St. Patrick’s Day approaches. If you can’t make the trip to Dublin, then it’s off to the next closest thing—there to drink yourself into a stupor. Traditional folk music will be the last thing you hear as you slip off the bar stool and out into the alley to lay in your own sick. Fitful dreams of bawdy Irish lads and lasses, laughing at you in their varied accents awaits. Or you could not make an arse of yourself and eat the stew. The American tough guy routine has its place—we don’t want to look weak in front of the rough and ready Irish boys, so if the issue is image, then tell your friends and followers that it’s beer soup. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it photographs well next to a frosty pint and in the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?
There are several considerations when choosing how to make Irish stew for yourself. To each their own, but it must have red meat in it. Lamb is best but beef is an okay substitute. Potatoes are also required for authenticity. Finally, it’s not Irish stew if it’s not swimming in Guinness Stout. There are other imports that can meet the “beer-soup” brief, but the stout has a way with the lamb and as they say, “Guinness is good for you.” As for the options, leeks, carrots and parsnips are common. You might even add some thyme or rosemary. There’s no stew patrol on the lookout for runaway recipes, but I’m drawing the line against mushrooms. I know they taste amazing but this isn’t Beef Bourgogne and simplicity is part of the appeal.
- Bacon fat or other high heat cooking oil.
- Lamb stew meat cut into equal, bite-sized chunks. At least 4 oz per serving
- Flour, enough to coat the meat
- 1 medium onion, diced and 1 minced garlic clove, per 4 servings
- 1-2 Tbsp tomato paste, per 4 servings
- Waxy potatoes like Yukon gold and other root vegetables diced like the meat, 4 oz per serving, all together. (see 1 below)
- Guinness Stout, enough to cover everything in the pot. (see 2)
- Aromatics in sachet (see 3)
Set the oven to bake to 135C/275F (see 4). Toss the meat to coat in the flour. Prepare the onion, garlic, potatoes and root veggies. In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, sear the meat in bacon fat or alternative, then remove from heat. Sauté the onions and tomato paste until browned, add the garlic for the last minute. Reduce heat to medium and toss in the potatoes and root veggies long enough in to get them to warm through, at least 5 minutes. Use some Guinness to deglaze, then return the meat and add the aromatics. Add more Guinness to almost cover everything. Bring to a simmer and then cover with lid. Let it linger a few moments to build up a steam and then move to the oven for 90 minutes to 2 hours until the meat gives no resistance.
- Potatoes, carrots, parsnip or other root veggies all together should be proportional (1:1) to the meat. So if you’re doing potatoes and carrots, do an even spilt so that together their combined weight is the same as the meat.
- If your friends need a scapegoat to blame before indulging, you can say it’s my fault you bought too much beer. I didn’t provide an exact measurement. Also, get new friends.
- It feels weird using words like bouquet-garni or sachet in an Irish recipe, especially after I just said this isn’t beef bourgogne. If it takes away from the tough-guy Irish identity thing, then just drop the aromatics straight in and make it a game. Whoever gets a sprig has to chug a pint or buy the next round.
- Simmering is also an option but after making the effort to deglaze I don’t like to find burnt shite at the bottom.
- It’s worth pointing out that since Guinness is bitter, if you don’t get the onions and tomato paste caramelized properly, you’ll have bitter stew. Don’t add to to the problem by forgetting to peel your carrots. If you messed up, which tends to happen when you buy more Guinness than you need, you can make sure that your guests are properly soused with a few rounds first.
