Jaysus, where's yer man going with his garlic and butter and flour and celery and chicken stock and diced this and chopped that and LAMB in a traditional Irish stew. Rubbish, I say, that recipe is for poncy nouvelle cuisinists.
There are two rules for traditional Irish stew :
- Use mutton
- Use spuds, plenty of them
Here is a link to Mrs Isabella Beeton's book on-line. [broken link removed]
I couldn't link to her recipes for Irish stew directly (they are under the heading for mutton dishes, Chapter 15) so I copied and pasted both versions here for convenience.-
IRISH STEW.
I.
721. INGREDIENTS - 3 lbs. of the loin or neck of mutton, 5 lbs. of potatoes, 5 large onions, pepper and salt to taste, rather more than 1 pint of water.
Mode.—Trim off some of the fat of the above quantity of loin or neck of mutton, and cut it into chops of a moderate thickness. Pare and halve the potatoes, and cut the onions into thick slices. Put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, then a layer of mutton and onions, and season with pepper and salt; proceed in this manner until the stewpan is full, taking care to have plenty of vegetables at the top. Pour in the water, and let it stew very gently for 2–1/2 hours, keeping the lid of the stewpan closely shut the
whole time, and occasionally shaking it to prevent its burning.
Time.—2–1/2 hours.
Average cost, for this quantity, 2s. 8d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable.—More suitable for a winter dish.
II.
722. INGREDIENTS - 2 or 3 lbs. of the breast of mutton, 1–1/2 pint of water, salt and pepper to taste, 4 lbs. of potatoes, 4 large onions.
Mode.—Put the mutton into a stewpan with the water and a little salt, and let it stew gently for an hour; cut the meat into small pieces, skim the fat from the gravy, and pare and slice the potatoes and onions. Put all the ingredients into the stewpan in layers, first a layer of vegetables, then one of meat, and sprinkle seasoning of pepper and salt between each layer; cover closely, and let the whole stew very gently for 1 hour of rather more, shaking it frequently to prevent its burning.
Time.—Rather more than 2 hours.
Average cost, 1s, 6d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable.—Suitable for a winter dish.
Note.—Irish stew may be prepared in the same manner as above, but baked in a jar instead of boiled. About 2 hours or rather more in a moderate oven will be sufficient time to bake it.