Chef Johns Irish Stew Recipes

BEEF AND GUINNESS® STEW

Steps:

• Cook and stir bacon in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until bacon is browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer bacon into a large stew pot, reserving bacon fat in the skillet.
• Season beef chuck cubes generously with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Turn heat to high under skillet and sear beef pieces in the hot fat on both sides until browned, about 5 minutes. Place beef in stew pot with bacon, leaving fat in skillet. Turn heat down to medium; cook and stir onions in the retained fat in the skillet until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes; season with a large pinch of salt.
• Cook garlic with onions until soft, about 1 minute; pour beer into skillet and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up and dissolving any browned bits of food into the liquid. Pour cooking liquid from skillet into the stew pot. Stir in tomato paste, thyme sprigs, carrots, celery, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and enough chicken broth to cover.
• Bring stew to a gentle simmer, stirring to combine; reduce heat to low and cover pot. Simmer stew until beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours. Stir stew occasionally and skim fat or foam if desired.
• Remove cover and raise heat to medium-high. Bring stew to a low boil and cook until stew has slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• Arrange mashed potatoes in a ring in a serving bowl; ladle stew into the center of the potatoes.

CHEF JOHN'S IRISH PORK STEW

Steps:

• Season pork cubes with salt and black pepper.
• Heat vegetable oil in a pot over high heat. Working in batches, cook and stir pork in hot oil until browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pork to a bowl and reduce heat to medium.
• Melt butter in the pot. Cook and stir onion with a pinch of salt in hot butter until onion is softened and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Stir flour into onion mixture; cook and stir until flour is completely incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add bay leaf and caraway seed; cook for 2 minutes more. Pour beer into onion mixture. Cook and stir until thickened, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Stir pork, chicken broth, carrots, and celery into beer mixture; bring to simmer. Stir 1/4 cup parsley and balsamic vinegar into stew, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until pork is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook uncovered until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.
• Stir Brussels sprouts into stew and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide mashed potatoes between 6 bowls. Ladle stew over potatoes and top each with a pinch of parsley.

CREAMY PORK STEW

Steps:

• Season pork chunks generously with salt and pepper. Toss to distribute seasonings evenly.
• Heat vegetable oil in pot over high heat. Brown pork in batches so meat isn't crowded, about 7 minutes total time per batch. Transfer pork to a plate. Cook onions in same pot; cook and stir until they start to turn translucent and edges get brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in apple cider and apple cider vinegar.
• Raise heat to high. Stir in mustard and horseradish. Transfer browned pork pieces back to pot, along with accumulated juices. Pour in cream and chicken broth to cover. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Season with a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Add celery, carrots, black pepper and cayenne.
• Simmer uncovered on low until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Add green peas. Simmer another 10 minutes. Optional: for a thicker sauce, raise heat and simmer until sauce is reduced, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Garnish individual servings with apple strips and chopped fresh chives.

IRISH CODDLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Add the bacon to a large Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders, about 10 minutes. Add the sausage and increase the heat to medium high. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon and sausage are nicely browned, about 10 more minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon and sausage to a plate.
• Drain the fat from the pot and return it to medium heat. Add the onions, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pot, then sprinkle the onions with 1 tablespoon of the parsley and plenty of black pepper. Layer the bacon and sausage over the onions and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley and more black pepper. Layer the potatoes over the meat and add enough water to submerge everything but the potatoes, about 2 cups. Season the potato layer with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Bring the liquid to a boil (don't stir!), then cover and transfer to the oven. Bake, checking halfway to add more water if needed, until the onions are very tender and caramelized and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 2 hours.
• Finish with a pour of stout, if using, and a final garnish of the remaining parsley. Serve immediately with soda bread.

CHEF JOHN'S IRISH STEW

Steps:

• 1. Season lamb shoulder chops with salt and black pepper.
• 2. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Working in batches, cook lamb shoulder chops until browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer chops to a stock pot.
• 3. Cook and stir onion with a pinch of salt in the same skillet over medium heat until slightly softened and edges are browning, about 5 minutes. Stir butter into onion until melted; add flour and stir until onions are coated, about 1 minute.
• 4. Pour stock into onion mixture; bring to a boil, add rosemary, and stir until mixture thickens, 5 to 10 minutes.
• 5. Stir carrots and celery into pot with lamb shoulder chops and pour chicken stock mixture over the top. Add water as needed to cover meat completely. Bring mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and cook until meat is almost falling off the bone, about 1 1/2 hours.
• 6. Transfer meat to a plate. Stir potatoes into stew and return meat to stew, placing on top of vegetables. Simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender and meat is falling off the bone, about 30 minutes.
• 7. Transfer meat to a plate using a slotted spoon. Bring stew to a boil and cook, skimming off fat, until stew is reduced and thick, 10 to 12 minutes.
• 8. Remove meat from bones; discard bones and any pieces of fat. Stir meat back into stew. Stir green onions into stew and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• 9. Cook's Note: You can substitute 1 bottle dark beer plus 1 1/2 cups chicken stock for the chicken stock.