Mexican Lamb Stew

Total Time: 2 hrs 54 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 24 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 1/2 lbs lamb shoulder, cut into one-inch cubes
• flour seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 anaheim chilies, roasted, skins and seeds removed, stem beheaded, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tablespoon basil
• 1/2 tablespoon thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon oregano
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth (divided use)
• 28 ounces plum tomatoes, drained, squeezed, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can refried beans

Recipe

• 1 heat oil in a dutch oven. dredge lamb cubes in seasoned flour, brown on all sides. set aside.
• 2 note: "brown" means "brown." don't remove the lamb cubes when they're merely gray (the biggest mistake home cooks make when they're browning meat for a stew.) the lamb cubes should be browned to where they look like they could be eaten as is.
• 3 add onion, garlic, and anaheims. cook until onion softens, about 3-4 minutes.
• 4 add seasonings and bay leaf. cook 1 minute.
• 5 deglaze with ½ cup chicken broth. return the lamb to the dutch oven. add the remaining chicken broth, chopped tomatoes, and refried beans.
• 6 bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer with lid off for two hours.
• 7 can be served on the plate as a stew, with heated flour tortillas to sop up all the goodness, or can be used to make burritos. just add an appropriate amount of stew in a line across the center of a heated flour tortilla, sprinkle on top of the stew some shredded iceberg lettuce and chopped fresh tomatoes, and place at either end of the line sour cream and guacamole.
• 8 to increase the heat, add more anaheims. to increase it further, add more chili powder (but try increasing the heat first by adding more anaheims.).