Taste of Ireland – An Irish Beef Stew

As traditional foods go, nothing says a taste of Ireland like a good old-fashioned Irish stew. Talented chef, Kevin Dundon – of Dunbrody House, one of Ireland’s Blue Book luxurious properties in County Wexford – has rustled up an easy-to follow recipe for Irish beef stew.

Here is a video with Kevin Dundon’s recipe and how to make an Irish Beef Stew

Traditional Irish Beef Stew © Kevin Dundon & Dunbrody House

PREPARATION TIME: 25 minutes

COOKING TIME: 120 minutes

Ingredients:

600 g Fresh Lean Irish Beef
2 Carrots diced
2 sticks Celery diced
50 g Mushrooms sliced
1 medium Onion diced
30 g Plain Flour
750 ml Beef Stock
1 tsp Tomato Purée

Method:

In a large saucepan heat a little oil. Add the stewing beef and fry quickly until coloured or sealed all over. Add the vegetables with the sealed beef and mix them well around and cook for 3-4 minutes until all the vegetables are coloured and glazed as well as the beef.
Next, add the tomato puree and sprinkle the 30g flour. Stir to coat and colour the flour.
Pour in the stock and allow to come to the boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 2 hours, covered until the meat and vegetables are tender and the sauce is a nice consistency.
Serve with some buttery mashed potato or baby potatoes or any potato of your choice.

The result, a delicious taste of Ireland wherever you are in the world!

FAST FACTS ON IRISH STEW:

Although we love tucking into an Irish stew now, its heritage comes from necessity and harsher times in Ireland. According to The Culture Trip, stewing came to prominence in Ireland during the early 19th century, during a period of economic turmoil that led to mass poverty.

With only a hanging pot, an open fire and a few fairly easily attainable ingredients, even poor families were able to survive on Irish stew.

Kevin’s delicious stew is made with beef, while others are made with lamb, perhaps with some Guinness stout added for a deeper, richer flavour. However, the original Irish Stew used mutton – or the toughest cut from the sheep.

Food historian Alan Davidson says: “mutton was so commonly used for stew because sheep were kept into old age for their wool and milk at the time, meaning the meat was so tough that subjecting it to slow, extended periods of stewing was one of the only ways to make it edible.”

Kevin Dundon has some tasty advice about cooking stew, too: “A stew, in the cold winter months is such a nourishing family meal. The beauty behind it is that you can pop it on top of the cooker or in the oven and just forget about it for an hour or two and it will happily cook away.”

Where to tuck into Irish stew in Ireland? There are plenty of places, including pubs, such as The Brazen Head in Dublin City, Kelly’s Cellars in Belfast City, and The Farmgate Café in Cork City…… to name just a few!

Brazen Head Pub, Dublin City © Brazen Head Facebook

Don’t expect your stew to taste the same anywhere you go in Ireland… the basic ingredients are the same, but remember, for a dish invented for necessity, it’s been refined in many ways over the centuries! In fact, it could just be onions, potatoes and meat in the pot, such is the nature of the food.

Flavors of Ireland.

Contact Specialized Travel Services to embark on a gourmet trail around Ireland’s tastiest stops from rural bliss to urban delights and awaken your taste buds through the rich foodie culture and traditional flavors of Ireland. Soak in the views and savor the moments.

For a sample of a memorable food adventure in Ireland, sink your teeth into our mouthwatering “Ireland’s Flavor and Food Trail” tour, which takes you from home-spun traditional foods to the cutting edge of culinary talent.

We’ve got lots more traditional foods for you to try out in Ireland. All delicious and with stories of their own. It doesn’t get better than that.

Note: Featured image at the top of the blog is of an Irish potato field © McNiffe’s Bakery, Co. Leitrim – www.mcniffesbakery.com

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