A Few Irish Stew Recipes

Irish stew, those words alone give you feelings of a warm kitchen, the smell of potatoes, lamb (or meat of choice), and vegetables blending together in the oven or on the stove to complete the ultimate of comfort foods. The stew will simmer for hours filling not just the kitchen, but the whole house with its alluring smell of the excellent meal that is to come. There is nothing like sitting down to a bowl of hot steaming stew to warm the body and soul on a cold day. A nice slice of warm buttered Irish soda bread wouldn’t hurt things either.

It seems there about as many recipes for Irish stew out there as there are Irish cooks. That's the beauty of stew; there is no wrong way to make it. Cook it in the oven or on the stove, use beef or lamb, parsnips or carrots, onions or leeks it really is up to you and your tastes. But to me in order to be truly Irish stew it must contain potatoes or it just isn't Irish. Although there are purists out there that claim it must be made with lamb that is not browned first and it must be baked in the oven. I'll sit here with my stove top simmered beef stew with my nice warm fully satisfied stomach and let the purists argue the fine points. Comfort food is comfort food no matter how it's prepared.

This first recipe is for the purists, although I would probably still get some argument. Here we go.

Traditional Irish Stew

• 2 pounds boneless lamb (shoulder or leg)
• 2 pounds potatoes
• 2 large onions
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• Salt and pepper
• 1-1/2 cups water
• Fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 275° F.

Trim the meat into about 1" cubes leaving on a little of the fat. Peel and slice the potatoes 1/4" thick. Do the same with the onions. Now take a large oven proof pot or casserole with a cover, about 6 quart size. Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the pan, leave enough for a final top layer of potatoes. Lightly season this layer and the following layers with salt, pepper and thyme. Then add the layer of the lamb and season. Add the layer of onions and season. Finish off with a top layer of potatoes and season. Add the water and cover. Put in the oven for about 2-1/2 hours. The pan should be shaken once in a while to keep the potatoes on the bottom from sticking. You should also check to be sure the liquid hasn't dried out. When done the liquid should be slightly thickened by the potatoes. If you'd like you could brown it in the broiler before serving and sprinkle some fresh parsley on top before serving.

Personally I omit that last step. By the time the stew is ready and I've smelled it cook for hours I'm just too hungry to wait for it to brown up. But that's just me.

Note: You could also add in a layer of sliced parsnip or turnip to the recipe above and keep the purists happy.

Irish Stew (Version 2)

• 2 pounds boneless lamb
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup 1/2" carrot slices
• 1 cup cubed white turnip
• 1 large potato peeled and cubed
• 1 onion peeled and sliced
• 2 cups boiling water
• Salt and pepper

Cut the lamb into 1" to 1-1/2" cubes trimming away most of the fat. Heat a heavy 6 quart pot on high heat. Add the olive oil then the lamb and brown well. Now be careful and pour in the 2 cups of boiling water. Cover and turn down the heat down low and simmer for 1 hour. Add the potatoes, carrots, onion, turnip and a little salt and pepper to your taste and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve.

I'm contradicting myself here but I'm calling the next recipe Irish even though it has no potatoes in it. It does contain the extra special ingredient of Guinness Stout. It just doesn't get anymore Irish than that. I trust you to know what to do with any extra stout left over from this recipe. (Wink) As a matter of fact a pint goes well with this stew.

Beef Stew With Guinness

• 2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1" to 1-1/2" cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 large onion peeled and cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 teaspoon dried whole leaf thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1/2 cup Guinness Stout
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 pound carrots, sliced (that's about 2 or 3 carrots)

Heat a heavy 6 quart oven proof pot or casserole on the stove on medium heat. Add the olive oil and bay leaves. Cook the bay leaves for about a minute. Turn the heat up to high then add the meat browning on all sides. Add the onion and cook until it starts to turn translucent. Turn down to low heat and add thyme, rosemary and flour. Stir until smooth then add the beef stock and stout. Simmer for a little while until it starts to thicken. Add the parsley and carrots. Cover and place into a 275°F oven for about 2 hours. You might want to stir this once or twice while cooking. Remove from oven add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Be sure to remove the bay leaves.

The stout gives this recipe that something extra.

The next is my wife's recipe for beef stew. It doesn't matter if we both cook this same exact recipe, hers always turns out better than mine. She says it's because she adds love to hers.

This has more liquid in it than most Irish stew. We Americans like our meat and vegetables swimming in gravy. I'm back to saying this is Irish because of the potatoes and I'm sticking to that story. This is good stick to your ribs comfort food.

Merilee's Beef Stew

• 2 pounds beef stew meat (I like chuck, she likes sirloin) cut into 1" cubes
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups beef broth or one 14 oz. can
• 5 cups water
• 4 large carrots, sliced 1/4" thick
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 medium sized potatoes, cut into about 1/2" to 3/4" cubes
• 8 oz. of frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

  Put the flour, salt and pepper into a large plastic bag. Add the cut up meat into the bag and shake to coat the meat evenly. In a heated heavy 6 quart pot add the olive oil and the meat. On high heat, brown the meat on all sides. When the meat is browned add the beef stock and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for about 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. When the meat is tender add the carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, peas, parsley and another 3 cups of water. With the lid removed turn heat up to medium and cook the vegetables until fork tender about 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. The flour used in browning the meat will give you a nice brown thicken stew. I think the potato starch helps things along too.

  Enjoy.

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  These few Irish stew recipes will keep you busy for a while. Like I said at the top of this page there is no wrong way to make stew. It all depends on your personal tastes and preferences. Don't be afraid to experiment, that's half the fun in cooking. The challenge when the recipe turns out to be excellent is remembering how you did it so it can be repeated. On the other hand if Irish stew turns out to taste slightly different every time, that can be a good thing too.

  I hope you have as much fun as we do with the above Irish stew recipes.

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