Irish stew

Irish stew

A plate of Irish stew
Type	Stew
Course	Main
Place of origin	Ireland
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Lamb or Beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, parsley, Cooking wine (sometimes), Beer (sometimes)
Cookbook: Irish stew   Media: Irish stew

Irish stew (Irish: Stobhach Gaelach)^[1] or Stobhach is a stew from Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from time to time or place to place. Basic ingredients include lamb, or mutton (mutton is used as it comes from less tender sheep over a year old, is fattier, and has a stronger flavour; mutton was cheaper and more common in less-affluent times), as well as potatoes, onions, and parsley.^[2] It may sometimes also include carrots. Irish stew is also made with kid. Irish stew is considered a national dish of Ireland.^[3]

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. Salt can be added before or after the cooking. 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 cooking. Irish stew is the product of a culinary tradition that relied almost exclusively on cooking over an open fire. It seems that Irish stew was recognised as early as about 1800.^[4]