Irish Stout Beer Braised Lamb Pie

What Ingredients are in Lamb Pie?

Here is the full list of everything needed to make this recipe! Don’t be intimidated, this recipe may seem complicated but is actually quite simple to make. This hearty dinner recipe comes together in one large skillet and has a lot of down time - perfect for lazy Sunday cooking!

Lamb & Seasonings

• Lamb Stew Meat - Lamb shoulder, loin and neck are cuts commonly. used for stew meat. Check out this comprehensive article learn more about cooking with different cuts of lamb and mutton. If you would like to substitute beef, diced chuck round works perfectly.
• All-Purpose Flour - Flour helps to brown the lamb and thicken the rich gravy.
• Ground Coffee - Optional, but delicious! A little ground coffee adds a rich complexity to the lamb and compliments the stout beer beautifully.
• Salt & Pepper - Season the lamb well with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

Root Vegetables & Aromatics

• Potatoes - An Irish staple! We used Yukon Gold potatoes in this recipe. Russets, or new potatoes would be a fine substitute.
• Celery Root - We love the texture or celeriac, but a few ribs of celery would be just as delicious!
• Carrot & Parsnip - These root vegetables add color, earthy flavor and a touch of natural sweetness to the pie.
• Red Onion - Yellow onion would work well, also.
• Garlic - Fresh garlic is a wonderful, aromatic seasoning in this recipe.
• Thyme & Rosemary - We prefer fresh, but a teaspoon of each dried and ground herb would also work.

Braising Liquid

• Stout Beer - A rich, malty stout is the tasty foundation for this recipe. We recommend using a sweeter stout with low IBUs (International bitterness units). Something like Guinness will work very well.
• Beef Stock - A flavorful stock is essential to this recipe. Homemade stocks are always preferred!
• Tomato Paste - A couple Tablespoons of tomato paste bring a little umami and thickness to this recipe‘s gravy.
• Brown Sugar - Optional, of course. Brown sugar helps to balance the flavors of the beer.
• Butter - We like to finish our braised lamb with a little butter for added richness and a glossy sheen.

Pie Crust & Finishing Touches

• Pie Dough - A homemade pie crust takes this recipe from good to great! We recommend trying Our Favorite Buttery Pie Crust Recipe. Store-bought pie crust (or puff pastry) would also be yummy!
• Egg Wash - For a show-stopping glisten, we recommend egg washing your pie crust before baking. We use an egg wash with one egg, one additional yolk, and a splash of cream for deep golden coloring.
• Flaky Salt - An extra sprinkle of salt over your egg-washed dough helps to season the crust, too.
• Parsley - Chopped parsley is an optional garnish but brings great color and a fresh bite to your finished Irish Stout Braised Lamb Pie.

Tips & Techniques for Flavorful Braised Lamb Filling

Here is our best advice for building a rich, flavorful lamb pie filling with award-winning textures!

Cook in Stages: Build Flavors Slowly

The key to a braised lamb pie filling with great flavors and textures is cooking in stages. By this, I mean to cook different ingredients separately and then combine them. This method ensures that each component is properly cooked and you can avoid chewy lamb, undercooked potatoes or carrot mush.

1. First, cook your carrots, parsnips and celery root. (If you are substituting celery stalks, add that in with the onion instead.) When diced to the same size, these root vegetables cook in a similar time frame. Give them a hard sear and allow them to soften a bit. It is okay if they are not fully cooked, they will finish cooking later, in the oven. Remove these root veggies from the pan and set aside.
2. Next, brown the seasoned and floured lamb and remove from the pan. More on this below.
3. After the lamb, sauté the diced onions, then garlic and herbs. Then, add the tomato paste, brown sugar and braising liquids.
4. Now it is time to braise the lamb. Add the lamb back into the pan and simmer until fork-tender. Since the braising process takes so long, it is important not to add the vegetables back in at this stage. Vegetables that are cooked for extended periods lose their texture and disintegrate.
5. Once the lamb is tender, add the potatoes to the braise and simmer until potatoes are barely cooked. Potatoes will finish cooking in the oven.
6. Finally, add the carrot, parsnip and celery root back into the pan and allow the filling to cool before topping with the pie dough and baking.
7. Once baked, you will have a wonderful Irish Stout Braised Lamb Pie filling complete with tender lamb, potatoes that are cooked through and root vegetables that hold their shape and have a gentle toothsome bite. Delish!

Brown the Lamb Meat

Searing the lamb meat is so important for locking in the juices and creating rich depth of flavor. Here are a few tips for perfectly seared lamb.

• Cook lamb from room-temperature - Before cooking, allow your lamb to come to room temperature for 10 - 15 minutes before searing. Room-temperature meats cook faster and more evenly.
• Make sure lamb is dry - With a paper towel, pat each piece of meat until dry. Wet meat tends to steam, not sear.
• Season well - Make sure each chunk of lamb meat is well coated in the seasoned flour. This will improve the lamb’s flavor, browning, and help the gravy to stick to each piece.
• Get your pan hot! - Heat your skillet until your cooking oil is shimmering (flowing like water and showing wavy lines On the surface) and nearly smoking. Brown lamb, turning occasionally until a golden brown crust has developed.
• Don’t crowd the pan! - Crowded pans (filled with too much lamb) will trap moistures and steam the meat, preventing browning. To avoid this, put lamb in the pan one piece at a time so that no pieces are touching. You may need to sear your lamb in 2 - 3 batches.

Give it Time

We will be the first to admit, the best mouth-watering braises and slow-cooked Sunday suppers require a lot of patience. By nature, lamb is a lean, often tough cut of meat. It will take time - probably about 2 hours - to braise the lamb so that the connective tissue breaks down and it is fork-tender. But you’re not done yet.

After that, if you put pie dough on your hot filling, the dough’s butter will melt and you’ll have a big, soggy mess. It’s a pie dough don’t. So, you’ll have to chill the filling a bit. And by this point, your house will smell so good, your patience will surely be tested. That being said, hold out and give it time! With a little patience (and a token of Irish luck) this just may be the new Sunday go-to.

Keep an Eye on the Simmer

Make sure you maintain a steady simmer throughout the duration of the cooking process. If your liquid becomes too hot and boils for too long, your lamb meat will become tough and stringy. If it’s barely bubbling, you’ll be cooking that lamb all day before it’s tender.

Also, be sure to account for evaporation. If your liquid is mostly evaporated and becomes too thick, simply add an additional splash of stock. Keep in mind that the liquid will continue to thicken and reduce during the baking time. To account for this, It is better to have a filling that is a little liquidy prior to baking.

The Upper Crust

No pie is complete without a flaky layer of pastry. Same is true with this Irish Stout Beer Braised Lamb Pie. As mentioned before, we like to use Our Favorite Buttery Pie Crust recipe. You will have a little pie dough left over, (save it for an impromptu pocket pie later in the week!).

Whatever pie dough you are using, roll into a circle slightly larger than your skillet or baking dish. Trim any edges, as necessary. Then, fold the outer edge of the pie dough under itself, along the perimeter of the skillet. With the double-thick pie dough edges, you can easily use your fingertips to crimp a decorative edge. Check out this quick video to see how I topped and crimped this pie!

For the best results, keep your pie dough chilled throughout the process. Once crimped, return your unbaked pie to the refrigerator for 15 - 30 minutes before baking. Chilling the unbaked pie will help the dough to maintain it’s shape and promote flakier pie crusts. We recommend egg washing and salting the pie dough to create a shiny, attractive topping during the bake.

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