The Irish really know how to live. They transform inexpensive ingredients into spectacular dishes. Inspired by the land of the Blarney Stone, I took this traditional lamb and vegetable stew, and transformed it into Guinness Lamb Stew. An easy 3 step process, Guinness stew combines meltingly tender lamb chunks, sweet butternut squash, and creamy yukon gold potatoes. The coffee notes in the Guinness add a pleasantly subtle bitterness to the stew. Served with crusty bread to mop up the delicious, thick broth, this stew will make you feel extra lucky.
Table of Contents
Lamb Stew Instant Pot
One of my favorite things about stews is that you can transform inexpensive, everyday ingredients into a comforting flavor bomb. For my stew, I used butternut squash, potatoes, onions, and celery for my vegetation, but you can use whatever root vegetables are your favorites. Lamb shoulder is my favorite cut to use for this dish because it is not only extremely affordable, but it has enough fat to stay nice and juicy. 3/4 inch chunks for the ingredients are a good size because they cook quickly and are bite size, but still large enough to maintain their shape.
Lamb Stew Crock Pot
An optional, but highly recommended step for this stew is to sear the chunks of meat. Browning all sides of the meat in hot butter or oil gives the exterior of the lamb chunks a deeper flavor, and develops delicious brown bits on the bottom of the pan. When adding the beer and beef broth, simply use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits of the bottom of the pan. This gives the broth so much flavor. Next, add the garlic, bay leaf, and thyme, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer the lamb for 20 minutes. Add the vegetables when the time is up, and let it simmer until the vegetables and lamb are fork tender. Remove the thyme sprigs when this happens.
Lamb Stew Recipe Mix
The final step in stew is to thicken the broth. Mix some sour cream or yogurt with some flour, and ladle some of the hot broth into the mixture. Vigorously stir the broth and sour cream mixture to avoid curdling the sour cream, and add the mixture back to the pan. Stir to combine, and cook the stew for 3-5 minutes, or until the broth is thick enough the coat the back of a spoon.
Enjoy this comforting Guinness stew on a cold winter day, it will keep you feeling cozy and satisfied.
Guinness Lamb Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 2 cups beef stock or broth
- 1 bottle Guinness
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups butternut squash, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- 1 cup yukon gold potato, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- 1 cup celery, sliced
- 1 medium onion, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
- ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 loaf crusty bread, for serving
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat the butter or oil over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, and brown it on all sides. Pour off excess oil from the pan and add the Guinness, beef stock, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the squash, potato, celery, and onion. Bring the liquid back to a boil and then return to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes more, or until the lamb and vegetables are tender. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
- In a small combine the yogurt and flour. Stir 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into the yogurt mixture, and add the yogurt mixture to the saucepan. Cook and stir until the liquid is thickened, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with crusty bread for dipping.
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