Irish Lamb Stew

Many of you might already be part of the new trend of buying a whole/half cow or lamb and keeping it in your freezer. If you one of these people, an Irish Lamb Stew is the perfect recipe for all the odd parts. I know, that does not sound that good, but bones are your best ally when you are making a stew, it adds a lot of depth of flavor and frankly it might be the only way to really use the neck and breast. The secret to this stew is browning the lamb pieces, and I added garlic and sherry to make the broth a bit more alluring. It gets better and better, so leftovers might even be better than the first serving! Enjoy!

Irish Lamb Stew
Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds lamb meat with bones, such as shoulder lamb chops, shoulder roast, breast ribs or neck bones.
  
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 5 medium white potatoes, peeled and quartered(about two pounds)
  
• 5 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
  
• 3 onions, peeled and quartered
• 8 cups water(the bones from the lamb shoulder add a lot to the broth)
• 2 tablespoons roux
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves plus more for garnish
• splash of sherry
  

Preparation: Season the lamb pieces with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, but not smoking add the meat pieces. Sear for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, add garlic, herbs and onions. Cover with water and bring to a boil for 1-2 hours until broth becomes flavorful and lamb becomes tender. Add sherry, carrots, celery and potatoes (you can add more water if you wish). Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low add herbs. Simmer until potatoes are done. Stir in the roux and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and spoon into serving bowls.