You salivated over Geoff’s roast pork with crackling recipe and went in for seconds with his Australia Day pavlova recipe – and guess what, he’s back!
In preparation for St. Patrick’s Day, Geoff has put together a delicious and hearty Guinness Irish Stew recipe. It’s traditional, packs a flavoursome punch and is great for the whole family.
A word from the man himself: “This is a great one pot dish, not meant to be fancy, just very tasty”. So what are you waiting for? Learn how to make Geoff’s Guinness Irish Stew now!
Overview:
Ingredients:
- 1kg lamb shoulder (diced into 3cm pieces)
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 600ml Guinness beer
- 1 large onion (roughly diced into 3cm pieces)
- 3 carrots (cut into 3cm pieces)
- 2 celery stalks (3cm pieces)
- 2 large potatoes (3cm cubes)
- 1L of beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
- Chopped fresh chilli if you like spice
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
| Prep Time | 15 mins |
| Cook Time | 2 hours |
| Serves | 4 to 6 |
Guinness Irish Stew: instructions
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat 1tbsp of oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the lamb in, and brown it in small batches.
- Set the browned lamb aside and add onions to the pot with the remaining oil. Cook onions until soft (about 5 minutes).
- With the onions, add 2 tbsp of beef stock with crushed garlic & scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the chopped chilli if you want the spice. Cook until the beef broth has evaporated.
- Add butter and flour and mix together to form a paste (roux). Cook for one minute on medium heat.
- Reduce heat to low. Slowly add the Guinness beer in small amounts at a time while whisking until smooth after each addition. The mixture will seem paste-like and thick at first. Keep adding liquid a little bit at a time until smooth with a sauce consistency (you can always add a little water if you don’t want it as thick).
- Add the lamb back into the pot. On a low heat, let the stew tick over for 90 minutes or until the lamb is fork tender. Be sure to stir with a wooden spoon every now and then to make sure the bottom of the pan does not catch or burn.
- Add the potatoes, carrots and thyme and simmer for 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Stir in parsley and serve.
Tips & tricks
- This recipe can also be adapted for a slow cooker. Make the Guinness Irish stew the same way, but at step 6, put the slow cooker on low for 4 hours instead of cooking on the stove and simmering for 90 minutes. Then add vegetables and thyme, cook for a further hour, then finish with parsley before serving.
- To add a little more Irish to your Irish Stew, pan fry bacon strips and mix through with seasoned, shredded steamed cabbage. You can also eat the stew with Soda Bread to sop up all that delicious sauce.
Guinness Irish Stew FAQ
How do you thicken Guinness Irish stew?
If you’d prefer a thicker stew, combine 2 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water. Add the mixture to the boiling stew a little bit at time while stirring until the stew reaches your desired consistency. Do this at the end of cooking.
What is the difference between beef stew and Irish stew?
The biggest difference is in the name – while a beef stew is made with beef, an Irish stew is made with lamb or more traditionally, mutton. This is due to the history of the Guinness Irish stew. Another difference is that the Guinness Irish stew has Guinness in it!
Why is my Irish stew bitter?
Guinness is a bitter beer! To combat the bitterness, add in a tsp of sugar or cream and keep taste-testing as you go.
Do you boil potatoes before putting them in stew?
No, because no one wants mushy potatoes! Plus if you boil them beforehand, you won’t get the delicious flavours of the stew permeating through the potatoes. You only want to add your potatoes (and vegetables) 25 mins before the end of cooking.
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So, thinking of making Geoff’s Guinness Irish stew for dinner tonight? We don’t blame you, our mouths are watering!
At FPE, we’re all about helping our customers, whether it’s by taking the planning out of dinners with industrial cooking equipment specialist Geoff Nugent – aka Chef Geoff’s – recipes, or offering comprehensive customer support, spare parts supply, equipment training and maintenance to support your food business. Speak to the friendly team at FPE about our food processing equipment today.
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