock. You can skip this step if you’d like to save some time.
Pearl Onions: Honestly I used pearl onions to be cute and pretty, but they are a hassle to peel. So go ahead and use 2 yellow onions chopped into bite-size pieces instead. Or be crazy like me and use pearl onions. Use this method to peel them easily.