Label
All
0
Clear all filters

Irish Stew

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

Irish stew is a celebrated Irish dish, yet its composition is a matter of dispute. Purists maintain that the only acceptable and traditional ingredients are neck mutton chops or kid, potatoes, onions, and water. Others would add such items as carrots, turnips, and pearl barley; but the purists maintain that they spoil the true flavour of the dish. The ingredients are boiled and simmered slowly for up to two hours.

Mutton was the dominant ingredient because the economic importance of sheep lay in their wool and milk produce and this ensured that only old or economically non-viable animals ended up in the cooking pot, where they needed hours of slow boiling. Irish stew is the product of a culinary tradition that relied almost exclusively on cooking over the open fire.

Become a Premium Member to access this page

  • Unlimited, ad-free access to hundreds of the world’s best cookbooks

  • Over 150,000 recipes with thousands more added every month

  • Recommended by leading chefs and food writers

  • Powerful search filters to match your tastes

  • Create collections and add reviews or private notes to any recipe

  • Swipe to browse each cookbook from cover-to-cover

  • Manage your subscription via the My Membership page

Download on the App Store
Pre-register on Google Play

Monthly plan

Annual plan

Part of

The licensor does not allow printing of this title