This Authentic Irish Lamb Stew Recipe Makes a Hearty Meal (2024)
When you conjure up thoughts of Ireland, you likely think of sloping thatched-roof houses with gardens in front and huge fireplaces in rooms where the owners take refuge from Ireland's frequent rain. And on the table, by the fire, you would probably find Irish stew, a regular one-pot meal. Rustic, simple, and hearty, there's no one true recipe for the stew. It has evolved and adapted over time and different places, but it's usually made with lamb, onions,and potatoes. Other ingredients have been added or replaced over time; originally the stew was made with mutton—older animals with tougher and fattier meat—but nowadays lamb's shoulder seems to be the go-to cut. It was also made without potatoes, as these came to Ireland only in the 16th century when they were brought over from South America.
Each family has a favorite variation, but most people like to add carrots. Parsnips, peas, turnips, or celery can also appear, and even Guinness is added in some versions. Our recipe has tasty bacon and bacon fat to add an extra layer of flavor to the broth.
What Is the Difference Between a Stew and an Irish Stew?
What mainly sets the Irish stew apart from other stews is that it is, in origin, made with very few ingredients, like lamb, potatoes and carrots. Nowadays, the recipes have many more ingredients, but the true base is a humble and simple one-pot meal. Besides the number of ingredients, what differentiates Irish stews from other similar preparations is that they're thickened by the starch in the potatoes, and not by a roux. Even if adding a slurry of flour and cooled broth from the stew would thicken the consistency, Irish stews rarely rely on this trick.
This recipe appears in"The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors"by Jeff Smith.
Tips for Making This Irish Stew
In traditional fashion, make this stew the day before and refrigerate overnight, as it is even better reheated. The flavors have time to blend together more, which results in a more flavorful dish.
Accompany your meal with a loaf of good soda bread. Some pickles and sauerkraut can complement the earthy and bold flavors of the lamb.
If you want to use fewer dishes, cook the bacon, lamb, and garlic-onion mixture in the Dutch oven before making the stew.
What You'll Need to Make This Irish Lamb Stew Recipe
A Sturdy Dutch Oven
A Sharp Chef's Knife
A Handy Dandy Vegetable Peeler
"I was shocked that only 4 cups of beef stock produced so much stew. The lamb is super-tender and the veggies are tender without being mushy. Very nice recipe and relatively easy once you're cooking it." —Melissa Gray
3poundspotatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1teaspoondried thyme
1bay leaf
1/2cup dry white wine
Chopped parsley, for garnish
Soda bread, for serving, optional
Steps to Make It
Gather the ingredients.
In a large skillet, sauté the bacon until crisp. Drain the fat and reserve both the bacon and the fat. Don't wash the skillet; you'll use it again.
In a large bowl, place the lamb, salt, pepper, and flour. Toss to coat evenly.
Add some of the bacon fat to the reserved skillet. In batches, brown the lamb on all sides. If you run out of fat, use some of the vegetable oil.
Transfer the browned meat to a large Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, leaving about 1/4 cup of fat in the skillet.
Add the garlic and the chopped yellow onion to the pan and sauté until the onion begins to color a bit.
Add the garlic-onion mixture to the Dutch oven with the reserved bacon, beef stock, and sugar.
Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the lamb is tender.
Add the sliced onions, carrots, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and wine to the pot and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Garnish with parsley and serve with soda bread, if desired.
The Best Recipes for Traditional British and Irish Food
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
584
Calories
22g
Fat
35g
Carbs
57g
Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories
584
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g
28%
Saturated Fat 7g
34%
Cholesterol 164mg
55%
Sodium 832mg
36%
Total Carbohydrate 35g
13%
Dietary Fiber 4g
13%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 57g
Vitamin C 14mg
69%
Calcium 70mg
5%
Iron 6mg
34%
Potassium 1607mg
34%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Irish stew (Irish: Stobhach Gaelach) or Stobhach is a stew native to Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from time to time, or place to place.
Though the Romans had long outgrown it by then, stewing came to prominence in Ireland during the early 19th century, during a period of economic turmoil that led to mass poverty. With only a hanging pot, an open fire and a few fairly easily attainable ingredients, even poor families were able to survive on Irish stew.
The main difference between an Irish stew and classic beef stew comes down to the protein. Traditional Irish stew is usually made with lamb, while beef stew is always made with beef.
While Irish stew (in the modern sense) can be made with mutton, lamb, or beef, beef stew is always made with beef. Both stews can contain potatoes, root vegetables, flavorings like beer or wine and herbs, and thickened with potato, flour, cornstarch, or nothing at all.
Believed to have been a staple of Irish cuisine since around the year 1800, heart-warming homemade stew remains a firm favourite to this day. To many across the country, Irish stew is the national dish of Ireland. The methods and flavour of an Irish stew vary from person to person and have evolved over the years.
An Irish Stew is made with mutton and vegetables and should be pale with a vegetable broth type consistency. Brown Stew is made with beef. The beef is cubed, coated in flour and then seared on the outside until the meat is brown. Then the potatoes are added and fried in the mix, then the onions, then the carrots.
Irish stew: This is the dish Irish people are most likely to roll out for St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Hearty chunks of lamb are slow-cooked in a rich gravy with onion, potatoes, carrot and parsley. Coddle is a traditional Dublin stew with sausages, onion, potato and bacon – or rashers as they're known locally.
Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.
In addition to chuck beef and Guinness Beer, here are the other ingredients in Irish Stew. Flour and tomato paste – to thicken sauce and the tomato paste also adds some flavour; Guinness Beer and broth/liquid stock – the braising liquids.
Stouts, like Guinness, are known for their bitterness. If the stew is cooked too quickly or if it doesn't include ingredients to balance the bitterness, this flavor can be very pronounced.
However, the good news is that it is very difficult to actually overcook this dish. Your primary focus should be ensuring that it has cooked adequately rather than worrying about overcooking. A properly cooked Irish Stew should have a slightly thickened deep brown broth and extremely fork-tender meat.
An Irish beef or lamb stew, made with meat and vegetables is commonly thickened with a roux made from butter and flour. Flour can also be added without liquid while searing the meat, removing any raw flour taste. Grated potatoes or corn starch can be a thickening agents as well.
The famous Irish stew made with lamb, carrots, potatoes and onion was frequently featured on menus for third-class passengers on the Titanic. The stew would be consumed as part of the passengers' high tea, which was their second and final meal of the day.
This Great Depression staple was also known as “Hobo Stew.” Mulligan, being a common Irish surname, completes the recipe stew title because it's an adaptation to a classic Irish Beef Stew. During the depression, this catch-all meal was assembled by whatever anyone could scrounge up.
Stoba Baka (beef) or Stoba Galina (chicken), is slow cooked stew. This slow cooking method is used to make the meat tender and succulent. This dish can also be found in Aruba and Curaçao. Stewed meat and stews are a popular cooking methods used in Caribbean food preparations.
Introduction: My name is Kelle Weber, I am a magnificent, enchanting, fair, joyous, light, determined, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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