Allow the lamb to come to room temperature.

Place the lamb, halved carrot, halved onion, peppercorns, and bouquet garni in a large stockpot or saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Be generous, but don’t fill up to the very top of the pot.

Bring the water to a boil. This will take a good half-hour. As the water begins boiling, skim. Once it comes to the boil, turn the heat down to a brisk simmer, cover, and allow to cook 1-2 hours.

Many recipes say “gentle heat” here. I find that too low a heat won’t cook the meat, while a brisk simmer does the trick. Don’t boil wildly, but don’t leave it sitting doing nothing, either. The water should definitely be burbling away.

Somewhere between the 90 minute and two hour mark  you’ll notice the lamb is tender. Remove it from the pot to a dish or bowl. I like to salvage the carrot, too.

Set a colander over your deepest bowl and strain the broth. Most of what’s left is probably pretty gungy, but if you want to fish anything out for the next step, go for it.

Welcome to step two of Irish Stew.

Now you can either get another deep pot or clean this one, which is what I do, because I’m not awash in deep saucepans. Pour the broth back into the pot. Add your peeled, sliced potatoes, your fresh carrots, and another onion. I added a shallot, because I am married to somebody who prefers them over onions. Add the optional fresh garlic. Salt liberally, as this is the first time the dish has seen salt and needs it. Pepper, too.

Bring to a lively simmer. You want to potatoes to cook through and begin to break down, thickening the broth a bit.

Now turn to your lamb, which has cooled enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, breaking it into bite-sized pieces. Add back to the pot. If your shanks have marrow, extricate it with a narrow spoon handle–I am assuming you haven’t marrow implements–and stir it back into the broth. Or eat it yourself. After all, you’re the cook, and at this time of year you require extra sustenance. If bits of meat insist on tenaciously clinging to the bone, toss the entire bone back into the pot until it surrenders.

Serve with additional fresh thyme and parsley.

This can be eaten with virtuous green things like salads, though in the IK, where the edge of seventeen has long been fallen over and no gypsies remain, we simply eat it with lots of bread.

Notes:

If your lamb shanks can only be purchased uncut, make sure they’ll fit in your pot. You can also buy boneless stew or even chops for this recipe. Boneless meat may need less cooking time. If you use lamb chops, slice the meat into bite-sized pieces and add the bones to the cooking broth.

Once again, you’re noticing the dearth of parsley here. Well, thyme and rosemary freeze beautifully. Parsley has a kitchen lifetime of about five minutes, and much as I like it, we can never finish bunches before they wilt.