Irish Lamb Stew

Irish lamb stew is a filling peasant Irish dish, made with very simple and cheap ingredients. This easy lamb stew takes about an hour to prepare.

Still under the influence of my trip to Belfast, I’m obsessing over everything that’s Irish. In February this year, a friend and I spent 4 days in Northern Ireland. Regardless to the fact that our trip was really short, we still got to see a lot and fell in love with the place and the people. I never thought that the Irish people were so friendly, and their accent is just so beautiful.

The food was also amazing, we have tried different restaurants, pubs, and food markets. We’ve tried the soups, the stews, their famous soda bread and of course the Irish champ! Since both my friend and I are huge fans of mashed potatoes, we were in our Irish heaven!

So now that we’re back, and with Easter coming soon. I’ve decided to recreate Ireland’s national dish – traditional Irish lamb stew.

TRADITIONAL IRISH LAMB STEW

Everyone seems to cook lamb dishes a lot around Easter time, so it was the perfect excuse for me to recreate this Irish stew at home. However, I made a few changes so this isn’t exactly the traditional lamb stew recipe, but it is very delicious I promise you. Purists say that traditional Irish stew is made with either lamb or mutton, potatoes and onions ONLY.

EASY LAMB STEW RECIPE

While some people like to add different root vegetables like parsnips or turnips. I’ve added carrots and celery and cooked everything in Guinness beer. I’ve also added garlic for a nutty flavor but that is also optional. Some people also like to add bacon but I’ve decided to skip the bacon. It is also very important to note that this stew should be thick and hearty. In short, this lamb stew is the perfect dish for cold winter days!

I love stews in general, I grew up having different kinds of Russian stews usually served with mashed potatoes or rice on the side. So when I’ve first seen this dish in Belfast, I knew that this was my kind of food and that I was going to love it!

HOW TO MAKE LAMB STEW WITH VEGETABLES

Start by heating some oil in a pot, and browning the lamb cubes. Then take out the lamb, and set aside in a plate.

Using the same pot, without cleaning it. Saute onion and garlic for a couple of minutes, until onion is tender and garlic is fragrant. Then add the flour, and cook while stirring regularly for about 30 seconds. Add the Guinness beer, mix well and add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Cover with a lid, let the mixture boil then reduce heat and simmer. Cook until the meat becomes soft, and the sauce thickens.

Remove the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs, season with pepper and salt and serve with either mashed potatoes or soda bread.

LAMB STEW SLOW COOKER RECIPE

To cook this lamb stew in the slow cooker, brown the meat then add the flour to the sauteed garlic and onion. Then transfer everything to your slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients, and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Reading more about the Irish stew, it seems that Irish stew was recognized as early as about 1800 [1]. It is served all over Ireland during St Patrick’s day, but I find this to be too good to only make an appearance for a few days a year! It is usually served with creamy mashed potatoes, or even just a wedge of Irish soda bread on the side!

I use this pot to make this recipe, it’s a great non-stick pot and it also works for induction.

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Lamb Stew

Traditional Irish lamb stew. It’s a hearty and healthy stew made with simple ingredients.

4.84 from 6 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Irish

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 3 servings

Calories: 572kcal

Author: Diana

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ▢ 500 grams lamb cubed/no bone
• ▢ 1 yellow onion diced
• ▢ 1 garlic clove minced (optional)
• ▢ 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• ▢ 175 ml dark beer (preferably Guinness)
• ▢ 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ▢ 235 ml water
• ▢ 1 cube beef stock
• ▢ 1 carrot peeled and sliced (optional)
• ▢ 1 celery stalk sliced (optional)
• ▢ 1 large potato optional
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 sprig of thyme
• ▢ salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

• In a pot, heat oil and brown the lamb cubes. Remove lamb into plate.
• In the same pot, add onion, garlic and cook until onion becomes translucent and garlic is fragrant (a couple of minutes).
• Add flour, cook for 30 seconds while stirring regularly. Then add the beer, mix very well and add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
• Cover with a lid, bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Cook for around 50 minutes or until the lamb becomes soft that it falls apart when you touch it, and sauce is slightly thickened.
• Remove bay leaf and thyme sprig. Season with ground black pepper and salt to taste, and serve with mashed potatoes or soda bread.
• To cook in a slow cooker, after browning the meat, adding the flour to the onion and garlic. Transfer to the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours.

Notes

Adding potato to the stew is optional, if you plan to serve the stew with mashed potatoes then omit the potato in the stew. 

Nutrition

Calories: 572kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 535mg | Potassium: 643mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3620IU | Vitamin C: 7.5mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 3.2mg

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