The Best Irish Lamb Stew

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Tender, bite-sized chunks of lamb in a savory sauce with lots of vegetables. This Best Irish Lamb Stew is a deliciously satisfying dinner or lunch. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations!

March is the Perfect Time for the Best Irish Lamb Stew

March is a month I always look forward to.

There’s just so much to celebrate in March. The end of winter, the beginning of spring, my birthday, and St. Patrick’s Day all make the list. But something else I look forward to is the appearance of lamb at the meat counter of my grocery store.

My market doesn’t carry lamb for most of the year. When it arrives, I know that spring isn’t far behind. I also know that the time is right to make my Best Irish Lamb Stew.

Irish Inspired Ingredients in my Best Irish Lamb Stew

Ancestrally speaking, I’m about half Irish. 

Perhaps that explains my appreciation for shepherd’s pie, soda bread (recipe here!), a tall black and tan (a drink with layers of light and dark beer), lamb stew, and lamb in general. 

Lamb has a distinctive, slightly gamey flavor but is wonderfully tender. It’s one of those things you either like or don’t. If lamb isn’t for you, you could substitute beef in the recipe. Though it would still be very tasty, the taste would be quite different.

There are quite a few variations of lamb stew. At the risk of blowing my own horn, I really do think my recipe for lamb stew is one of the best.

Besides the lamb, the recipe gets extra richness from the inclusion of bacon, plenty of potatoes, carrots, peas, and herbs, and a savory, flavorful sauce that starts with a good dark beer.

To my way of thinking, Guiness beer makes the Best Irish Lamb Stew. However, Guinness has a very strong and slightly bitter flavor. Though I’ve mellowed it with the addition of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, you can substitute another, less bitter dark beer if you’d prefer.

Making the Best Irish Lamb Stew

Cooking lamb stew is like making any other kind of stew. You’ll brown the meat, then add the vegetables, seasonings, and liquid to the pot. After that, you’ll let everything simmer until the meat and vegetables are cooked to fork tender and the flavors have melded.

However, I do have a few extra tips for making my lamb stew.

We don’t eat a lot of red meat at my house, and lamb can be pricey. So my Best Irish Lamb Stew recipe uses just twelve ounces of lamb. 

Cutting the lamb into one-inch, bite-sized, pieces helps make the most of small amount of meat. That means you get a piece of lamb in almost every bite. And since lamb has such a distinctive taste, the flavor comes through nicely.

Bacon, also cut into small pieces, adds another rich and satisfying depth of flavor to this stew. The bacon fat add to the dish. So be sure to fry the bacon bits until they are dark brown and crispy to render all the fat and flavor.

In my opinion, almost every recipe can benefit from the addition of fresh herbs. I used plenty of fresh parsley and thyme here. However, you could substitute cilantro, rosemary, or basil. If you don’t have fresh herbs available, you can replace them with dried herbs and cut the amounts in half.

Best Irish Lamb Soup

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• Author: Marie Bostwick
• Yield: 8 1-cup servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 2 T flour
• 1.5 tsp kosher salt, divided
• ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
• 12 oz lamb meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 slices thick bacon, cut crossways into half-inch lardons
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch coins
• 1 lb yellow potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks
• 12 oz. dark beer
• 3 cups water
• 3 T tomato paste
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme

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Instructions

1. Place the flour, ½ tsp salt, and a ¼ tsp pepper in small bowl. Stir to distribute the spices. Dredge the lamb in the flour mixture, a few pieces at a time, coating each piece. Set aside.
2. Fry the bacon lardons in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, stirring often, until the bacon is deep brown and crispy, and all the fat is rendered. Removed the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the pan.
3. Cook the onion in the bacon fat for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and translucent. Remove the cooked onion from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Brown the pieces of lamb on all sides.
5. Add the bacon, onion, carrots, and potatoes to the pot. Pour in beer, water, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring the stew to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45-minutes to one hour, until the vegetables are tender. Add the peas and herbs during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. Taste stew, adjust seasonings, and serve. Leftovers will keep covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.