irish lamb stew

this is an absolutely delicious way to use leftover easter lamb. the whole family loves this. from allrecipes.com. it ages well--best way is to let it rest overnight before reheating to serve.

ingredients
1 1/2 lbs thickly-sliced bacon, diced
6 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 C flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 C water
4 C beef stock
2 t sugar
4 C diced carrots
2 large onions, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 potatoes
1 t dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 C white wine (or white grape juice)

directions
*cook bacon over med-high in deep skillet until brown. crumble.
*put lamb, salt, pepper and flour in large mixing bow, toss meat to coat, brown meat in pan with leftover bacon grease
*put meat in a stock pot. add garlic and yellow onion and saute til onion begins to golden. deglaze frying pan with 1/2 C water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock and sugar. cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours (if meat is raw. if already cooked, reduce to about 20 mintues)
*add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves and wine to pot. reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes.