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Ingredients
- 225g bacon (thickly sliced, diced
- 3 kilo (boneless shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground)
- 70g all-purpose flour
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
- 1 large onion (yellow, peeled and finely chopped)
- 1 ltr stock (homemade or canned, beef)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 700 g carrots (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 2 large onions (yellow, peeled and sliced)
- 1.4 kilo (peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon thyme (dried, whole)
- 1 bay leaf
- 120 ml white wine (dry)
- Garnish: parsley (chopped)
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Method
- Sauté the bacon in a large frying pan. Reserve the fat and the bacon.
- Place the lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Toss to coat the meat evenly.
- Reheat the frying pan. In batches, brown the lamb in the reserved bacon fat. If you run out of fat, use a little oil.
- Transfer the browned meat to a 10-quart stovetop casserole, leaving about 1/4 cup of fat in the frying pan.
- Add the garlic and 1 chopped yellow onion to the pan and sauté until the onion begins to color a bit.
- Add the garlic-onion mixture to the casserole, along with the reserved bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar.
- Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.
- Add the carrots, the 2 sliced onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and wine to the pot and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Top with the parsley garnish before serving.
I usually make this stew the day before, as it is even better reheated. The flavours have time to blend together more and result in a more flavorful dish.
Serve this Irish stew with Irish soda bread if you have time for a bit of extra cooking. If not, serve up hearty bread like sourdough or artisan for a harmonious texture with the stew. In France a specialist bread with a good crispy crust will do.
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