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 best cuts for stewing are shoulder, leg or neck fillet – it needs to quite a hard-working muscle with some fat marbling through it that will break down during the slow cooking to create tender meat. It's also best with economical cuts that are boneless – keep saddle, rack and lamb chops for roasting.
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. Our version includes beef chuck, which is less traditional, but easy to make and equally delicious.
The epitome of comfort food, traditional Irish stew has only a few ingredients: mutton, onions and potatoes. In southern Ireland carrots are added, and some cooks venture so far as to add turnips. These days, young lamb often replaces mutton for a more delicate version.
One theory about the dish's origins is that it was originally made with goat meat, which was readily available in Ireland at the time. However, as the popularity of the dish spread, it evolved to include lamb or mutton, which was more commonly consumed by the wealthy.
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.
Potatoes are mixed with cabbage to make colcannon, mixed with scallions in champ, and added to meat and vegetables to make the traditional Irish Stew. Irish Stew has been a national dish of Ireland for nearly two hundred years, and is a hearty meal appreciated for its ability to satisfying hunger.
Fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, lemon zest, black pepper, and salt are simple but amazing flavors that pair amazingly with the lamb! Each of these ingredients adds its unique warmth and depth to enhance the flavor of the dish.
Lamb shank is a super-simple, cheaper cut that goes a long way. Taken from the lower part of the back legs, there is a lot of collagen in the shank, which, when cooked slowly, gives the meat a lovely soft, melting texture, making this another cut that's perfect for stews and slow-cooking.
The leg and rack of lamb are perfect for herb-crusting and oven-roasting; since the shank and shoulder are a bit tougher, they fare well in stews or braises—the long cook time allows them to significantly break down and become fork-tender.
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.
If it's too thin, simmer it, uncovered, at the end of cooking until thickened to your liking. You can also thicken it with a cornstarch slurry made by combining a small amount of cornstarch with a little water to make a thin paste.Add to the stew and simmer until thickened.
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.
What is the difference between Colcannon and Champ? Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk.Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.
Mulligan stew, also known as hobo stew, is a type of stew said to have been prepared by American hobos in camps in the early 1900s. Another variation of mulligan stew is "community stew", a stew put together by several homeless people by combining whatever food they have or can collect.
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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