Beef Stew

With the season changing and the temperature dipping lower each week, it's fitting to highlight one of the best winter meals we make: beef stew. It's simple, but fills your belly with warmth and comfort on cold, wet days. With its root vegetable base, Casper's Evil Twin brings a great kick that complements the rich, deep flavours of the stew.

The recipe we use: 1.5 lbs stewing beef (cubed), 2 medium carrots (chopped), 1 large cooking onion, 3 tbsp bacon fat, 1 cup beer or red wine, 2 stalks celery (chopped), 4 cups beef stock, 1 cup frozen peas, 6 medium potatoes, 1 bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Brown the meat on medium-high heat in the melted bacon fat in a large stock pot. Remove the meat, reduce to medium heat, and add the onions, carrots and celery along with the seasonings. Once the vegetables have softened, add the beer or wine and let it simmer while the alcohol burns off. Add the beef back in with the stock and simmer, lid on, for an hour. Make mashed potatoes (boil, drain, add milk and butter, mash). Add the frozen peas to the stew 5 minutes before serving.

Serve by putting the mashed potatoes on your plate with a small indentation in the middle, then ladle the stew into it. Add a few drops of Casper's Evil Twin and mix it in. Enjoy!

Casper's Evil Twin was inspired by the white ghost pepper — keeping the colour consistent, we added parsnip, leek, turnip and white habanero for a creamy white sauce with bold heat, tempered by the root vegetables. It's since been retired from our regular lineup, but if you've still got a bottle tucked away, this is exactly what it was made for.