Scrumptious Saturday #12

Irish Stew

Please don't be mistaken, this is NOT my original recipe, but I am so thankful I tried it. The recipe is taken exactly as printed in the October 2008 issue of of Cuisine at Home.
"Traditional Irish Stew recipes are usually made with lamb, and lamb stew meat works great here. But if you're not a fan, feel free to substitute beef instead."

Makes 8 cups; Total time: about 1 1/2 hours

2 lb. lamb or beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2" cubes, seasoned with salt and pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil, divided
2 cups onion, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark beer (Guinness is best choice)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup frozen peas (keep them frozen until ready to use to prevent soggy peas)
1 cup savoy cabbage, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Brown lamb in 2T. oil in a large pot over medium - high heat, 8 minutes. Transfer lamb to a bowl and set aside; reduce heat to medium.

I got the lambs meat, carrots and garlic at the local farmers market. The lambs meat came from Laurel Creek Meat, check them out. Boy does it make a difference!


Add 2 T. oil and onion to the pot and sweat, covered, until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste, and cook until paste darkens, 2 minutes. Add flour, stir to coat and cook, 1 minute.

Deglaze with beer, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pot, then add both broths, lamb meat and its juices, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 hour.

Stir in potatoes and carrot(s). Cook until potatoes are tender, 12 minutes, then add peas, cabbage, salt and pepper; simmer 5 minutes.

So the recipe calls for being served with Mini Cheddar Scones and to be honest I didn't have the drive to tackle that one with the stew. So instead I got a package of Bisquick Brand 3 Cheese Biscuit Mix, and instead of 1/2 cup of water as it called for I used a 1/2 cup of Rachael Ray's Chicken Stock, and added in some more fresh thyme (stripped the leaved off the stem). It was really good, I wish I could have smell-o-vision for you all to know how good this whole meal smelled.