Start by getting your heavy-bottomed pot hot, then add a good glug of olive oil. Sear the chuck roast pieces on all sides until they’re deeply browned—this is where the flavor foundation is built, so don’t crowd the pan and don’t rush it. Remove the beef and set it aside.

Add onion and celery to the same pot. Sauté until soft and fragrant, scraping up those irresistible browned bits stuck to the bottom. Stir in minced garlic and let it cook just until aromatic, making sure it doesn’t brown and turn bitter.

Pour in Guinness stout, letting the liquid simmer so it scrapes up every last bit of caramelized flavor. Add the beef back in, then pour over the beef stock, tomato paste, and Worcestershire. Stir to combine before seasoning with salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, smoked paprika, and thick-sliced carrots.

Cover and let this beauty simmer low and slow, checking once or twice to make sure everything’s nestled down. As the beef turns meltingly tender and the broth thickens, the kitchen will fill with that unmistakable stew aroma—deeply savory, a little sweet, and plenty hearty.

Just before serving, fish out the bay leaves and stir in fresh parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking, then ladle everything over creamy colcannon: a mound of buttery mashed potatoes with green flecks of cabbage or scallion, folded in at the very end.