Guinness rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 11 recipes to cook with it.

What are guinness?

Guinness is Ireland's famous dry stout, a near-black beer brewed with roasted barley that gives it a coffee-and-cocoa bitterness under a thick, creamy tan head. The roasted grain is what makes a stout a stout, and it is also what makes Guinness such a useful cooking ingredient.

Despite the heavy color, the standard draught is light: only about 4.2% alcohol and surprisingly low in body.

That bitterness is the headline flavor, and it behaves very differently raw than after an hour in the oven. Cook it down and the harsh, almost burnt edge softens into a deep, malty, faintly chocolate backbone.

That transformation is the whole reason it ends up in stews and cakes.

Cooking With Guinness

In savory cooking, Guinness is a braising liquid that doubles as a flavor base.

It is the classic partner for beef, where its bitterness cuts the richness of fatty cuts and the malt builds body in the gravy, as in Beef in Guinness and a proper Irish Beef Stew with Guinness.

Brown the meat hard first, then deglaze with the stout and let it simmer low for a couple of hours. Long, slow heat does the real work.

A quick splash leaves the raw bitterness behind, while a long braise mellows it into savory depth, the kind that fills a Steak & Guinness Pie.

It works as a marinade too, its mild acidity and roast notes seasoning a Grilled Ribeye Steak with Guinness Marinade. And it makes a sturdy batter for frying or for soda bread, the bubbles lightening the crumb.

On the sweet side, the coffee-chocolate character is a natural match for cocoa. A Chocolate-Orange Guinness Cake or a fruit-packed Porter Cake (Irish) uses the stout to deepen the chocolate and keep a dense cake moist.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Guinness leans into beef, lamb, onions, mushrooms, root vegetables, and aged cheddar on the savory side, and into chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, and dried fruit on the sweet side. It even turns up with oily fish, as in Potted Herrings in Guiness.

The biggest mistake is reducing it too aggressively or adding too much. Boil a stout down to almost nothing and the bitterness concentrates into something acrid; the roast that tastes pleasant in a full braise turns medicinal when over-reduced.

Balance it with a pinch of sugar or a spoon of tomato if a sauce tastes too sharp.

The second mistake is using it where its color matters. Guinness will darken and slightly bitter anything it touches, so it is wrong for a pale cream sauce or a delicate dish. Save it for braises and bakes that are already brown and bold.

Substitutes

The closest swap is any other dry Irish stout or an English porter, which share the roasted-barley bitterness and dark color; use the same amount and you will barely notice. A hearty dark ale works too, though it is sweeter and less roasty.

For a non-alcoholic version, Guinness sells a 0.0 stout that cooks identically. You can also use strong black coffee cut with a little beef stock and a teaspoon of molasses to mimic the roast and malt. It will not foam, but in a braise that does not matter.

Avoid swapping in a pale lager or a hoppy IPA. The lager brings none of the roast, and IPA hops turn aggressively bitter when cooked, throwing the dish off entirely.

Buying and Storing Guinness

A single can or bottle is all most recipes need, so buy the widget can or a bottle rather than committing to draught from a tap.

The nitrogen widget that gives a poured pint its creamy head does nothing for cooking, so plain bottled Guinness Extra Stout is perfectly fine and often cheaper.

Store unopened cans and bottles cool and dark, like any beer; a pantry shelf is fine and the fridge is better for flavor. Sealed, it keeps months past purchase, though stout is best within its printed best-by date.

Once opened, it goes flat within a day. For cooking that flatness is irrelevant, so an opened bottle left in the fridge overnight is still good to braise with the next day. A stale, sour smell is the real warning: that beer has turned and should be poured out.

Quick facts

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Recipes using guinness

There are 11 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 11 recipes