Beef Braised with Beer and Cheddar Cheese Dumpling
A delicious and economical meal using good West Country ingredients.
Dumplings are known as 'doughboys' in the West Country.
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Ingredients
- Serves: 4
- 25 Gram Beef dripping, or oil (1 oz)
- 2 Medium Onions, sliced
- 675 Gram Stewing beef, cubed (1 1/2 lb)
- 1 rounded tbsp Plain flour
- 1 Teaspoon Brown sugar
- Pinch Cinnamon
- 300 ml Brown ale ( 1/2 pint)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ---- Dumplings ----
- 100 Gram Self raising flour (4 oz)
- 50 Gram Shredded suet (2 oz)
- 25 Gram Cheddar cheese (1 oz)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 Tablespoon Water
Details
Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180 °C / 350 °F / Gas 4.
Heat the fat or oil and soften the onions, then take them out and put them into a casserole dish. Quickly brown the beef on all sides, then add the flour and let it cook for 1 minute, stirring from time to time. Add the sugar and cinnamon and gradually pour in the brown ale. Stir well then add salt and pepper to taste. Put the meat and gravy into the casserole dish. Cover and cook for half an hour, then reduce the oven temperature to 170 °C / 325 °F / Gas 3 and continue cooking for a further hour.
For the dumplings, mix together all the dry ingredients. Add the water gradually, adding a little more if needed to make a fairly slack dough. Flour your hands and break the dough into 8 small pieces, then roll into little balls with the palms of your hands. Chill until required.
After 1 1/2 hours' cooking time, test the meat with a fork. If necessary, cook for a further 30 minutes. If the casserole seems dry, add a little water, or more beer. About 20 minutes before the meat is ready, place the dumplings on top of the casserole, leave off the lid and cook until they are risen, about 20-30 minutes. Alternatively, poach the dumplings, about 4 at a time, in a saucepan of boiling salted water, for about 15 minutes. Drain well.
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