When it comes to making a traditional Irish Stew, there is no special recipe. It's a basic dish with few ingredients that is very easy to prepare, and it tastes delicious.
Easy to make homemade Irish Stew
There are only 4 ingredients to traditional Irish Stew, at least with our family recipe. With so few ingredients, making this recipe is very easy, very low cost but yet very hearty.
Potatoes are the main ingredient for a traditional homemade stew from Ireland. A typical bowl of Stew is enough for one serving. However, the great thing about this recipe is that it still tastes really good when its reheated.
It's probably safe to say that every Irish family has their own method of making stew by adding their own ingredients for flavouring. Always remember though, keep this recipe simple.
Irish Stew Ingredients
- 2 large onions
- 4 large Carrots
- ½ stewing steak/mince or lamb
- 8 large potatoes
- Salt & pepper (personal preference)
How to make Traditional Irish stew
- Wash and cut onions into moderate size chunks and add to the pot. (don't like onions? Do not worry, this can still be cooked without onions).
- Wash carrots and cut into chunks (some prefer thicker chunks for taste).
- Wash and peel the potatoes and cut each one in half.
- Slice the meat into smaller pieces. If using stewing mince, roll into meatballs.
- Get a large pot and fill it with water. Add the potatoes and meat.
- Heat the pot until the water boils then add the carrots and onions.
- Keep on a low boil, stir every now and then until the vegetables and meat are cooked.
- Serve hot!
Ingredients for traditional Irish Stew
The key to a good traditional Irish stew is less ingredients.
Cooking time for the Irish stew should be approximately 60 minutes. However, its important the meat is fully cooked and the potatoes are soft inside (check using a fork). There is no harm in keeping it on a very low heat for longer. It can also be reheated to be served later. Want to try making it with a slow cooker? Just add the above ingredients and 1 cup of water.
Serving Irish Stew
As a hearty meal Irish Stew can be served almost any time of day although we would draw the line with eating it for breakfast.
Served up in a bowl when it's piping hot, Irish Stew makes a delicious lunch or dinner on a damp cold day. Along with a couple of slices of bread with some Kerry Gold butter, this makes the perfect comfort meal.
Family traditions & stew for kids
Many Irish people have been feeding on stew since they were toddlers and it has become in its own right an Irish tradition.
Our own mother would make a large pot of Stew for lunch every Saturday in the winter months. She would serve it in large bowls with freshly cut bread & butter to be washed down with either a glass of water or milk. Today its something we repeat with our own kids and hopefully, they'll continue in this family tradition.
If you are serving stew to a toddler it's a good idea to only serve them part of the spuds & carrots by mashing it together, this should also soak up the gravy. Let it sit and cool before feeding as the stew is usually served piping hot.
What meat to use for Irish Stew?
There is no set rule on what type of meeting you can use, many prefer a beef stew, or a lamb stew, and even a mince stew. A personal favorite is mince stew, rolling the mince into small meatballs.
Experimenting with Irish Stew
It's blasphemous we suggest this but experimenting with stew can bring out some fantastic recipes. It is common for people to add some extra ingredients to give the stew more taste or to thicken it. A small number of beef gravy granules can do the trick, don't be afraid to experiment.
Here are just some of the extra ingredients you can try for yourself:
- Mushrooms
- Parsley
- Herbs
- Oxtail powdered soup
- Table Sauce (Brown)
- Ketchup
- Curry powder (no this is not a typo and actually tastes great)
