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Total Time:
4 hrs 30 mins
- 4 Tbsp.
olive oil
- 1 1/2
(3lb 3½oz) chuck steak, cut into bite-size pieces
- 450 g
(1lb) button onions or shallots, peeled and left whole
- 3
fat garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 Tbsp.
demerara sugar
- 350 g
(12oz) shiitake mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp.
each plain flour and English mustard powder
- 450 ml
(¾ pint) Continental-style beer
A few fresh thyme sprigs
- 2
bay leaves
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 150ºC (130ºC fan) mark 2. Heat half the olive oil in a large flameproof ovenproof casserole until sizzling. Brown meat, a few pieces at a time, adding the remaining oil if needed. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or the meat will stew rather than brown. Every piece should be dark brown - the colour adds richness to the final flavour. Transfer each batch of meat to a plate while you brown the remainder.
- Step 2
Add onions to the pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly for 5min or until they're beginning to soften and colour. Add garlic and sugar; fry for 4-5min or until onions are soft and caramelised. Add mushrooms and cook for 2-3min.
- Step 3
Turn the heat down and return all the meat and any juices to the casserole. Add the flour, mustard and plenty of seasoning and stir in with a wooden spoon. Gradually pour in the beer, stirring as you go. Bring slowly to a gentle simmer, add thyme and bay leaves and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
- Step 4
Put the casserole in the oven and cook for 3-3½hr. The beef should be tender and the sauce dark and rich. Season to taste. If making ahead, cool and freeze for up to one month in a freezerproof container.
- Step 5
If serving from frozen, thaw overnight at cool room temperature. Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan) mark 4. Slowly bring beef to the boil in the casserole. Cover and reheat for 25-30min.
Chef's tip
Pop button onions or shallots into boiling water for 5min and the skins will slip off easily.
Per Serving:
- Calories: 330
- Total carbs: 14 g
- Total fat: 15 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
