St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, so here we start a week of fun Irish recipes. This starts off as a slow cooker recipe and then is assembled and finished in the oven.

Ingredients:

3 lbs of chuck roast, cubed

1/4 cup of flour

salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp of vegetable oil

4 carrots, peeled and diced

1 pkg of frozen pearl onions

5 medium sized red potatoes, diced

2 cups of diced mushrooms

1 bottle of stout beer

2 frozen pie crusts, (pastry) thawed

1 egg

2 Tbsp of water

Dredge cut chuck roast in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.  Cook in a pre-heated skillet with oil until brown on all sides.  Remove from heat and transfer to a  slow cooker.

Add carrots, potatoes, onions and mushrooms to the browned chuck roast.  Pour one bottle of stout beer over the top.  Cover.  Cook 6-8 hours (or overnight).

Remove the stew from slow cooker and spoon into ramekins.  Divide remaining gravy and pour into each ramekin.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

On a floured surface, roll thawed pie crust and cut into circles slightly larger than the size of the ramekins.  Place the pie crust on top and crimp the sides.  With the tongs of a fork, poke holes in the top of the crust.

Beat the eggs in water and baste the “egg wash” on top of the crust.  Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown.