Celebrate St Patrick's Day with a hearty Irish Lamb Stew that's slow simmered on top of the stove with red potatoes, carrots, onions, and a smoky stout beer.
A Hearty Irish Lamb Stew
Irish food is all about stick-to-your-ribs, meat and potato comfort food.
This Irish stout lamb stew is not only hearty, but it's so easy to make too.
The stew is slow simmered on top of the stove and all the flavors meld together into one tasty dish.
I was going to use the slow cooker for this recipe, but I honesty like a stew that has been cooking on top of the stove for a couple of hours.
What is a stew
A stew is any combination of vegetables and meat, cut into larger pieces and slowly simmered over a low heat source.
The ingredients are covered with just enough liquid to cook everything together and produce a nice thick gravy.
Inexpensive tougher cuts of meat are ideal for this type of cooking because the low and slow method breaks down the protein and makes it super tender.
Ingredients for this Irish stew recipe
- Lamb - The best Irish lamb stew starts with the meat. I use humanely raised, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free lamb from my favorite local farm, Normanton Farm. The lamb are raised in small flocks and provided a natural lifestyle of pasture ranging, which I love.
- p.s. you can check out the site EAT WILD to look up local farms near you.
- Potatoes - Choose red or white potatoes because they have a lower starch content and hold their shape in stews. Use organic because the skin is left on in this recipe.
- Carrots - Always great in stews and add a nice sweet undertone.
- Onion and garlic - Both add a nice flavor and yellow onions are best for stewing.
- Beef stock - The liquid needed to cook it all and produce a gravy.
- Dark stout beer - Adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the lamb and vegetables. Plus, this is an Irish recipe and you HAVE to cook with a stout. LOL!
- Thyme - Has a peppery, lemony, and slightly mint taste that goes so well with lamb.
How to make lamb stew
- Cut up the lamb in 2" pieces, dust the pieces with flour and lightly brown in a little oil in a heavy bottomed pot. The flour on the lamb will help thicken the sauce too. Remove the lamb and set aside.
- Sauté the carrots and onions in the same pot for about 5 minutes or until onions are lightly browned.
- Put the garlic and thyme in the pot and cook for another minute.
- Add the beer and stir until slightly reduced.
- Add the potatoes, lamb, and beef stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, or until lamb is very tender.
A make ahead St Patrick's Day recipe
I'm not full-on Irish, but St Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays, probably because it revolves around good food and beer.
I guess there's supposed to be something about a shamrock, saints and converting pagans, but us Americans celebrate it differently.
We use it as an excuse to eat Irish food, drink Irish beer, and generally celebrate all things Irish, even if we aren't Irish.
This Irish stew is one of my favorite make ahead recipes of St Patrick's Day food.
The flavor also greatly improves by sitting a day, or two, in the refrigerator.
Having dinner already made the day before St Patrick's Day makes it easy to plan ahead.
Then all you have to do is heat the stew up, eat it, and hit the road to go Irish beer drinking! Yay!
Back in the day, I remember celebrating every the Irish holiday every year by braving the crowds at Irish bars that opened at 6:00 AM, drinking green beer and scoring some free swag.
Now I ring in St Paddy's Day at home with a nice Irish pint, a warm loaf of spotted bread, and a huge bowl of this stew.
More Irish Recipes for St Paddy's Day!
- Slow Cooker Colcannon Potatoes
- Irish Spotted Dog
- Cranberry Irish French Toast with Whiskey Butter
- Blueberry Granola Soda Bread
- Irish Coffee
Put this hearty and delicious Irish Lamb Stew on your menu this St Patrick's Day or any day of the year!
Please let me know how you like the recipe in the comments below.
Irish Stout Lamb Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lamb stew meat or lamb shoulder, cut into 2" pieces (grass fed is preferred)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 6 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 (12 ounce) bottle of dark stout beer
- 3 medium organic red or white potatoes, scrubbed well and quartered
- 2 cups good quality beef stock, homemade or store bought
- Optional: serve with spotted dog
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Dust lamb with flour and add about a third of the lamb to the hot oil in the pan and sauté until browned. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat process two more times with the remaining oil and lamb. Set all cooked lamb aside.
- Turn down heat to medium, add a little more oil to the pot if needed, add the diced onion and carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until onions are lightly browned. Add the minced garlic and dried thyme, stir and cook for another minute. Turn heat back up to medium-high, add beer and stir until slightly reduced. Add potatoes, lamb, and beef stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, or until lamb is very tender.
- Enjoy with some soda bread or spotted dog and extra bottles of stout beer!
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- Store leftovers in a tightly cover container in the refrigerate for up to 2 days or can freeze for up to 2 months.
- Reheat leftovers over low heat on the stove-top or in the microwave.
Katherine
This stew tastes amazing and it was perfect for our St. Patrick's day celebration at home. Thank you for sharing such a delicious and easy recipe!
Maria C.
Tasty stuff! I love stews that develop flavor over the course of a couple of days, so made this before St Patrick's day and reheated it. Served it with your soda bread recipe and we all loved it!
Jenny Barclay
This was pretty damn good and I'm not really a fan of lamb. My Husband loved it and even the kids asked when I could make it again. Guess you made a lamb lover out of me!
Michelle Ferra
YUM! This was delicious!
Susan B
I love stews. The flavor and the taste on this one was beautiful. Had a nice fluffy bread with it and it was delish!
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Thank you Susan and I bet a fluffy bread was great with this stew. Yum!
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Hahaha! Free glassware does make beer taste better! Wow - I remember those days...not as vividly as I should, cue green beer...but I remember it being a blast! And yes, scoring free swag was the best! But alas, those days are over (thank goodness) and I would happily sit down with a big bowl of this hearty gorgeous looking stew and a brew from the comforts of home! Fun post, my friend! Have a great weekend!
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You are so right Annie...beer always tastes better in some free glassware! lol!
GiGi Eats
So hearty and warming! I could use some right now because LA is surprisingly COLD right now!
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Thanks GiGi! Hope you are bundling up next to a fire to keep warm. Brrrrrrrrrrr
Loreto Nardelli
Hi Karrie
I am flying Hans solo on this comment with Nicoletta being vegetarian and all. I love farmers who treat their animals humanely and feed fresh grass it does make a world of difference although I cannot think of the ending to that story. The Stew looks wonderful I can picture dipping a good piece of rustic bread into that gravy and eating it all up. I love the way you left the potatoes pretty hearty too. Well have a Guinness for me and sing a few celtic songs for me. Have fun!
Loreto
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Thanks Loreto and I hear you. I struggle with eating meat many times. I'll def have a Guinness for you!
Holly
Whoa! I love everything about this stew…it's hearty, healthy, the stout and the LAMB! Just can't have enough lamb in my life! Made it with local farm lamb and it was great. Thanks for the recipe and all the tips!
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Thanks Holly. Local farm lamb is the best
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Free swag is always awesome and congrats for still having the touch. Thanks Chey. Beer and lamb are two of my favorite things
simonacallas
I can't wait for St Patrick's day but only because I love celebrating And this dish looks so yummy and festive, that I would enjoy very much eating it in any occasion
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Thanks Simona! It's such a great holiday with celebrations all over the place too! I can't wait either
Heather W
Never liked lamb, but decided to give this recipe a try after my husband requested it and so glad i did. It's wonderful and is now one of my favorite recipes. thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much Heather and very happy you enjoyed it!