Tender beef, carrots and potatoes in a rich beef broth scented with thyme. Instant Pot Recipe
Course Dinner
Cuisine instant pot, Irish
Keyword Instant Pot Beef Stew
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Come to Pressure 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
5slicesthick cut bacondiced
1white onion; peeled and diced
2lbsstew beef
2cupsbaby carrots
5red potatoes; peeled & cut into large pieces
32ozbeef broth
2bay leaves; fresh or dried
2sprigs of thyme; fresh
or
1/2tspdried thyme
1cupguinness extra stout beer
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonblack pepper
3tablespoonscornstarchmaybe more - see notes
3tablespoonswater
Instructions
Turn the Instant Pot on to sauté mode, and wait until it reads HOT. Add the diced bacon and cook until crispy. If it's browning too much, reduce the sauté to medium. Add in white onion and stir well, scraping up the delicious brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add in a little beef broth and deglaze. Scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot with a spatula or a wooden spoon, making sure there is nothing cooked onto the bottom. Deglazing well is key to not getting the burn warning.
Add in stew beef and cook until lightly browned. Turn off saute mode. Add in carrots potatoes. Pour in the guinness and the remaining beef broth. If this does not cover your vegetables and meat then add water to just barely cover. Add in thyme and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well.
Place the lid on the instant pot and set the valve to the sealed position. Press the pressure cook button or manual depending on the model of Instant Pot you have and set timer to 25 minutes. Once the timer beeps, turn the valve to open, and do a quick release. Normally it's recommended to do a natural release when cooking meat, but since this is stew and has a lot of broth, the meat which is in smaller pieces will be nice and tender. A natural release will over cook the carrots and potatoes.
Cancel the pressure setting and turn on saute mode. Prepare the cornstarch slurry (this is 3 tablespoons cornstarch whisked well with 3 tablespoons or so of water). Pour slurry into the broth and stir well. Let the broth to a boil to activate the cornstarch and thicken the stew. If it's still not thick enough you can add a little more slurry. The gravy will thicken as it cools, so keep this in mind and don't over do it!
Notes
Notes: The amount of cornstarch slurry will vary depending on how much broth you end up with and your personal preference for the thickness of the broth.