Irish Beef Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs lean stewing beef or 2 lbs beef chuck, in two inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
flour (for dredging)
2 tablespoons bacon drippings or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large yellow onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced (optional)
6 -8 medium carrots, scraped and sliced
2 -3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 -3 turnips, peeled and cut into cubes (optional)
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup beef broth

Preparation

Season beef with salt and pepper; toss beef chunks in flour until well coated.
Heat drippings or oil in Dutch oven and brown beef over medium-high heat in two batches.
When all are browned, remove beef from pan and add onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Return beef to pot and add carrots, potatoes, turnips, stout and broth.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
Cover and cook for 2 hours or until beef is fork-tender.