Guinness and Lamb Stew
In America, Saint Patrick’s Day usually involves a boiled dinner of corned beef, potatoes and cabbage. Truth be told, this is one of my favorite meals, but year after year—it starts to get a bit old. As it turns out, corned beef is not traditionally Irish at all. Irish immigrants started celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef when they arrived on our shores at New York’s Ellis Island. In New York City, the large Jewish population had made pastrami and corned beef staples in Jewish delicatessens. The Irish immigrants ate what was readily available and that was corned beef—however, lamb and salmon are more authentically Irish fare! So I thought why not honor my 2% Irish DNA (according to Ancestry.com 🇮🇪☺️) and try to make a more authentic Irish dish this St. Patrick’s Day.
I settled on Guinness Beer and Lamb Stew, because nothing says Ireland more than lamb, dark rich beer and stew. Irish cuisine is famous for its stews. This is understandable since the emerald isle is abounding in damp cold air. In those conditions, a hot and hearty bowl of stew is just what’s needed to keep the chill away. The malty intensity of Guinness beer pairs well with the gaminess of lamb and gives a nice deep natural color to the stew.
About that beer: I actually don’t drink. I think of alcohol as a flavoring agent similar to vanilla or almond extract in many dessert recipes. I can’t stand the taste of alcohol on its own. This created a problem because I had to buy a six pack of beer in order to get the one bottle I needed for this recipe. What’s a teetotaler to do? Well, since stew is always best next to nice warm slab of hearty bread, I put that extra beer to good use in my No-Knead Guinness Beer Bread!
Super easy tasty stew, super easy tasty bread, all with the same key ingredient? The luck of the Irish is surely with me!—Well, at least 2% of it is!😉
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325° and position rack in the middle of the oven.
Toss lamb with 2 tsp of kosher salt. Set aside while pot preheats.
Add 1 ½ Tbsp of the olive oil to a 4.5-5.5 quart dutch oven, set over medium high heat. When wisp of smoke appears, add ½ of the seasoned lamb. Brown lamb on all sides and remove from pot. Repeat with second half of lamb. Remove from pot and set aside.
Lower heat to medium and add remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add onions and celery and sauté until onions are translucent.
Add tomato paste and stir. Cook for 2 minutes and add garlic. Stir and cook for 20 seconds.
Add brown sugar and stir. Add flour and stir until no dry flour remains.
Add Guinness beer and stir constantly, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pot until the mixture thickens and no lumps remain.
Add lamb stock (or beef or chicken stock) and stir to combine.
Add thyme bundle (or dried thyme), bay leaves and ground pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer.
Carefully return browned lamb to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Stir and return to a simmer.
Cover and transfer to the center of a 325° oven for 1 hour.
After one hour, add cubed potatoes and sliced carrots. Stir, cover and return to the oven for 1 more hour or until potatoes and carrots are tender when pierced with a knife.
Remove thyme bundle and bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.
Rinse 1 cup frozen baby sweet peas in cold water until defrosted. Add to stew right before serving. (If refrigerating overnight before serving, add peas after you reheat the stew.)
Serve with Guinness bread on the side!
(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
2 lbs Lamb, cut into bite sized pieces. (I used a leg of lamb that I deboned. Use the bone for lamb stock.)
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 ½ Tbsp Olive Oil (divided)
1 Medium Diced Yellow Onion (about 120 grams)
2 Stalks Diced Celery (about 100-120 grams)
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 ½ Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Garlic Clove, minced.
¼ cup (30 grams) Flour
1 Bottle (11.2-12 oz Guinness Beer)
4 Cups Low Sodium Lamb Stock (Or Chicken or Beef Stock)
5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (tied with kitchen twine) or ½ tsp dried.
2 Bay Leaves
½ tsp Fine Ground Pepper
2 Large Diced Carrots (about 300 grams) sliced into ¼ inch coins.
4 Medium Red Potatoes (about 600 grams) cut into 1 inch cubes.
1 Cup Frozen Baby Sweet Garden Peas (130 grams)
In America, Saint Patrick’s Day usually involves a boiled dinner of corned beef, potatoes and cabbage. Truth be told, this is one of my favorite meals, but year after year—it starts to get a bit old. As it turns out, corned beef is not traditionally Irish at all. Irish immigrants started celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef when they arrived on our shores at New York’s Ellis Island. In New York City, the large Jewish population had made pastrami and corned beef staples in Jewish delicatessens. The Irish immigrants ate what was readily available and that was corned beef—however, lamb and salmon are more authentically Irish fare! So I thought why not honor my 2% Irish DNA (according to Ancestry.com 🇮🇪☺️) and try to make a more authentic Irish dish this St. Patrick’s Day.
I settled on Guinness Beer and Lamb Stew, because nothing says Ireland more than lamb, dark rich beer and stew. Irish cuisine is famous for its stews. This is understandable since the emerald isle is abounding in damp cold air. In those conditions, a hot and hearty bowl of stew is just what’s needed to keep the chill away. The malty intensity of Guinness beer pairs well with the gaminess of lamb and gives a nice deep natural color to the stew.
About that beer: I actually don’t drink. I think of alcohol as a flavoring agent similar to vanilla or almond extract in many dessert recipes. I can’t stand the taste of alcohol on its own. This created a problem because I had to buy a six pack of beer in order to get the one bottle I needed for this recipe. What’s a teetotaler to do? Well, since stew is always best next to nice warm slab of hearty bread, I put that extra beer to good use in my No-Knead Guinness Beer Bread!
Super easy tasty stew, super easy tasty bread, all with the same key ingredient? The luck of the Irish is surely with me!—Well, at least 2% of it is!😉
Click here to watch the video version of this recipe!
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