by Just Rodney

Created on: June 09, 2008   Last Updated: September 22, 2008

To make a good Irish Stew, you will need a cast iron pot.

Place the broad bottomed cast iron pot or saucepan on the stove with the temperature of the stove set to high.

Ingredients

2 Lambs neck, sliced across the length in slice of about one and a half inch thick
4 large onions, peeled and sliced across the length into thick rings
4 large clean potatoes, washed peeled and cut along the length into thick slices

1 large Turnip (or Swede) washed peeled cut along the length into thick slices
Salt Pepper and fresh parsley to taste
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Bacon fat for frying
1 and 1/2 cup vegetable stock, made from the peelings and offcuts of vegetables boiled for twenty minutes mashed and strained.
2 tablspoons of flour for the dusting the meat.

Method

Once the pot is hot enough, add the bacon fat for frying, reduce the temperature of the stove. dust both sides the lamb's neck slices, thouroughly with the flour.
Place each slice of lamb's neck in the pot and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the one properly browned slice, and then add the next, repeat the proccess until all the lamb slices have been nicely browned.

Then add some of the stock to the pot, and bring it to the boil, once boiling reduce to a simmer. Place a layer of meat at the bottom of the pot, cover with a layer off potato, onion and some turnips, repeat with another layer of meat, potato and onions, until all the ingredients are used up. Finely chop the fresh parsley, or the dried variety, and the garlic to the balance of the stock.

Pour in the stock and cover the pot.

Leave it to simmer slowly for an hour, add the salt and pepper to taste. Check that the meat has not cooked, then let simmer very slowly for another half an hour. Check that the meat is succulent, and comes of the bone easily.

Your stew is ready.

Serve on a bed of mashed potatoes, champ or with thick slices of homemade brown bread.

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