While most foods in Ireland are likely to excite only moderate levels of controversy, people can get really excitable over Irish stew.

(It should be mentioned here that in Ireland it's not usually referred to as "Irish stew", but as "lamb stew".)

It seems possible to get into an argument about nearly anything about lamb stew (except the potatoes). Some folks will complain that you shouldn't really be using lamb to make it at all, but mutton (in other words, the meat from mature sheep, one to three years old, rather than from sheep less than a year old). Fortunately, after a downswing in its popularity, in many places it's becoming possible to find good mutton again if you're willing to look a little.

Other people will get all steamed up about the actual cut of lamb you should be using. Many people insist it should be one of the cheap cuts that requires long, slow cooking, like shin or "scrag end". Others say you should use better cuts, lamb chops from the neck or shoulder, or just plain old chopped up "stewing lamb" bought from the butcher, normally offcuts from the leg or round. You also get people who insist that, whatever the cut of meat involved, the real business of the stew is in the spicing, and that all modern or "fancy" spices should be excluded -- meaning that (in this school of thought) the only spicery proper for a lamb stew is salt, pepper and parsley.

But the liveliest arguments tend to start up over the issue of the presence or absence of carrots... Some more traditional cooks insist that carrots were not used in the earliest versions of the stew, and shouldn't be used now. The less traditional -- or cooks who're traditional in different ways -- tend to retort that their mothers put carrots in the stew, and that's traditional enough for them. Usually, at the point where you hear a discussion going in this direction, it's wisest to step away and find somewhere else to be.

Anyway, here are three recipes that represent various approaches to the stew. One comes from the famous Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe: one from the doyenne of modern Irish TV chefs, Biddy Whyte Lennon: and a third from veteran Irish cookbook writer and food expert Theodora Fitzgibbon. (And here's a link to our fourth one, which has its own page because it's our favorite.)

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

      Title: Irish Stew (1) [Ballymaloe Cookbook]
 Categories: Meats, Main dish
      Yield: 4 Servings

      3 lb Lamb neck chops
      4 x  Med-sized carrots
      4 x  Med-sized onions
      1 tb Butter
      1 x  Lamb fat or beef dripping
      4 x  Potatoes
      1 x  Salt and pepper
  2 1/2 c  Stock or water
      1 tb Chopped parsley
      1 tb Chopped chives

  Shred some of the lamb fat and render it down in a heavy casserole.
  Peel onions and potatoes, scrape carrots.  Cut the meat into 8
  pieces; only the excess fat is cut away.  Bones need not be removed.
  Cut the carrots and onions in quarters.  Toss meat in fat until color
  changes, and repeat with onions and carrots.  Add stock and season
  carefully. Put whole potatoes on top.  Simmer gently until the meat
  is cooked, 2 hours approx. Pour off the cooking liquid.  Degrease,
  and reheat in another saucepan. Check seasoning. Then swirl in
  butter, chives, parsley, and pour back over stew.

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MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

      Title: Irish Stew (2) [Biddy Whyte Lennon]
 Categories: Meats, Main dish
      Yield: 4 Servings

  1 1/2 lb Stewing lamb or mutton
      2 x  Large onions
      3 lb Potatoes
      1 x  Large bunch fresh parsley
      2 tb Chopped fresh thyme
      1 x  Water
      1 x  Salt and fresh black pepper

  Peel the onions and slice them into rounds.  Peel the potatoes as
  thinly as possible.  Leave them whole unless they are very large. Cut
  the meat into good-sized pieces.  Small chops can be left whole,
  larger ones divided in two.  Place a layer of onions on the bottom of
  a heavy casserole, and the meat on top of them.  Sprinkle chopped
  thyme and parsley generously, and season well.  Layer the rest of the
  onions with the potatoes. Sprinkle thyme and parsley again at the
  last. The amount of water you need to add depends on how good the
  seal is between your pot and its lid, and whether you like a "wet" or
  "dry" stew. You will certainly not need more than two cups, and I use
  barely one. Bring the water to a boil, cover as tightly as possible,
  and place in a preheated oven at 300F for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Keep an
  eye on it towards the end, and adjust the gravy by adding a little
  water if you think it too dry.  A good stew should have some gravy,
  but should not be flooded by it.  "Floury" potatoes will dissolve
  into the gravy, "waxy" ones will not.  I tend to use a mixture. Serve
  very hot with more fresh chopped parsley sprinkled on top. White soda
  bread to mop up the gravy.

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MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

      Title: Irish Stew (3) [Theodora Fitzgibbon]
 Categories: Meats, Main dish
      Yield: 4 Servings

      3 lb Lamb chops from the neck
      2 lb Potatoes
      1 lb Onions, sliced
      1 tb Parsley, chopped
      1 x  Pinch thyme
      1 x  Salt and pepper
     10 fl Stock

  Trim the meat of bone, fat and gristle, then cut into fairly large
  pieces.
   Layer the meat and the vegetables in a deep pan, seasoning each layer
  well, and ending with potatoes.  Pour in the stock and cover with a
  piece of buttered foil, then the lid, and bake in a slow oven, 300F,
  for about 2 hours.  Or, if preferred, on the top of the stove,
  shaking teh pan from time to time to prevent sticking.  Add a very
  little more liquid if needed.

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