Irish Stew with Pearl Barley

Good food,I grew up ,eating lamb once a week,and cooked a dozen different ways.Stew was what we liked the most. What I did along with the recipe ,was a bit of Herbes de Provence and a spoon full of Nuoc Mam, Vietnamese fermented fish sauce, Ya Ya...

• nowmon

• Philly...

• 12/1/2020

Absolutely loved this stew! I followed the advice of the reviewer from Portland and it was perfect for a cold, rainy evening. The only change I made is I made lamb stock using Glace d'Agneau Gold Classic Roasted Lamb Stock. I love the flavor of lamb, I think using the lamb stock added depth to stew. I'm adding this recipe to my regular rotation.

• apcors

• Baltimore, MD

• 10/20/2019

Very good and not difficult.Could be four stars if you like lamb soup. Listen to Portland for starters. Use whatever is on sale (lamb shoulder chops half price at H Teeter so went with those). Did not do any of the weird prep instruction, just seared chops then removed from pan before searing veg. (Could trim so fat if that bothers you) And don't stress over amounts of carrots, celery, onions. Use approximately equal portions. Same for potatoes, I had seven small y. golds and cut some in half used others whole after peeling. Definitely one quart of liquid and 1/2 cup of barley. Only real suggestion is to avoid overcooking vegetables in first browning. They don't take 1- 1/2 more hours to cook. Either cut in larger chunks or let lamb cook in liquid with some of the veg then add the rest after half an hour or so. Adding fresh rosemary and thyme springs nice too.

• ruthcooper

• Miami Beach

• 5/27/2018

I Have not made this, but will try and gave 4 folks since N/A not an option. Agree - should be: Mostly want to shout out to gal/guy from Portland!! Way to go! Why do Epicurious recipes often require "reading between the lines??" I'm a proficient cook but often steps are left out; bizarre ingredients are used - what is a leg lamb chop? Lamb chops are ribs with that spendy loin cut which obviously not what is meant for a stew.

• hopwood

• Brentwood, CA

• 3/19/2018

Relieved to find that I was not the only person finding “cut in half lengthwise” mysterious. Thought i was just being very stupid, culinary wise. Gave up about then.... (Rating NA - you should enable the site to say that)

• samoffat282726

• NH

• 3/17/2018

I followed the very helpful advice of the reviewer from Portland and made a stew that received rave reviews from my husband. My butcher cut a small leg of lamb into two thick steaks, which worked well. They seared beautifully after I cut a small slit into the fat on three sides. Since I was cooking for two, I halved everything in the recipe except the broth and barley. Now I have leftover barley and veggies for lunch with the leftover Irish soda bread.

• labenm

• Burlington, VT

• 3/18/2017

Absolutely delicious. Only thing I changed was I used 2 lamb shanks and 2 lbs of stew meat (it's what I had on hand).

• Anonymous

• Hartford, CT

• 9/21/2016

I am going to follow that Portland person! A recipe is not a lobotomy; you need to bring your brain to the kitchen. It's a basic stew, which is a wondrous thing...

• Anonymous

• Vancouver

• 3/27/2016

Ok, listen. This recipe has a lot of negative reviews for a lot of reasons, but I'm here to tell you that this was one of the best stews I've ever made. What this recipe lacks is clarity, and I suspect that's because it came from a book which may have had pictures/separate instructions earlier in the chapter/who knows. So let me fill you in on a few techniques I used that can maybe help you out. Yes, the instructions call for celery but the ingredients list does not. If you're familiar with making soup stock, it's easy enough to guess how much celery to throw in relative to how many carrots and onions are being used. I used two stalks cut in similar size and style to the carrots. Easy peasy. Speaking of soup stock, make your own. I consider this fact to be non-negotiable with truly hearty soup dishes. Seriously, it'll cost you less than five bucks in ingredients (bones are cheap, yo) and the flavor payoff is massive. Google yourself a lamb stock recipe, and you're good to go. When all was said and done, I used about 4 cups of broth, NOT the measly pint this recipe says to use. That's just crazy pants. Two cups of liquid isn't enough to cover anything. So if you're doubling the liquid, double the barley. Simple as that. I used the garlic. One could argue it's not authentically Irish, but come on. Garlic is delicious! Do you really care? Just leave it out, if it'll throw off your whole night. Those potatoes? Yeah, they're probably the small variety. I used fingerlings, but red potatoes would do just as well. Along those lines, I also used 3 yellow onions, since they tend to be smaller and stew better. Large onions would probably be overkill. I went ahead and used the lamb leg since the recipe called for it, but I agree you could probably use a cheaper shoulder cut. This recipe gives terrible instructions for searing a lamb steak. Really, you should just make a little inch or two inch cut on four sides so the steak won't curl up as it cooks. I trimmed no fat, but rather put grapeseed oil in the pan right before cooking off a steak. I didn't have time to mess with the cryptic cooking instructions about whether or not you rendered out some fat first (what...?), so seasoned and seared it was. There's lots of youtube videos about how to pan sear a lamb steak, go watch one. Made the whole dish in my cast iron dutch oven served with brown butter soda bread, and it was a knock out. I'm truly sorry, but this recipe required some significant reading between the lines, and that's just rude.

• FiligreeMe

• Portland, OR

• 3/19/2016

I made this as written, but did use 2 cups of beef broth plus a bottle of beer to increase the liquid, so there was plenty for dipping whole wheat soda bread. Since we like garlic and I wasn't concerned with authenticity, added it as directed. I would make it again, but would certainly try the less expensive cuts of lamb as I had to have the butcher slice up a leg for me. We liked the barley in this recipe, and could have had more given the extra liquid.

• Anonymous

• Los Altos, CA

• 3/18/2016

First of all, just find a better recipe. But why in the world would anyone use an expensive leg of lamb to make a stew? Who does that? Stews are an economical way to feed a family. Any shoulder cut would taste far better, not to mention being the cut of choice for stewing and braising. I won't even go into all of the other reasons why this recipe is a complete miss. Others have done a fine job of that. You'd be better off winging it than trying to get a meal out of this. This one needs to go back to the proof reader and the test kitchen. Shame on you, Epi.

• worldbeat

• Oakland, CA

• 3/18/2016

I have many of the same issues as other reviewers but I add another to the list. This is a stew, so why would you buy expensive cuts of meat? Bone-in shoulder is more economical (I am a Scot, so thrift is in my blood) and you get a much better flavor. The volume of liquid is far too low, as others have noted, and an Irish stew with garlic?

• paulbadger

• Mechanicsville, VA

• 3/18/2016

I don't understand " Trim the excess fat from the chops in half lengthways so as not to go through the bone. When some fat has melted into the pan, pick out the unmelted/unrendered bits (and eat them or give them to your dogs!), turn the heat up to high and place the chops in the pan. Cook on both sides, seasoning with salt and pepper, until brown, then transfer them to a plate." It sound like some fat gets into the pan before the chops, but how much? And what does "in half lengthways" mean?

• billmac22

• 3/17/2016

I want to make this but the recipe needs to be clearer.

• shamuu

• Manhattan

• 3/17/2016

agreed!! and no Irish lass worth her salt would add garlic

• me09798

• 3/17/2016