If you're looking for a delicious bowl of heartwarming Irish Stew, look no further. This stick-to-your-ribs lamb stew is a winner in my home year-round. Fun fact about me - I'm a dual citizen of Ireland with my parents being from both the North and South of Ireland with relatives all over the country. When we had our first family trip to Ireland, the first place we visited was the Guinness Factory and what an amazing treat that was!! Opened in 1759, the Guinness Factor was a 1/2 day experience for us. We watched how they made the beer, taste-tested various drafts, learned the history, and ate the Guinness Stew they served in the cafeteria. Can I just tell you HOW AMAZING it tasted? I had never had a stew that delicious in my life and it was at that moment that I told myself that I needed to perfect a Guinness Irish Stew for my family - and so I did!
From my kitchen to yours, I hope it becomes a favorite of yours, too!
RECIPE: GUINNESS STEW
Ingredients
* Olive oil
* 4 lbs grass-fed lamb stew meat (lamb shoulder cut into 2” pieces. You can substitute beef stew meat if you prefer
* Salt
* Black Pepper Ground
* 1 large onion (Sweet if you can find it, yellow or white)
* 3 leeks - make sure you’re just using the white stalk of the leek. Cut off ALL of the green stocks
* 3 carrots peeled and cut 1/2" pieces
* 3 parsnips peeled and cut to match the carrot pieces
* 1 pound of small creamer potatoes (they are the size of cherry tomatoes)
* 1 whole head of garlic peeled into individual garlic pieces
* 1 cup + 3 tbsp flour (I use Cup4Cup or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour, or use regular All Purpose White Flour - either works great)
* 23 oz Guinness Beer (or any light or dark ale you have on hand. I use 2 11.5oz bottles of Guinness)
* 3 1/2 cups of beef broth
INSTRUCTIONS
Open your cut lamb/beef chunks and generously salt and pepper both sides. If your lamb isn't cut into chunks, then you'll need to cut it into chunks.
* Pour 1 cup of flour into a dish or bowl. You’re going to coat each piece of lamb/beef with flour so it has a nice coating on both sides. I add one piece at a time with my hands and make sure to dredge each side so it’s completely white. Once all of the pieces are coated, add to a large bowl and continue on until every piece of lamb has been dredged in the flour.
* Pour enough olive oil into the bottom of your Dutch oven in a thick coating to coat the bottom of the pan + extra for frying the lamb pieces. Turn on the heat to medium-high. When it’s hot and starting to sizzle, add 1 layer of lamb. Be careful not to crowd the lamb too much so it has room to brown. You’ll let it cook for 4-5 minutes, then turn with tongs and braise on the other side as well. You want both sides of the lamb crispy. Transfer to a pan that’s lined with paper towels to soak up the oil. Continue this process until all of your lamb has been braised. Set aside.
* If the oil is thin on the bottom, add a bit more so the bottom of your dutch oven (pot) is completely covered and so you have enough oil to sautee the onions. Add the onions and leeks and stir to get all of the bits and pieces of lamb off the bottom of the Dutch oven. Give it a good stir, put the lid on and cook for 5 minutes, lift the lid and stir around. Continue this for another 3-5 minutes until it starts to get golden brown and the leeks and onions start to break down. Add in the garlic and stir around for two minutes. Garlic burns quickly so make sure to stay put and stir it for a few minutes as you watch the garlic get golden brown.
* Add the 3 Tablespoons of flour. Stir for 2 minutes so it’s fully incorporated. This flour is what’s going to thicken your liquid.
* Add 2 bottles of Guinness slowly. Use your wooden spoon to scrape the bits of anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. The beer will foam at first, but when you continue to stir the bubbles will dissipate.
* Add 3 1/2 cups of beef broth
* Add in the lamb, piece by piece and then add in the carrots, parsnips and potatoes.
* You should have enough liquid to cover all of your ingredients. Give it a good stir so all of the ingredients are incorporated. If you still see veggies and the lamb not fully covered, add another 1/2 cup of beef broth.
* Cover and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce to medium-low flame and cook for 90 minutes on the stovetop. I check it at the 1-hour mark and do a taste test with a lamb chunk and with a chunk of parsnip. It usually needs another 30 minutes, so I cook it over low flame for the additional 30 minutes. At 90 minutes the lamb taste test is always a melt-in-my-mouth moment, so you're then ready to enjoy!
I always serve this with a fresh baguette. Nothing better than sopping up your stew juices with fresh bread.
Enjoy!
R xo
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