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.
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
"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
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 % 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.
There is a difference between an Irish Stew and a Brown Stew. 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.
Purists will argue that a real Irish stew consists only of mutton, onions and potatoes but the reality is that any combination of carrots, potatoes, celery, turnips, swedes, parsnips, leek, kale and cabbage are perfectly acceptable – and traditional – additions to an authentic Irish stew.
One of the most popular and iconic Irish foods is undoubtedly the traditional Irish stew. This hearty dish typically consists of tender chunks of meat (such as lamb or beef), potatoes, onions, carrots, and sometimes other vegetables like celery or parsnips.
Grains, either as bread or porridge, were the other mainstay of the pre-potato Irish diet, and the most common was the humble oat, usually made into oatcakes and griddled (ovens hadn't really taken off yet).
Grains. 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.
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. This recipe includes a couple of simple steps to tame that bitter flavor and ensure it doesn't overwhelm the stew.
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.
According to Regina Sexton, food and culinary historian and programme manager, Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture, University College Cork, corned beef and cabbage is not a dish much known in Ireland. What the Irish actually eat is bacon and cabbage. "A traditional dinner is bacon, potatoes, and cabbage.
Irish stew, "ballymaloe" or "stobhach gaelach" as it is called in Gaelic, traditionally contains chunks of lamb or mutton (less tender meat from sheep more than two years of age), potatoes, onions and parsley. Often the neck bones, shanks and other trimmings were the only basis for the stock.
Stew of rice and chicken.Stew of ham with cabbage and other vegetables, usually with cheese and stale bread added.Sweet pumpkin stew, traditionally cooked in the pumpkin shell; does not contain meat.
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.
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