Can I Cook on High Instead of Low in Slow Cooker
Forget the common cold weather with a bowl of delicious slow cooker Irish lamb stew. It'southward packed with plenty of vegetables pond in a thick meaty gravy, with added goodness from the addition of barley. Just grab a slice of crusty staff of life and dive right in!
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- Irish Lamb Stew – a traditional favourite
- What meat should I use?
- Ingredients
- How to brand Irish lamb stew
- Notes
- Cook on the stove
- Questions
- Pin for later
- Other recipes
- The recipe
- Slow cooker Irish lamb stew with barley
Irish Lamb Stew – a traditional favourite
In that location are very skillful reasons why old traditional recipes remain pop year subsequently twelvemonth. It'southward because they are made with simple ingredients and easy fuss-free preparation. Take my meat and potato pie for example. Information technology'southward fabricated with only meat, potatoes and onions, and a few uncomplicated flavouring ingredients, yet it has such a depth of flavour y'all'd think it had a list of ingredients as long as your arm.
This Irish gaelic lamb stew is another such recipe. Traditionally Irish gaelic lamb stew was made with only iv ingredients – lamb (or mutton or goat), potatoes, onions, and carrots, seasoned with salt and pepper and left to simmer in a pot of h2o until tender. Y'all can't get much easier than that!
For my version, I've taken the liberty of adding extra vegetables and a handful of pearl barley for even more goodness. I've besides fabricated it in my slow cooker to requite the lamb plenty of time to break downward and go tender and succulent.
What meat should I use?
The best cut of meat to employ for Irish lamb stew is boneless shoulder of lamb, which should exist cut into bite-sized cubes. You can get your butcher to debone it for you or purchase information technology ready cubed from the supermarket. This cut of meat is ideally suited to being cooked in a slow cooker. The long deadening cooking time gives the tough connective tissues in the meat plenty of time to interruption down, leaving you with soft, juicy chunks of meat that simply melt in your mouth.
If you can't get hold of lamb shoulder, the next best option would be lamb neck fillet, or even lamb shanks, ribs or flank.
To enrich the stew, and besides help information technology to thicken, the lamb is coated in seasoned flour and browned in a frying pan earlier it is added to the irksome cooker. If you lot are in a hurry to get the stew into the slow cooker you can skip this pace, but I wouldn't advise information technology. Browning the meat get-go does add another chemical element of flavour to the stew, plus it only takes a few minutes extra.
For the vegetables, y'all tin can utilise whatsoever mixture of root vegetables, and too hardier vegetables such as celery and cabbage. I would tend to steer articulate of the softer vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and marrows as these would become mushy during the long cooking procedure. For a little colour and pops of sweetness, I like to add together a handful of frozen peas 10 minutes before the stew is served.
The pearl barley adds additional texture, and as well a mild nutty taste. Barley is as well extremely nutritious and is believed to have a number of health benefits, such as helping to reduce cholesterol and better digestion. You can read more than on the benefits of eating barley on this commodity from the Healthline website.
Ingredients
This recipe will feed 4 to vi people.
**You lot tin can get the complete list of ingredients and footstep by step instructions for making this Irish lamb stew on the printable recipe menu at the end of this mail service**
Lamb shoulder – this is the best cut for Irish stew. There should be a expert amount of marbling running through the mankind. The meat should be cut into large bite-sized chunks, and most of the visible fat should be removed.
Flour – this is used for blanket the meat earlier frying, and information technology should be seasoned with salt, ground black pepper and dried thyme. If you don't have dried thyme, and then you could apply dried rosemary, or leave it out birthday.
Vegetables – you can use any combination of vegetables. I used potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery. You lot could also use swedes, turnips, leeks, cabbage, or whatsoever other 'firm' vegetables.
Garlic – lamb and garlic go so well together so I e'er like to add one or ii cloves of minced garlic. If you're not a garlic lover y'all can exit it out.
Pearl barley – once once again this is optional. If y'all do decide to utilise information technology be careful not to add together too much. It swells upwards quite a flake when information technology cooks so you but need a pocket-size amount. When I made this recipe I used half a cup of barley which was really as well much. 1-quarter of a cup is plenty.
Stock – not pictured – I used vegetable stock cubes dissolved in boiling water. If you have fresh stock, by all means use that instead of the stock cubes.
Worcestershire sauce – to add a lilliputian richness to the gravy.
Oil – sunflower or other neutral flavoured oil for browning the meat.
How to brand Irish gaelic lamb stew
This recipe is made in a slow cooker. If you don't accept a wearisome cooker I've given instructions for cooking it on the stovetop. For the quantities given, you will need at to the lowest degree a 3.5-litre (7 to eight pints) slow cooker.
Training
Nearly of the work is in the preparation. Once that'south out of the way this lamb stew basically cooks itself.
- Cut the meat into cubes and remove whatsoever visible fatty. Don't worry about the streaks of fat running through the meat, this volition breakup as the meat cooks. Pat the meat with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. This will ensure the flour sticks evenly to the meat and doesn't grade any lumps.
- Peel the vegetables and cut into chunks. Don't make the potatoes and carrots too small or they volition overcook and turn mushy. Depending on the size of the potatoes, cut them either into 4, 6 or even 8 pieces. Cut the carrots into approximately ane-inch pieces. Thicker pieces towards the meridian of the carrot should be cutting in half. Onions and celery can be cut into half-inch pieces.
- Dissolve 3 vegetable stock cubes in 3 cups of boiling water and set aside.
- Peel and crush the cloves of garlic.
Fry the meat
- Coat the meat with flour. The easiest way to do this is to put the flour, salt, pepper and thyme into a large plastic bag. Add the meat, so rotate the pocketbook to coat the meat evenly with flour. Another mode would be to place the meat in a large mixing basin and add the flour and seasoning. Then get your hands in and mix the flour through the meat.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the meat in batches until it is nicely browned on all sides. Use a spatula to assist you lot turn the meat. Keep the estrus quite high and then that the meat browns. If the heat is too depression the meat will release its juices and will boil rather than brownish. Also don't overload the pan with meat. If you add together besides much at once the temperature of the oil will drop and the meat will release moisture.
- As each batch of meat browns, transfer it to the slow cooker.
Add together the vegetables and cook
- Once the meat has been browned and is in the deadening cooker, tip the barley into the slow cooker, followed by the vegetables.
- Finally, add together the stock, worcestershire sauce and minced garlic and give it all a stir.
- I cooked mine on loftier and it was done after 5 hours. Some slow cookers have a medium setting. I would suggest you consult the transmission for your ain particular model.
- ten minutes before you are set to serve this Irish lamb stew, add one-half a loving cup of frozen peas and stir through. The frozen peas are already cooked so they just demand time to rut up.
- At this time y'all can sense of taste for seasoning and add together additional salt if necessary
Notes
- You lot shouldn't take to thicken the gravy as the barley and the starch from the potatoes should thicken it sufficiently. If you do need to thicken it, mix a slurry of i teaspoon of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of h2o and drizzle it slowly into the stew, stirring all the while. You may non need all the cornflour.
- Three cups of stock should exist sufficient liquid, but practice check occasionally. If you need to acme upwards, add another cup of stock. The corporeality of stock will depend on how much liquid evapourates during cooking, and too how much liquid the barley absorbs.
Cook on the stove
You can melt this Irish lamb stew in a bucket on the stove.
Follow the recipe instructions, but put all the ingredients into a large saucepan with a tight-fitting chapeau.
Bring the stew to a eddy, and and then reduce the estrus to a gentle simmer, cover the saucepan with the lid and simmer for 1 and a one-half to ii hours, or until the meat is tender.
Continue your eye on it – the liquid may evapourate more in a saucepan than in a slow cooker. Top up with extra stock if you call back it needs information technology.
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Questions
Can I use beef instead of lamb?
Yes, whatever cut of beef that is suitable for a slow cooking procedure would be suitable. Why non try making this stew with chuck, flank, sirloin, brisket, or even shin. Every bit long equally the beef has enough of connective tissue y'all can use information technology for this stew.
Can I freeze this stew?
Yes, the stew freezes well. I normally make a big batch and freeze leftovers for another meal. Pack the cooled stew into rigid plastic (Tupperware) containers, label, and freeze for upwardly to 4 months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator, then tip it into a saucepan and oestrus until pipage hot. You may find that you need to add an additional loving cup of stock to the defrosted stew.
How long can I store leftovers?
If you are planning on serving the leftovers for another meal, without freezing them, you lot tin can shop this stew for 3 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a saucepan on the stove.
Additional resources
Don't forget to check out my handy Cookery Conversion Estimator if you want to convert whatever of your recipe measurements from grams to cups, ounces, tablespoons, or milliliters, and vice versa. Yous can besides employ the calculator for converting oven temperatures between Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Gas marks.
If you live at a high distance you may notice you need to adjust your baking recipes to recoup for this. You can read all well-nigh it in this mail service on baking at loftier altitudes.
Pin for afterward
If y'all would like to make this Irish gaelic lamb stew, why non pin the recipe to i of your Pinterest boards so you tin can find it hands. Only click the image below.
Other recipes
Perhaps you'd also like to try some of my other lamb recipes:
- Leftover lamb pies – with the lightest, crispiest pastry – it'southward like having a roast lamb dinner in a pie.
- Tandoori lamb chops with saag aloo and garlic naan – if you like back-scratch, then this is the meal for you.
- South African lamb bredie – a South African version of a lamb stew.
- Traditional Lancashire hotpot – traditional British cooking at its finest. Tender lamb cooked in a goulash topped with sliced potatoes.
- Like shooting fish in a barrel lamb curry – make it as mild or equally spicy every bit you prefer.
The recipe
-
ane Sharp Knife
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1 Chopping Board
- 2 pounds / 900 grams lamb shoulder cubed and visible fat removed
- ⅓ cup / 50 grams flour for blanket the lamb
- ½ teaspoon `salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ane teaspoon dried thyme
- i pound / 450 grams potatoes peeled and quartered
- ½ pound / 225 grams carrots peeled and thickly sliced
- ane large white onion peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2 large stalks celery chopped
- two cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup / fifty grams pearl barley
- three vegetable stock cubes or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ii to iii tablespoons sunflower oil for frying the meat
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Cut the meat into cubes and remove any excess fat and pat with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Peel and chop the vegetables. Peel and mince the garlic. Deliquesce the stock cubes in 3 cups of boiling water.
ii pounds / 900 grams lamb shoulder, 1 pound / 450 grams potatoes, ½ pound / 225 grams carrots, 1 large white onion, 2 large stalks celery, ii cloves garlic
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Combine the salt, pepper, and thyme with the flour and utilize it to coat the meat. Make sure each piece of meat is thoroughly coated.
⅓ cup / 50 grams flour, ½ teaspoon `table salt, ½ teaspoon basis black pepper, one teaspoon dried thyme
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Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the meat in batches until it is nicely browned on all sides. Employ a spatula to aid you turn the meat. Proceed the heat quite loftier and then that the meat browns.
If the rut is too low the meat will release its juices and volition boil rather than brown. Also don't overload the pan with meat. If you add as well much at once the temperature of the oil volition drop and the meat will release moisture.
As each batch of meat browns, transfer it to the wearisome cooker.
2 to three tablespoons sunflower oil
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In one case the meat has been browned and is in the wearisome cooker, tip the barley into the dull cooker, followed past the chopped vegetables.
¼ cup / 50 grams
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Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic and give it all a stir.
2 cloves garlic, three vegetable stock cubes, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
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Cook on low for half dozen to 8 hours on on loftier for iv to six hours. Consult the instruction book for your own particular model of tiresome cooker for verbal timings.
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10 minutes earlier you are gear up to serve this Irish lamb stew, add together one-half a loving cup of frozen peas and stir through.
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Gustatory modality for seasoning and add actress table salt if necessary.
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Serve hot with crusty breadstuff rolls.
Melt on the stove
Follow the recipe instructions, merely put all the ingredients into a big bucket with a tight-fitting lid.
Bring the stew to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover the saucepan with the lid and simmer for 1 and a half to two hours, or until the meat is tender.
Keep your center on it – the liquid may evapourate more in a saucepan than in a deadening cooker. Top up with extra stock if you call up information technology needs it.
Substitutions – You can substitute the lamb for beef (chuck, flank, sirloin, briskey or shin)
Freeze the cooked stew or up to 4 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and and so reheat in a saucepan on the stove until piping hot. Yous may need to add additional stock.
Diet has been calculated on 5 servings and is per serving (excluding any bread).
Calories – 529 kcal | Carbohydrates – 31.8 m | Protein – 54.2 g | Fat – xix.iii 1000 | Saturated Fat – 5.3 g | Cholesterol – 162 mg | Sodium – 479 mg | Potassium – 1194 mg | Fiber – 4.5 k | Sugar – 5.nine g | Calcium – 64 mg | Iron – vi mg
I am non a nutritionist. The diet data has been calculated using an on-line reckoner, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the diet information is important to yous, you lot should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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Source: https://www.foodleclub.com/slow-cooker-irish-lamb-stew-barley/