Irish Stew

As with many popular dishes, there are variations in recipes for this stew. Instead of lamb, some recipes use beef, some use mutton; that is, the meat of sheep over two years old, which makes it less tender than lamb, and much stronger in flavor. Mutton is not easy to find in many (most?) parts of the U.S. Other variations use chicken broth, while others use beef broth, as I do, but others go the whole way and make lamb stock. Another variation doesn't use carrots.

When cooking the stew, give it plenty of time to cook slowly at heat that maintains a gentle steady simmer. At my age, chewing certain foods (okay, all of them) can be difficult, so I tend to chop or slice things into smaller pieces, so that they cook well, making them easier to chew. To my knowledge, the Irish don't have any hard and fast rules about into what size the vegetables should be cut; although photos of Irish Stew often show the potatoes and carrots are in somewhat larger chunks. Keep in mind, if you don't like the vegetables being "mushy," you'll likely want to cut them into larger pieces, as they will then stand up to the long slow cooking time. Large chunks or small pieces, either way, I don't think the Irish will send a leprechaun to bop you on the head with a shillelagh, although since I did this recipe here, I have wondered where I got this large bump on my head. Hmm?  

In the U.S., it's pretty common to see Irish Stew offered as a special on or around St. Patrick's Day in restaurants and bars; especially, in Irish-themed bars and restaurants. But there is another reason this stew is popular ... IT'S DELICIOUS!

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

1 to 1 1/4 pounds lamb, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons oil (I use sunflower oil)

1 1/2 cups skin on, halved or quartered small red and small white potatoes, well rinsed

1 cup of peeled and chopped or sliced carrot

1 tennis ball size onion, quartered, then sliced

1 cup Guinness Stout

1/3 cup flour seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt, well mixed with 1/3 cup water

4 cups beef broth

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme (put it in the palm of one hand and crush with the other thumb)

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 heaping tablespoon chopped parsley

I use a 12 inch non-stick skillet when I make Irish Stew, but you can certainly use a pan/pot. Add the oil over medium heat, then add the onions and saute for just 2 minutes. Now add the meat and keep mixing it around to let it lightly brown on all sides. Add the potatoes, carrots, crushed thyme, bay leaves and black pepper, then pour in the beef broth and the Guinness; let the ingredients come to a simmer; then, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle steady simmer (on my stove that's very low) and cover the pan/skillet with a lid or foil. Let simmer for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables are tender. (NOTE: If you want the potatoes and carrots to be firmer, let the main stew simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes before adding the vegetables.) Add the chopped parsley just before serving, and try to fish out the bay leaves. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Tory-This word is related to "rotary," a word English borrowed from Latin, to "roll," with both the noun and the verb being Latin-derived words and borrowed by English from Latin-based French, to "rodeo," another Latin based word, but in this case, borrowed from Spanish. "Tory" goes back to Indo European "ret," meaning "to roll, to run; that is to move, by rolling." This gave Old Celtic "to wo ret," meaning "a run to or a running up to." This gave Old Irish the noun "toir," meaning "a chase, a pursuit," which produced the verb "toraigh," meaning "to chase, to pursue," and this produced the noun "tóraí," the original meaning of which was "a pursuer, a hunter," but then used for "outlaw, robber," with a sense of "cruelty" attached. Borrowed into English as "tory" in the mid 1500s, and by the mid 1600s the word was used for many Irish Catholics who turned to being outlaws due to the loss of their possessions. The word then came to be used for supporters of King James II (born as the Duke of York), the last Catholic British monarch (Note: James was King of England and Ireland as King James II, and as King of Scotland as King James VII. He was king from 1685 until 1688). The name was used by a British political party, as Tory, from the 1680s, a term that properly was changed to "Conservative" during the first half of the 1800s, although the term "Tory" still lingers in use by many people. In American usage, the term "Tory" was given to supporters of the British crown during Colonial times, and in Canada, the members of the Conservative Party are called Tories by many.