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Irish Stew

A hearty stew of mutton, onions, potatoes, and optional ham or sausage, simmered slowly with stock or butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Irish Stew

Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Irish Stew

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove the loose fat from the mutton and cut it into small, well-shaped cutlets.

  2. Flatten the cutlets and season them with salt and mixed spices.

  3. Peel the onions and parboil the potatoes, then skin them.

Assemble and cook

  1. In a stewpan, lay some shredded suet at the bottom, then add the stock or melted butter.

  2. Layer the potatoes, followed by the cutlets, then the onions, and repeat with another layer of potatoes and cutlets, finishing with a thick layer of potatoes on top.

  3. If desired, add a small piece of ham, smoked tongue, or sausage meat.

  4. Cover the pan tightly and cook slowly until done.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Mutton + hamtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  4. Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mutton
Provides the main meat, and its fat and connective tissue enrich the stew as it cooks slowly.
Potatoes
Form the thick layers that soak up stock and fat, becoming soft and starchy as they cook.
Onions
Add sweetness and savour as they soften slowly in the steam and juices of the pan.
Stock or melted butter
Provides the liquid and fat that moisten the layers and keep the stew from drying out.

The step that matters

Cover the pan tightly and cook slowly. A tight lid traps steam so the meat and potatoes cook through in their own juices. Slow heat keeps the meat tender rather than tough and stops the liquid from boiling away or scorching on the base.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, onion, butter, ham):

  1. Leekfits about as well
  2. Potatothe original
  3. Chivefits less well
  4. Shallotfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, onion, butter, ham. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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