Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg Irish lamb shoulder, cubed (or mutton for a deeper flavour)
  • 3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 large carrots, in 3cm chunks
  • 2 leeks, sliced thickly
  • 4 floury potatoes (Roosters or Kerr's Pinks), in 3cm chunks
  • 500ml Smithwick's Original Red Ale
  • 500ml lamb or beef stock
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Sea salt, black pepper

Method

  1. Toss lamb in seasoned flour. Heat oil in a heavy pot. Brown lamb hard in batches, 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
  2. Soften onions in the same pot for 8 minutes. Add tomato puree, cook 2 minutes.
  3. Return lamb. Pour in Smithwick's and bubble 4 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
  4. Add stock, bay, thyme, Worcestershire. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, cook 90 minutes.
  5. Add carrots and leeks. Cook 30 minutes covered.
  6. Add potato chunks. Cook 30 more minutes uncovered to let the stew reduce and the potatoes thicken the sauce.
  7. Check the lamb pulls apart with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Scatter parsley. Serve with brown soda bread and a pint of Smithwick's alongside.

Tip from the editors. Mutton shoulder gives a deeper flavour than lamb if you can find it; ask the butcher and lengthen the simmer to 2 hours before adding root vegetables.

Where to eat irish stew with smithwick's

Irish Stew with Smithwick's in Kilkenny

Kyteler's Inn ★ 4.0

Irish€€medieval-mileMon-Sat 12:00-00:30, Sun 12:00-23:30

Kyteler's Inn on St Kieran's Street serves over 90 Irish whiskeys with live trad music in a medieval building that stays open until 00:30 most nights.

St Kieran's Street, Kilkenny

Matt The Millers ★ 4.0

Irish€€john-streetMon-Wed 10:30-00:30, Thu-Sat 10:30-02:30, Sun 10:30-00:30

Matt The Millers on John Street is a popular late-night pub for trad music and live acts in a converted mill, with food until 20:30 and late bar trading.

1 John Street, Kilkenny

Langton's Bar and Restaurant ★ 4.1

Traditional Irish€€john-streetDaily 09:00-21:00 (food); bar later

Langton's on John Street is a Kilkenny institution, winner of Best Gastro Pub Kilkenny 2025, serving hearty Irish food and an extensive Irish whiskey list.

Signature: Seafood chowder, Kilkenny steak

Order: Hearty seafood chowder or the Angus beef steak; the Guinness here is poured with care.

Tip: Food runs noon to 21:00 daily. Live music starts at 21:00; arrive before 20:30 if you want to eat in peace.

67-69 John Street Lower, Kilkenny, R95 XN44

Billy Byrnes Gastro Bar ★ 3.9

Irish€€john-streetMon-Sun 12:00-LATE

Billy Byrnes on John Street Upper is a Kilkenny social institution serving locals since the 1980s, a gastro bar with food, pints, live music, plus sport.

Signature: Fresh fish and chips, Daily specials

Order: Fresh fish and chips; the daily specials built from local seasonal produce consistently impress.

Tip: Featured in Kilkenny Arts Festival 2025 dining listings. Book ahead during festival weeks in August.

39 John Street Upper, Kilkenny, R95 K091

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