Thick Irish Stew Recipes

IRISH STEW

Steps:

• In a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven, sauté bacon in butter over medium heat until crisp and browned (about 3-5 minutes). Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Pat lamb (or beef) dry with a paper towel.
• Place the flour in a bowl or large Ziploc bag and season with about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Add the meat and toss to coat well. Remove coated meat from the bowl and discard any extra flour.
• Sear meat in the butter/bacon fat until browned on all sides (about 5 minutes). Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to work in batches so that the meat can brown without overcrowding.
• Remove the meat from the pot and add the Guinness (or wine) and vinegar. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits.
• Add bacon and meat back to the pot, along with the tomato paste, brown sugar, garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, remaining ½ teaspoon of pepper, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, and broth. Stir really well to completely combine. Bring to a boil; then reduce to a low simmer.
• Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and mushrooms and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add more broth at the end to thin the stew, if necessary. Discard bay leaf; stir in parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve. Garnish with additional fresh parsley, if desired.

IRISH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• In a stockpot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels. In a large shallow dish, combine flour, salt and pepper. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and turn to coat. Brown beef in the bacon drippings. Remove and set aside., In the same pot, saute the mushrooms, leeks, carrots and celery in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomato paste until blended. Add the broth, beer, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and rosemary. Return beef and bacon to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until beef is tender, about 2 hours., Add potatoes. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour longer. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into stew. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add peas; heat through. Discard bay leaves.

TRADITIONAL IRISH STEW

Steps:

• Add the cabbage (if using), replace the lid, and cook for another hour. Check from time to time to make sure the stock hasn't reduced too much. If it has, add a little boiling water. The meat and vegetables should always be covered in liquid. If the sauce is too runny at the end, you can always cook the stew a little longer with the lid removed.

IRISH LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
• Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
• Place meat into stock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
• Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

CLASSIC IRISH STEW

Steps:

• Make the stock. Put the lamb bones in a large heavy-based saucepan with the carrot, onion, celery, herbs, peppercorns and 1 tsp salt. Pour in 3 litres/5 ¼ pints water. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
• Strain the stock through a fine sieve to remove bones and vegetables, then return to the pan. Boil until reduced to about 1.3 litres/2 ¼ pints. (You can make the stock the day before - keep it in a covered container in the fridge, or freeze it for up to 3 months.)
• Make the stew. Cut the lamb into large chunks. Peel the potatoes (keeping both types separate) and cut into pieces of similar size to the meat. Put the two different types in separate bowls of water to keep them white. Peel the carrots and cut into slightly smaller pieces. Slice the onions into thick rings.
• Put the lamb in a large, clean saucepan. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, skimming off all the impurities from the surface. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
• Add the floury potatoes, carrots and onions. Season generously and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the waxy potatoes and thyme. Simmer until the lamb is tender (15-20 minutes). Take off the heat, cover (don't stir) and leave for 15 minutes. (You can make this up to 2 days ahead and keep in the fridge). Garnish and serve.

THICK & CREAMY BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in 5 quart casserole over medium high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef cubes and brown on all sides (6-8 minutes). Transfer meat to plate or bowl. Repeat with remainder of beef until all is browned.
• Add chopped onion to pan, reducing heat to low and sauté for about 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender and translucent.
• Return beef to pan and sprinkle with flour, tossing until all is coated. Transfer all to casserole to oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Pour any reserved juices (from beef on plate) over the beef, along with the wine and broth (if beef is not covered add more beef broth or water).
• Tie parley sprigs, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in a cheesecloth.
• Add herbs (in cheese cloth bag) to beef with salt and pepper.
• Bring mixture to a boil on top of stove and then transfer mixture to casserole and then to oven.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in carrots, adding more broth (or water) is sauce is too thick or mixture seems dry. Continue baking for 30-45 minutes (20-30 if using baby carrots). Discard cheesecloth bag.
• While stew is baking in oven, in a medium saucepan boil water (enough to cover onions) and add onions and boil for 1 minute. Drain onions and peel onions.
• In a skillet over medium heat, melt one tablespoon butter. Add onions to skillet and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Remove onions from skillet and add to stew, along with the fennel (if using) in casserole in the oven. Continue baking for 20 more minutes.
• Remove from oven and add peas to casserole, simmering an additional 5-10 minutes on top of the stove. Stir in minced parsley.

IRISH STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the onion, carrots, and parsnips and cook gently alongside the meat for a few minutes. Stir in the water. Cover and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour or longer, depending on the cut of meat you used and if it is tender yet.
• Stir in potatoes, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, before adding leeks and rosemary. Continue to simmer uncovered, until potatoes are tender but still whole. Serve piping hot in bowls garnished with fresh parsley.

THE BEST IRISH STEW EVER

Steps:

• In a 4 quart or bigger sauce pan add oil and heat on med to med high(if oil smokes it too hot).
• Add meat to pan and saute until browned on all sides(if the pan of oil is not hot then the meat will stick to pan if using stainless or cast iron).
• Take out meat and set aside(leave juices in pan).
• Add onions and saute until done(about 8 min.).
• Add cooked meat, beer, and beef stock to pan. bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid and simmer for an hour.
• Add vegetables and simmer until done.