| Irish Stew Recipe |
 Click picture to enlargeThis authentic Irish Stew recipe doesn't take much preparation time but it makes a really tasty meal. |
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We have prepared it here in the 'authentic' way using lamb chops but we also prepared it later with chunks of lamb loin which made a very good Irish Stew. Beef is another alternative to lamb with excellent results. The vegetables used are traditionally onion, potato and carrots but almost any vegetable can be used as well.
KEY POINTS
| Preparation Time: | 15 mins | Cooking Time: | 2 hours |
| How Difficult | Easy | Freeze? | No |
| Servings |
4 portions |
INGREDIENTS
| Metric | Imperial |
| 4 lamb chops (see below ingredients for more details and alternatives) | 4 lamb chops (see below ingredients for more details and alternatives) |
| 4 medium potatoes | 4 medium potatoes |
| 4 medium carrots | 4 medium carrots |
| 4 medium onions | 4 medium onions |
| Sprig of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme | Sprig of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme |
| 450 ml of lamb stock (hot water and two lamb stock cubes) | 3/4 pint of lamb stock (hot water and two lamb stock cubes) |
| 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley | 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley |
| 2 good shakes of Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins) | 2 good shakes of Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins) |
| 1 tablespoon of Pearl Barley (optional) | 1 tablespoon of Pearl Barley (optional) |
| 50g butter | 2 ozs butter |
| 50g flour | 50g flour |
| Salt | Salt |
| Pepper | Pepper |
What Meat To Use
We used lamb chops (rack end chops to be specific). The good thing about chops
is that they have some bone on them which enhances the flavour of the Irish Stew
as it cooks. However, chopped up lamb is a very good alternative.
For this Irish Stew recipe you will need an oven proof dish.
CLICK ANY PICTURE BELOW TO ENLARGE IT
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Trim some of the fat from
from each of the chops and put the fat in a medium heated frying pan. This will
melt some of the lamb fat for use in the next couple of steps. Set the oven on at 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4. |
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Chop up the onions into
rough chunks. Peel the potatoes and cut each into 4 parts. Scrape the
carrots then cut into larger than normal chunks. Click on the picture to
enlarge it for an idea of how big to chop the vegetables. Irish Stew is a rustic menu and part of it's charm is that the ingredients are kept in large chunks. Saves on preparation time as well! |
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After 5 to 10 minutes,
remove the fatty pieces from the frying pan and throw them away. Fry each
lamb chop in the fat for about three minutes at a medium temperature - turn
half way through. Enlarge the picture on the left for an idea of how browned the lamb chops should be. Put the lamb chops in the casserole dish and fry the carrots and onions in the remaining fat for two minutes - turn frequently. |
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Put the onions and carrots over the lamb chops in the casserole
dish. Season with salt and pepper. Add the
Worcestershire Sauce
(Lea & Perrins), the pearl barley and the lamb stock. Finally add the potatoes on top, don't mix them in with the other ingredients. The aim is to let them be steam cooked over the other ingredients. Add some more salt and pepper to season the potatoes. Put the casserole in the pre-heated oven and cook for 1 hour. |
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Roux is a mix of 50 / 50 butter and flour which will thicken
the gravy in the casserole dish. It can be used to thicken all
sorts of sauces as well. Melt the butter on a medium heat in a pan, then whisk (or vigorously fork in) the flour. Cook for 2 minutes whisking all the time to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan. |
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Take the casserole dish from the oven and pour off most of the
gravy into the pan of roux (be careful, the casserole dish will be
hot).
Mix in the thyme. Quickly blend the gravy and roux together with your whisk or fork. Add the thickened gravy back into the casserole and scatter the top with the parsley. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. |
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Put the casserole dish back in the oven for ten minutes. Serve
onto hot plates. No other vegetables are needed, they are all
cooked and ready in the one casserole dish! Any red wine will go well with Irish Stew, but a glass of Guinness is probably the best accompaniment of all! |
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