What's your best irish stew recipe?

[Tiam]

Do you use beef? Lamb? Mutton? Do you use traditional Guinness? I'd love to hear some traditional approaches.

[IshbelRobertson]

My mum used lamb - which is traditional, however, I've used the Irish Stew recipe from one of Darina Allen's cook books (she runs/used to run - daughter in law is now in charge I think - an Irish cookery school at Ballyamloe. It's less 'fatty' tasting than a strictly traditional Irish stew. I'll see if I can find the recipe for you.



Ingredients:
3 pounds lamb chops not less than 1-inch thick
6 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
6 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
8-12 potatoes
1 quart vegetable stock
1 sprig of thyme
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh chives, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cut the lamb chops in half and trim off some of the excess fat. Set the lamb aside. In a heavy bottomed pan, cook the fat trimmings to render liquid fat. Discard the remaining pieces.

Toss the lamb chops in the hot liquid fat and cook until slightly brown on both sides. Remove the lamb chops and reserve. Toss the chopped onions and carrots in the fat. Build the meat, carrots and onions up in layers in a casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using the stock, deglaze the pan the meat was cooked in, and pour the liquid into the casserole dish. Peel the potatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste, and lay them whole on top of the stew – they will steam as the stew cooks. Add the sprig of thyme, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cover and put in the oven until stew is cooked, 1 to 2 hours.

When ready, pour the cooking liquid out of the stew. Transfer the meat and the vegetables to a clean pan. Skim the grease out of the cooking liquid, and pour the remaining cooking liquid over the stew. Sprinkle with the parsley and chives to garnish. Serve immediately.

[Tiam]

No Guinness style for you. Here Irish stew often is beef, but I'd like to try the lamb.

[IshbelRobertson]

I would think that Guinness would be too dark to add to lamb and would not balance the flavours - but that's probably just personal taste!

When I make a Lancashire hotpot (similar dish to irish stew) I do add beer, but not a porter/stout type.