Lamb Stew with Guinness

You can’t beat a delicious hearty stew when you want to feed the family or cosy up for date night on a chilly evening. See how Jack from Jacks Meat Shack prepares this classic dish.  

 

Cooking Method

  1. Preheat the barbecue grill to 190C or fire up the hob to a medium high heat. Heat some oil in a big cast iron pan, Dutch oven, or stock pot.  
  2. Season the lamb with salt and pepper then brown it before setting aside.  
  3. Roughly chop the streaky bacon and fry until brown then set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.  
  4. Whisk the flour a tablespoon at a time into the bacon fat to create a roux.  
  5. Add the onions, carrots, and tomato puree until the onions become golden. Then add the crushed garlic. 
  6. Pour in the Guinness and deglaze the pan by mixing well and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  
  7. Add the stock, bacon, and herbs before bringing the mixture to the boil and then reducing to a simmer with occasional stirring.  
  8. After simmering for roughly one hour, add the potatoes and pearl barley. 
  9. Simmer for approximately half an hour or until the potatoes and barley are nice and soft then serve warm with some delicious bread.  

The Ingredients

  • 1kg diced lamb 
  • 4 carrots peeled and chopped into chunks 
  • 2 large onions peeled and chopped into chunks 
  • 500g floury potatoes peeled and chopped into chunks 
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed 
  • 1 pack streaky bacon 
  • 200g pearl barley 
  • 500ml stock 
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree 
  • 1 can/bottle Guinness 
  • 1 large handful herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage (use 1 tbsp each of dried herbs if fresh aren’t available) 

Frequently Asked Questions

Beers like Guinness make a great addition to stew as they provide a good level of richness to the flavour and texture as well as bringing all the ingredients together in a nice balance, elevating a normal stew into an amazing one.  

You can find diced lamb as well as other cuts of lamb here at The Village Butchers online. Shop our full collection to keep creating amazing meals with the highest quality meat products.  

Search Our Site

Take a look through our website and if you need any help or can’t find what you are looking for contact us!