Beef · Slow cooker adaptation

Slow Cooker Beef & Guinness Stew with Barley

Pickled onions from the back of your Christmas cupboard, swede chunks the size of dice, and a half-bottle of Guinness: this is old-school stewing at its best. Jamie Oliver builds layers of flavour with silverskin onions, herbs, root veg and porcini, then lets the lot braise into a deeply savoury beef and barley bowl that's as good for you as it tastes.

R By Richard · Adapted from Jamie Oliver · Published 1 June 2026
👁 286.7k source views ❤️ 2.2k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
How To Make A Delicious Beef & Guinness Stew With Barley

Source video by Jamie Oliver on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is a vintage, old school beef and Guinness stew with chunks of skirt steak, carrots, swede, celery and pickled silverskin onions, slow-braised in chicken stock and dark porter beer. Served alongside mustardy pearl barley and steamed leafy greens, it is a comforting and nutritious bowl. Originally cooked in the oven for two hours at 180C, it adapts beautifully to the slow cooker where the lean skirt steak becomes meltingly tender. The pickled onions add a welcome zing through the long cook and the porcini mushrooms deepen the savoury flavour. Under 600 calories per portion when served with the barley and greens.

Slow cooker notes: Original recipe is oven-braised for 2 hours at 180C; converted to slow cooker timings (Low 8h / High 4h). Stock reduced slightly from 1.5 litres to 1.2 litres because slow cookers retain liquid with no evaporation. Beef is browned in the pan first before transferring to the slow cooker to build flavour. Pearl barley is cooked separately on the hob as in the original, since adding raw barley to the slow cooker would absorb too much braising liquid.

Ingredients

Stew
  • 1 tbspolive oil
  • 100 gsilverskin pickled onions, drained
  • 1 mediumwhite or red onion, cut into petals
  • fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • 3 wholecarrots, sliced into 1cm rounds
  • 1 headcelery, 2-3 outer sticks chunked, heart sliced, yellow leaves reserved
  • 800 gswede, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks
  • 20 gdried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated
  • 1.2 litreschicken or beef stock
  • 250 mlGuinness or porter beer
  • 500 gskirt steak, cut into large chunks
  • sea salt and black pepper
Barley
  • 450 gpearl barley (add late)
  • 2 tspEnglish mustard (add late)
  • 20 gcheese, grated (add late)
To serve
  • mixed leafy greens, chard, kale, savoy cabbage (add late)

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the silverskin pickled onions and white or red onion petals along with the thyme leaves. Fry until the onions take on some colour.

    ~5 min

  2. Add the sliced carrots, chunked celery sticks and sliced celery heart, and the swede chunks. Stir to combine and let everything pick up a little colour.

    ~5 min

  3. Season the skirt steak chunks generously with salt and pepper. In the same or a separate pan, brown the beef on all sides over high heat to build flavour, since the slow cooker will not brown the meat.

    ~5 min

  4. Transfer the vegetables and browned beef to the slow cooker. Add the rehydrated porcini mushrooms, pour in the stock and the Guinness. Stir gently to combine.

    ~3 min

  5. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours, until the beef is flaking apart and the swede is tender.

  6. About 45 minutes before serving, put the pearl barley in a pan, cover with a generous amount of water and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer until plumped up and tender, around 30-40 minutes.

    ~40 min

  7. Just before serving, steam the leafy greens (chard, kale, savoy cabbage) for 5 minutes until just tender but still bright.

    ~5 min

  8. Drain the cooked barley and return to the pan. Stir in the mustard and grated cheese, season with salt and pepper, and mix until silky.

    ~2 min

  9. Serve the stew in bowls alongside a generous spoonful of mustardy barley and a wadge of steamed greens. Garnish with the reserved yellow celery leaves.

    ~3 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to brown the beef before slow cooking?
Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so searing the skirt steak first builds the deep, savoury crust that gives the stew its body and colour.
Can I cook the pearl barley in the slow cooker with the stew?
It is not recommended. Pearl barley absorbs a lot of liquid and can turn the stew claggy. Cook it separately on the hob as Jamie does, then stir through mustard and cheese before serving.
What can I use instead of skirt steak?
Chuck steak, braising steak or beef shin all work well in the slow cooker. Aim for 500g of well-trimmed stewing beef cut into large chunks.
Does the alcohol in the Guinness cook off?
Yes, the alcohol cooks away during the long braise, leaving behind the dark malty flavour that pairs so well with the beef and root vegetables.
Can I swap the swede for something else?
Absolutely. Celeriac is a great alternative, and in autumn pumpkin or squash work brilliantly. Just keep the chunks roughly the same 2cm size so they hold up to the long cook.
Extraction notes (transparency): Original is an oven braise, not a slow cooker recipe, but it adapts naturally. Stock volume adjusted for slow cooker. Quantity of regular onion not specified in transcript (only that one is used in petals) so set to 1 medium. Thyme quantity not specified, given as a few sprigs. Barley water quantity vague ('a nice amount') so given as approximate. | Second-pass critique flagged 5 fabricated and 5 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.