A pot of Irish stew simmering on the stove is a delicious comfort food option for St. Patrick's Day or any day! Add some Irish soda bread to round out this hearty meal.
Dredge pieces of lamb in flour. I like to add salt and pepper to the flour for some extra seasoning but you can omit if you'd prefer.
Heat the oil in a large stock pot. Brown the meat in the oil on all sides.
Remove meat from the pan and set aside. Melt butter in the pot and use a wooden spoon to remove those yummy little browned crusty bits from the bottom of the pan.
Saute the onion in the butter. Add the meat back in.
Pour in the vegetable stock and Guinness.
Add the barley, carrots, and potatoes and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or more. Note: You can add only the barley and cook this for about an hour and a half. Then add the carrots and potatoes and cook for another hour if you prefer them a little firmer. My family always just threw everything in at once and simmered on a really low setting all day.
If you find that the stew is a bit thinner than you'd like, check out the helpful tips with 3 different ways to thicken it up at the bottom of this post.