Best Irish stew recipe

[scarletwidow]

I’m having English visitors on their first ever trip to Ireland next week, and I’d like to make them a traditional Irish stew.
I don’t love lamb because it’s so fatty- do I pre-cook and cool the lamb first to remove some fat? What would you suggest?

Make sure they actually like lamb! I don't eat meat and find the smell revolting. I have a lot of carnivores friends who hate it.However, I don't have a problem with cooking it for other people. I use the late Garry Rhodes recipe, using neck of lamb. I can't find his book,it's indoors somewhere, but you can find it online.

Just get them some spice bags

I’d go for the spice bag. I’m Irish but hate the smell, taste and fatiness of lamb. I’d never chose Irish stew. Cooling and cutting the fat off will make it dry.

Fry off the lamb then add liquid. Just get some lamb that isn’t fatty - don’t try and cut anything off and fat = flavour

How about a beef and Guinness stew ? Avoca have a nice recipe

Thanks everyone- I might just go with a beef and Guinness stew then.

I thinknLamb stew is delicious , clearly it's a marmite food

A spice bag in England is a totally different kettle of fish. Id word it carefully if you tell them you are giving them that 🤣🤣

😂

Well I was thinking that 😆

Never use lamb in stew and make it a lot. Basically I cook the onion till translucent then remove from pot, put in the beef and cook till just brown on the outside, chuck in the spuds and carrots, cover the whole lot with water, add in a few squirts of tomato puree, dash of worcestershire sauce, two beef stock cubes and let it simmer for about 90 minutes. Towards the end if it is still not tasting beefy enough I put in some beef bisto.

That's because Irish stew was always made with mutton. Which is hard enough to get now. A quite different taste and texture. Potato, onion , carrot , maybe a spring of parsley agus sin é.

Maybe we should have a poll on whether anyone in Ireland actually ever eats Irish stew

I love Irish stew! Only in the winter though..

I love Irish stew! Only in the winter though..

I use lamb shanks as the meat is so much nicer and leaner.
It's a bit messy though when removing the meat off the bones, but worth it. We had it tonight with home made brown soda bread.

I made a scotch broth tonight, which was delicious and not at all fatty. I actually started it yesterday. Boiled 2 lamb shanks in water for a few hours with carrots, celery, leak heads, garlic, and added some coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black pepper and a tiny piece of cinnamon. Put the whole pot in the fridge overnight. Today I picked all the solid fat off the top and chucked it out, then drained the off the stock and picked all the nice meat off the bones and put it on the side. Then I boiled some pearl barley in the stock for a bit then added diced suede, parsnips, carrots and finely sliced leek. Towards the end I added some sliced celery, the lamb meat shredded, salt & pepper to taste, and very last a good handful of chopped parsley. Was delicious with toasted buttered sourdough. Any root veg works, and it's not fatty if you cool it overnight and remove the fat.

Invite me to dinner please, your recipe sounds delicious

This is how I make it too.

This is the irish stew I grew up with! I love it. We didn’t even have the parsley, just salt and pepper. I’ve never quite been able to replicate my grandmother’s stew though, much to my dismay.

Coddle?

I fry off the sausages though, in the interests of presentation. Nothing worse than looking at anaemic boiled sausages in a stew! I know it's not traditional but recipes adapt over time. I'm originally from Dublin and my granny used to make the most amazing Dublin coddle, anaemic sausages and all....

Donal Skehan's recipe is close to my thrown together one 😊

Lamb stew is my favourite meal on earth and I would be delighted to be served it anywhere, any time. But a significant proportion of people really don't eat or don't like lamb so do check first.

I know @sammylady37 ! About twenty years ago , maybe longer , I decided to but some mutton to make a proper Irish stew. After trying several butchers I was referred to a shop that might have it . Himself wasn't there and a young girl served me. Bingo - they had mutton so I bought half a kilo. You saved my life , I said , the other shops only had lamb.
' But that is lamb ' adúirt sí ' mutton is lamb'.

So much for the old proverb eh? No doubt you could source mutton if you had the patience. But I don't think anyone under 50 has ever eaten Irish stew , strictly speaking . I dare say our grandmothers had it boiling for nine hours mind you , mutton is pretty tough 😆

I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for mutton! @Abhannmor

I’ve got a beef and Guinness stew cooking in the Aga 😊