This hearty lamb stew makes the most delicious broth I’ve ever tasted. Now lamb’s my new go-to stew meat!
At Sherry’s big house, where I rent my apartment upstairs, every month, all the residents are treated to a surprise Butcher’s Box of grass-fed proteins, and we never know what we’ll get.
This gives me a lot of opportunity to experiment with new, healthy meats I might not have tried to cook before and discover new flavor combinations and dishes—like lamb shoulder. One day, when I was going to make beef stew for a client, I discovered that my beef roast was really a lamb roast. And isn’t this how all great culinary discoveries are made? I mean, all the things I never would have discovered if I hadn’t, say, reached for rosemary to season my peas that time instead of Herbes de Provence? Rosemary on peas, so I’ve learned, is heavenly.
And so is lamb in a good stew. My goodness—what a rich and heady broth this fatty cut of meat produces as it cooks. And the lamb’s succulent juices combine with the lamb broth or beef broth you’ve added, infusing this entire stew with the most deep, luxuriant flavors.
So, I’m sold on lamb for stew. How about we get behind using this underrated, deeply flavored protein? Because the flavor lamb brings to soups, stews, and, especially, a good shepherd’s pie is simply sublime! P.S. You can make a good Shepherd’s Pie with this leftover stew meat!
Irish Stew: A dish with a peasant origin
Some of the best cooking techniques I’ve learned have come from soul food and peasant cookery. Both of these cooking traditions, as well as the whole nose-to-tail movement in cooking, have taught me much about creating deep, rich flavors with cheaper cuts of meat. Cheaper cuts of meat, after all, tend to be the fattier cuts of meats, and fat is what gives dishes their rich, layered flavor profiles.
This simple stew has flavor, and one way you can tell is by the lack of bells, whistles, or spices to enrich the broth. All that’s needed is a bit of salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme to accentuate the flavors already present from the magic lamb brings to this party.
In this stew, lamb shoulder meat is used because it is a fattier cut of meat than the leg of lamb roast. Therefore, when you brown the meat, it releases a ton of flavor. Then, you add all the other ingredients to the pot and simmer all together into a wonderful bowl full of the deep comfort that only a traditional Irish lamb stew can bring.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 4 cups beef or lamb broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Prep time – 20 minutes
Cooking time – 2 hours
Yields – 6 servings
Step 1: Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Season the lamb chunks with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and brown on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the lamb and set aside.
Step 3: In the same pot, add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Return the lamb to the pot. Add the carrots, potatoes, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the lamb is tender.
Step 6: Remove the bay leaves. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
FAQs & Tips
How to Make Ahead and Store
Irish stew is a perfect make-ahead meal. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days. To freeze, simply let the stew cool completely and store it in freezer bags marked with the date. You can freeze this stew for up to 6 months.
Substitutes for Lamb in this Recipe?
You can make this a traditional beef stew by simply swapping out the lamb shoulder for chuck roast. Less beef is necessary here because lamb shrinks quite a bit when cooking.
Is This Dish Gluten-Free?
Every ingredient here is gluten-free, as long as you choose a certified GF broth, such as Healo Foods’ All-Natural Lamb Bone Broth or Essenhaus Gluten-Free Beef Base.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this deeply delicious stew with some light, acidic, sweet flavors for contrast against the rich, umami in the stew. Try it with the tart, juicy apple sweetness of this Waldorf Salad or the sweet, sharp, vinegary flavors of this Asparagus Salad with cherry tomatoes, red onions, feta cheese, and an apple cider vinaigrette.
And I cannot imagine a good stew without some fluffy, flaky biscuits to dip in all that rich broth. Also, come to think of it, we have not yet used any cheese in this meal, and, for me, cheese is essential. So how about these Buttermilk Cheese Biscuits?
If you like this stew, try this amazing Slow Cooker Chicken Sausage Stew with roasted tomatoes, cannellini beans, and chicken sausage. It’s utterly scrumptious. And to really get a spicy stew going that makes you want to cozy all up by the fire, try this oh-so-delectable Chicken Enchilada Soup.
Irish Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pounds lamb shoulder cut into 2-inch chunks
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 large potatoes peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 4 cups beef or lamb broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Season the lamb chunks with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and brown on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the lamb and set aside.
- In the same pot, add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Return the lamb to the pot. Add the carrots, potatoes, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the lamb is tender.
- Remove the bay leaves. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
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