Lamb Stew

1/2-pound bacon (thickly sliced, diced)

3-4 pounds lamb (boneless shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces, fat and "stuff" trimmed off)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)

1/2 cup flour (all-purpose)

2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)

1 large yellow onion (peeled and finely chopped)

6 cups stock (homemade or canned, beef)

2 teaspoons sugar

4 cups carrots (cut into 1-inch pieces)

2 large ​onions (yellow, peeled and sliced)

3 pounds potatoes (4 C. peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces)

1 teaspoon thyme (dried, whole)

1 bay leaf

11 0z. bottle Guinness, Extra Stout

Garnish: parsley (chopped)

Sauté the bacon in a large frying pan. Reserve the fat and the bacon. Place the lamb, salt, pepper and flour in a large mixing bowl. Toss to coat the meat evenly. Reheat the frying pan. In batches, brown the lamb in the reserved bacon fat, shaking off excess flour before browning the meat. If you run out of fat, use a little oil. Transfer the browned meat to a 10-quart dutch oven, leaving about 1/4 cup of fat (or oil) in the frying pan. Add the garlic and 1 chopped yellow onion to the pan and sauté until the onion begins to color a bit. Add the garlic-onion mixture to the dutch oven. Using 1 cup of the stock, deglaze the frying pan, then pour into the dutch oven, along with the reserved bacon pieces, remaining beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Add the carrots, the 2 sliced onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and Guinness to the pot and simmer, covered, for another hour, stirring frequently, or until the vegetables are tender. Check for salt and pepper before serving and add if needed. If too thick, add more stock. Top with the parsley garnish before serving.