Ground Lamb Stew

The recent rash of cold weather (DUDE, what do we know about having temps in the single digits in Mississippi???) has lit a wicked craving for Irish stew.  Now traditional Irish stew has nice, meaty chunks of lamb.  Not something readily available in my small town grocery store.  But I did find ground lamb, so I decided to use that as my base.  One benefit of this version over traditional Irish stew is that it’s FASTER.  You’re browning the lamb to start with, so you don’t have to wait for the meat to cook through.  As additional inspiration, I took the Le Creuset Dutch Oven Crack (the fantabulous Beef Stew With Mushrooms and Bacon that I made when I first got my precious Le Creuset dutch oven) and started tweaking.  I wanted a rich, hearty stew, loaded with root veggies with a lovely savory broth to pair with Irish soda bread.
Ingredients:
  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 8 slices thick slices bacon
  • 6 cups beef stock
  • 5 carrots, peeled and diced* (note, depending on the size of stuff, you should have about the same amount of diced carrots as parsnips when you’re through)
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
  • 1 12 oz. bag frozen pearl onions
  • 6 average russet potatoes, diced (not the ginormous bakers, just an averaged size potato)
  • 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tbs minced garlic
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
  • 1 tbs kosher salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Brown the lamb, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.  You want things to get a bit caramelized.  Caramelized means FLAVOR!
  3. Cut the bacon into chunks and cook in a large dutch oven until crispy and remove with a slotted spoon.
  4. Pour the bacon grease into a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons back to your dutch oven..
  5. Add the carrots and parsnips and saute until just starting to caramelize.
  6. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.
  7. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the stock, scraping up all those lovely brown bits.
  8. Add the lamb back to the pan.
  9. Add the rest of the stock, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and thyme.  Bring the mixture back to a boil.
  10. Cover and simmer in the oven for 40 minutes.
  11. Add another tablespoon of bacon grease to a skillet and heat over medium heat.
  12. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms and saute until softened.
  13. Add the reserved bacon,  onions, and mushrooms, along with the pepper and salt to the dutch oven and cook for another 20 minutes.
Serve with a big warm hunk of crusty Irish soda bread (which, btw, you should start as soon as you set the stew to simmer in the first place–the oven should be preheating while you put the stew together).
4.8 from 6 reviews
Ground Lamb Stew
 
The recent rash of cold weather (DUDE, what do we know about having temps in the single digits in Mississippi???) has lit a wicked craving for Irish stew. Now traditional Irish stew has nice, meaty chunks of lamb. Not something readily available in my small town grocery store. But I did find ground lamb, so I decided to use that as my base. One benefit of this version over traditional Irish stew is that it's FASTER. You're browning the lamb to start with, so you don't have to wait for the meat to cook through. As additional inspiration, I took the Le Creuset Dutch Oven Crack (the fantabulous Beef Stew With Mushrooms and Bacon that I made when I first got my precious Le Creuset dutch oven) and started tweaking. I wanted a rich, hearty stew, loaded with root veggies with a lovely savory broth to pair with Irish soda bread.
Author:
Recipe type: Soup/Stews/Chowders
Cuisine: Gluten and Dairy Free
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 8 slices thick slices bacon
  • 6 cups beef stock
  • 5 carrots, peeled and diced* (note, depending on the size of stuff, you should have about the same amount of diced carrots as parsnips when you're through)
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
  • 1 12 oz. bag frozen pearl onions
  • 6 average russet potatoes, diced (not the ginormous bakers, just an averaged size potato)
  • 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tbs minced garlic
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
  • 1 tbs kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Brown the lamb, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. You want things to get a bit caramelized. Caramelized means FLAVOR!
  3. Cut the bacon into chunks and cook in a large dutch oven until crispy and remove with a slotted spoon.
  4. Pour the bacon grease into a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons back to your dutch oven..
  5. Add the carrots and parsnips and saute until just starting to caramelize.
  6. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.
  7. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the stock, scraping up all those lovely brown bits.
  8. Add the lamb back to the pan.
  9. Add the rest of the stock, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and thyme. Bring the mixture back to a boil.
  10. Cover and simmer in the oven for 40 minutes.
  11. Add another tablespoon of bacon grease to a skillet and heat over medium heat.
  12. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms and saute until softened.
  13. Add the reserved bacon, onions, and mushrooms, along with the pepper and salt to the dutch oven and cook for another 20 minutes.
  14. Serve with a big warm hunk of crusty
  15. Irish soda bread
  16. (which, btw, you should start as soon as you set the stew to simmer in the first place--the oven should be preheating while you put the stew together).

8 thoughts on “Ground Lamb Stew

  1. I think this would be a great recipe even if you had to use beef. I have a question, which may sound weird to you. What does a parsnip taste like? I’ve never had them. I also wonder if this could be converted to a crock pot recipe.

    1. They are whitish, sweet, and starchy. Excellent in nutrients. I used Rutabaga, which is less sweet so less carbs, because I had no parsnips , and added sweet potatoes.

  2. Made this tonight with NO modifications, HEAVENLY! Had my doubts caramelizing the meat and never caramelized carrots and parsnips but it REALLY made the dish thankyou so much 😀 only thing I can think to make it even better is adding a bit of Guinness 😍

  3. This was delicious! A bit too salty for me but the flavors are wonderful! I don’t care for parsnips so put in extra potatoes. Also added a bit of red wine.

  4. I made this today but made some changes – didn’t have parsnips – I put some celery. I added a can of diced tomatoes and a little tomato paste. At the end, I added frozen peas and red kidney beans. I put some cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce a little. It was delicious.

  5. Absolutely delicious! I added another pound of lamb doubled the seasoning and used an extra 2 parsnips because they were in the bag. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I’ll be making it again!

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