Irish Stew with Smokin's Chuckies and Stout Beer

Well. I had to try it. I followed Smokin's Recipe for Chuckies. Only change I made was to pull the chuckies from the smoker after 3 hrs in the Au Jus. They were partially tender and needed more cook time, but since they would cook longer in the stew, I pulled them a little early.

I drained the chuckies and let them sit covered overnight in the fridge and then followed this recipe to make the stew:

Ingredients

4 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (I used 6 lbs)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium beef broth
1 can (14.9 ounces) Irish stout beer (I added another half can to cover the stew in the pot)
10 garlic cloves, sliced (I used 20+ cloves)
2 boxes (10 ounces each) frozen baby peas, thawed

Toss all the ingredients except the flour into a large crock pot (or large Dutch Oven or heavy pot) and let cook for 4 hrs. Probably won't need this much time if you use a heavy pot in a 350* oven. 3 hrs into the cook take the flour, slowly add water to make a paste, then add the paste to the stew. Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Stir the stew througout the cook.

We had the Irish/Smokin/Stout stew for dinner last night, and it was delicious. The chuckies were very flavorful and tender. The stout added a smooth creamy flavor, and the broth/stout sauce actually picked up some of the smoke flavoring from the chuckies.

We're having the stew again for dinner tonight. Nothing like a hearty stew on a cold winter day where the temperature barely makes it to 60*. Brrrrrr.