Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2009

Wow -- delicious! I modified slightly -- substituted a bottle of Guinness Extra Stout for the wine, decreased meat to 4 lbs., used only 1 lb. of bacon, and doubled the carrots and potatoes. I could not find boneless lamb shoulder, so bought 7 lbs. of bone-in, then trimmed the meat off the bone and also trimmed off the fat. Let the stew simmer for an extra hour on low heat, then thickende with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Came out great! Nice consistency. The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender -- I will definitely stick with the shoulder meat. The veggies softened but still held their shape well. A definite winner!

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northern exposure

Living In: Laramie, Wyoming, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2009

Fabulous. Made everything in a stock pot. Didn't see a reason to use the frying pan. Also, only used 4 pounds of meat and 1/4 pound of bacon. More than enough. Also, remember how much salt is in the bacon before adding a bunch to your flour mix. Deglazed with wine. I love the Guiness and mashed potato ideas - I will do that next time.

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AAL67

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Reviewed: Mar. 14, 2009

WE LOVE THIS!!! My parents are Corned Beef and Cabbage people for St. Patrick's day but since I hate it we went with this option instead. We have made for the last 4 years and its a St. Patrick's day favorite now! We do make it the night before and just heat it the day of.

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Kary Mommy Lady

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Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2009

I tried this because we had some leftover lamb, and I made it in a crockpot, I don't know if it was something I did but the bf was not a fan and he usually likes everything I make. It seemed okay to me but not worth 5 stars.

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lisadynae@gmail.com

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Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2009

Very good but needed a few changes IMO. Get your lamb from COSTCO if it is hard to find at your grocery. It's about $20 for 5 lbs which is plenty for this recipe...it's the leg that has been deboned and trimmed and wrapped in a cooking net. CHANGES: replace all of the water AND wine in the recipe with Guiness or other stout; add more salt and pepper throughout the cooking; add frozen green peas at the very end (this added color is essential for an eye appealing meal); if the broth is too thin at the end add a bit of corn starch and cold water to thicken.

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addictedtoallrecipies

Home Town: Brighton, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 3, 2009

An excellent recipe but I'm always surprised when a "beef" stock is included in a lamb recipe. Substitute a lamb stock or no stock at all for a more authentic and better tasting experience.

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Mervyn Groves

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2009

I used lamb shoulder and it was great.

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Briemarine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Normalville, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Havelock, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 20, 2009

Wonderful! I was fortunate to get local domestic lamb which is superb! I didn't make any changes and I'll have to say it turned out even better than I expected. It was even better the next day. I will definitely make this again and again.

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Anneshirl

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Wichita, Kansas, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 13, 2009

This recipe is a keeper..the consistancy, taste was to die for!!

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BLANGE

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Reviewed: Jan. 6, 2009

This was okay, I didn't particularly like it just because it was too sweet for my liking. I also had to add a bunch of things to get the taste right...my family liked it though! Good recipe if you have lamb to get rid of, but I probably wont make this again

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Shoppingbaby

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Dallas, Texas, USA

Living In: Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2009

Once a year my guests get to have a big bowl of this stew. It has become a tradition at our St. Pat's party.

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Karenrf

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2009

OMGosh!! You'll Love this one. After reading the reviews, I did make a few changes. I used 7 strips of the bacon, Added 1/2 cup of barley that I pre-cooked (the barley gives it a thick consistency), 1 teas. Rosemary, And used 3 lbs of leg meet and of course 1 cup of Guinness Extra Stout Beer that replaced the wine. Wow, even if you don't like lamb its well worth your time. Thank you so much Danny, I have English/Welsh heritage but my mother learned to cook here in the US so this is one of the dishes my mother grew up on but never cooked for us.

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Grandma101

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Fairfield, California, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 21, 2008

Delicious! It's freezing outside and I was craving something that was stick-to-the-ribs good so I decided to give this a try. So glad I did! The flavor is wonderful and it was easy to do. My only complaint is that even after coating the lamb in flour, the liquids in the stew were much thinner than I like for a stew even after hours and hours of simmering it in the crockpot. This was easily fixed though. I just mixed up a roux with butter and flour (I used 2 tbsp of each to thicken 5 servings worth of stew) and stirred it in shortly before dinner time and it thickened up nicely. I did make some changes. Rather than cooking it on the stove, I threw all of the ingredient into my crock pot and cooked it on low for 10 hours. I also upped the garlic (because I love it!) and the potatoes, substituted red wine for the portions of white wine and water that were called for and added some Rosemary in the same proportions as the Thyme. I also just bought some precut lamb stew meat so I'm not sure what cut it came from, but it braised nicely. Didn't bother to brown it first as I knew it'd be in the crockpot for long enough to cook it thoroughly. Fabulous recipe! I'll be making this again and might try adding Guinness next time as some of the other reviewers have suggested.

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SHRIEKINGVIOLET

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Reviewed: Dec. 6, 2008

Very good! I used the recommended Guinness (plain, not extra stout) and it turned out great. My family wasn't as keen on the lamb flavor , so next time I'll try it with beef.

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Matthew Perrett

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Pacifica, California, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 1, 2008

Only 4 stars because I felt the stew was a little too thin and watery -- I missed that thickness I usually associate with stew. I whisked some warm water with flour, and also a touch of heavy cream. After adding this the stew thickened up and turned a nice beige color that I'm used to in Irish Stews. I also did this in a slow cooker; started for 1 hour on high, then turned it down to low for 5 more hours. After the first 3 hours I added the veggies (also included celery) and I wished I had waited another hour because 2 hours would have been perfect for the veg. I did without the bacon to bring down the calorie/fat count. I also added a lot more thyme, salt and pepper, in addition to some garlic powder, and substituted chicken broth for the beef broth and beer for wine. The basic recipe was very good, and with a bit of tweaking it turned out just like the Irish Stew at my local Irish Pub.

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Julie N

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Skokie, Illinois, USA

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 8, 2008

this recipe was great. I have made it several times and everyone always wants the recipe.

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Monica

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Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2008

Good, hearty flavor, but I was disappointed that the consistency was more like soup than stew even after omitting the water. The broth was tasty soaked up with a piece of bread, but I still wish this recipe included directions to thicken it up at the end. I would probably try a different recipe next time, but look for one with similar ingredients since I liked the flavor. Following the advice of others, I used Irish stout instead of wine, and only about 2 lbs of lamb.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2008

Very good. Great recipe for the crock pot.

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hopc

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Reviewed: Oct. 19, 2008

My family thought this was excellent stew. I altered it a bit and made it in a slow cooker over 8 hours on low, I added the potatoes after 4 hours of cooking (because they get really mushy the full time) and added the flour at the end to thicken it. Mmmm, I will definitely make this again.

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utahduh

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Reviewed: Oct. 12, 2008

Superb. I made some alterations: I used only one pound of lamb stew meat, purely due to cost considerations, however this was plenty of meat for me. My husband would have liked a little more, but I think six pounds seems like a lot. I used 3/4 pound of bison bacon (don't eat pork) and since bison is so much leaner than pork, a small amount of olive oil for the frying. Instead of wine I poured two bottles of stout in with the broth early on to simmer. Tasting a small bit of the final result right off of the stove left me questioning if it would live up to the reviews. We were somehow able to wait until the next night to have it for dinner and it was fantastic! We had it throughout the week and it got better and better, the meat broke up into the broth and the flavors melded into an amazing dish. We will make this again and again.

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