Guinness Lamb Stew from Cooking Light Magazine, January/February 2011

When Hubby asked what I was going to make for dinner, I winced. I knew exactly what his response would be when I told him and he didn't let me down. "Lamb stew," I replied. "You're going to waste lamb on a stew?" he responded, pretty incredulous. I don't blame him. I love lamb. I mean I LOVE lamb. As with a good steak, I am a purist when it comes to making lamb. I salt and pepper it and then grill it. That's all. It needs nothing else because the flavor is so phenomenal.

And here I was, talking about taking this tender, wonderful meat and turning it into a stew. Believe me, at that point I was questioning whether this dish would actually get made. But, as you can see, it did.

As directed, I cut the lamb into one-inch cubes. If you read this before getting to that point, stop. Don't make one-inch cubes. Make them two inches. After simmering for three hours, they shrink down to the tiny bits you see in my bowl. My cubes of lamb started out as big as the vegetables. You'll be best served to cube the meat larger, I promise.

From this point on, the directions for creating the lamb stew are exactly the same as for making the Italian Beef Stew. That was a let-down. Different ingredients; exact same technique. Sauteeing onions and herbs and setting aside so I could brown the flour-dredged meat. The pan was then deglazed with the Guinness beer and the onion/lamb mixture was returned to the pot with beef broth to simmer, covered, for an hour or so. After that time was up, I uncovered the pot, added the vegetables and let it simmer for another hour and a half. I was actually unconcerned enough about it, having been through the procedure before, that I took Dudette to her Tae Kwon Do class, leaving Hubby to stir the pot occasionally.

Right before serving I added some Dijon mustard and seasoning. Second verse, same as the first.

Honestly, I regret using my beautiful lamb in this stew. The flavor gets lost in the beef gravy and is never rediscovered. Lamb is already a tender meat and cooking it for three hours can do nothing positive for the texture. All the cooking did was make the lamb flavor disappear.

Does it taste good; yes. It tastes like a very good, very tender beef stew. Hubby thought it was good and he did a great job of refraining from saying "I told you so." Dudette ate her portion without complaint, though she said that she didn't like the gravy much. I would make this again using beef for sure.


Cooking Light owes me a leg of lamb.

Guinness Lamb Stew
from Cooking Light Magazine


8  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
2  cups  chopped onion
1  tablespoon  chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh rosemary
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
2 1/2  pounds  boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1  teaspoon  salt, divided
3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
2  cups  Guinness Stout
1  tablespoon  tomato paste
3  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1  bay leaf
2  cups  cubed peeled Yukon gold potato
2  cups  1-inch-thick diagonally sliced carrot
8  ounces  baby turnips, peeled and quartered
1  tablespoon  whole-grain Dijon mustard
1/3  cup  chopped fresh parsley

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat. Add the onion, thyme, and rosemary to the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the onion mixture to a large bowl.

Sprinkle the lamb with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Dredge lamb in flour that has been placed in a shallow dish, and shake off excess. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add half of lamb mixture to pan; sauté for 6 minutes, turning frequently to brown on all sides. Put browned lamb in the bowl with the onion mixture. Repeat the process with the remaining lamb, using an additional tablespoon oil.

Pour the beer in pan; scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Return the onion mixture and lamb to pot. Stir in the tomato paste and stir for 30 seconds. Add the broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and stir in the potato, carrot, and turnips. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining salt, the pepper, and Dijon mustard.

Ladle about 1 cup stew into each of 7 bowls; sprinkle evenly with parsley.