Serves 8
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 10 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 3-inch pieces, trimmed of fat, pre-seasoned with salt and pepper
- 6 medium onions, chopped
- 10 large carrots, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 7 large parsnips, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 10 to 12 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 pound butter
- 1 cup flour
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 sprig of Rosemary
- 3 quarts hot lamb stock
- 4 cups Guinness stout
Method
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in one or two large sauté pans. When oil is hot, place lamb pieces in a single layer in each pan to brown. Do not crowd the pieces; allow to brown evenly without moving the pieces of meat around.
- When a batch of lamb is browned, remove pieces from pot and continue with another batch until all the lamb is browned.
- When the last batch of lamb has been browned and removed, add onions and garlic to the pan(s). Season with salt; cook until onions are softened. (Stir/scrape the pan while cooking over low heat to loosen any caramelized bits stuck to the bottom.)
- Dump all the contents of the sauté pan into a large, stainless steel pot that will fit into your oven. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat.
- Add the butter and stir in until melted. Add the flour and cook until the roux is browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add the stout and stock, raise the temperature until the mixture comes to a fast simmer, and stir constantly until a smooth sauce is created.
- Add the lamb pieces, herbs, salt and pepper and bring mixture back to a simmer.
- Cover the pot tightly with tin foil and place in a 250 ÌŠF oven for 90 minutes.
- Remove pot from the oven; add potatoes, carrots and parsnips, return pot to oven and cook another 30 minutes.
Garnish servings with chopped parsley.
