Irish Stew
Broderick shared this family recipe with us. It's a recipe you
can load into the slow cooker and go off to watch the St. Patrick's
Day parade on television.
The recipe can also be made on the stove. Making it on the stove
will require stirring it every 20 minutes or so because you don't
want things to stick to the bottom of the pot.
You'll need:
- 2 pounds of beef or lamb stew meat
- 6 medium potatoes cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 medium onions sliced in rounds
- 1 1/2 cups of peas
- 1 pound of carrots cut in chunks
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
- 1 can of beef broth
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley optional
Equipment:
- A crock pot or slow cooker
- A spoon
- A fork
- A ladle
- A little adult help to cut everything up.
- Layer half of the meat and half of each oft the potatoes,
onions and carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the meat and vegetables with half the salt, pepper
and thyme.
- Make another layer just like the first one and sprinkle the
remaining seasoning on top.
- Pour the broth over the top.
- Cover and cook on the low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or
on high heat for 3 to 5 hours. You'll know the stew is done
when the meat and vegetable are tender when you poke them with
a fork.
- Ask your adult helper to "skim" the fat from the
top of the stew. Skimming means to just brush the surface. Since
fat is lighter than most liquids it will rise to the top of
the stew. Move the meat and vegetables that are nearest the
surface of the liquid part of the stew to one side. Use the
edge of a spoon to skim along the surface of the liquid and
pick up whatever fat you can. When the spoon is full dump it
into the garbage.
- In the video we added the peas with everything else but we
found that the peas got over cooked. It's best to add the peas
and the parsley for the last 30 minutes of cooking. This will
let the flavors blend without turning the peas to mush
- Ladle the stew into bowls and enjoy.
Broderick has been helping out in the kitchen for a number of
years. He's skilled at using a sharp knife. If you're just starting
out in the kitchen you should let an adult handle the sharp knives.
There's a lot that can be done with table knife or a plastic knife
with a serrated edge.
Even kids who are 4 or 5-years old can cut vegetables like potatoes
using a heavy duty plastic knife with masking tape wrapped around
the handle. This is something you will have to work out with your
mom, dad or adult helper.
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