Authentic Irish Stew Recipe Ireland, Europe

Widely regarded as a poor man's meal, Irish stew is based on what most Irish people had on hand during difficult times — sheep meat (usually mutton, as lamb or goat meat was considered a luxury), potatoes, and onions. If the opportunity allowed, the aroma of the stew was decorated with additions such as carrots, leeks, cabbage, parsley, chives, turnips, thyme, or even barley grains. Even though the number of additions to the two essential ingredients (meat and potatoes) is a subject of debate on what amount makes the stew traditional, it is up to personal preference or circumstances. If anything, it shows the resourcefulness of the people who made the Irish stew into what it is today. As a staple of the everyday diet for many generations, Irish stew has many variations. Many Irish families keep records of their own recipes with unique twists and tweaks to the stew's disarmingly simple formula. In America, where many Irish people moved over the last two centuries, mutton or lamb ... Read more