food pairing

St Patrick's Day Beer and Food Matches

In celebration of St Patrick’s Day, get some inspiration for your beer and snack combinations now

Irish ales and stouts are popular tipples to drink on St Patrick's day, with Guinness alone selling more than 10 million pints of the black stuff worldwide on the 17th March. Irish ales and stouts offer a malty, caramel profile, with creamy roasted, coffee and bitter chocolate flavours, which pair well with strong cheeses, meats, fruits and puddings.

In terms of snackage, popular pairings include oysters, venison stew, boiled bacon and cabbage, smoked fish, and strong cheeses such as stilton or gouda. For pudding combos you'll want to bring out the beer's complex bitter-sweet flavours, with dark chocolate puddings, spiced fruits, vanilla custard and lush autumnal produce like figs. If you're in need of some St Patrick's Day meal inspiration, try this delicious recipe courtesy of Guinness...

GUINNESS BRAISED SHORT RIBS

Ingredients

7.5 litres beef stock 

470ml tomato juice

2 cans Guinness Draught

2 carrots, diced

4 celery stalks, diced

2 chopped onions

4 sprigs fresh thyme

12 (680g) bone-in short ribs

canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Season short ribs generously with salt and pepper. Coat your pot with canola oil and sear short ribs in batches. When the meat is seared to an amber brown colour, transfer to a roasting pan. In the same pot, sauté carrots, onions and celery for 5–8 minutes then transfer to the roasting pan.

Add two cans of Guinness Draught to deglaze the pot over medium heat. Pour this liquid over the short ribs in your roasting pan. Add beef stock, tomato juice and fresh thyme to the roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. Place meat into preheated oven and braise for 2–2.5 hours. The short ribs will slightly pull away from the bone when cooked. Ribs vary in size so cook times may differ.

Remove short ribs from the roasting pan and transfer to a plate to rest. Strain the remaining liquid and divide in half. Pour one half of the liquid into a saucepan and reduce over medium/high heat and reduce to create a sauce.

When ready to serve, simmer short ribs in the second half of your liquid until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Spoon sauce reduction over the short ribs and serve.

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