And I should say that’s for root veggies. If you add peas or corn or anything like that, 5-10 minutes is enough.
I agree. I love lamb stew. But it’s difficult to find lamb for stewing in my area. The only kind of lamp you can find easily is chops or crown roasts and those aren’t cuts I want to throw in a stew pot.
I mean, yeah, lamb is great and certainly more “flavorful” than beef, but a lot of people hate that flavor, in my experience.
Yeah, well, a lot of people are crazy too! 
I generally use leg of lamb for my stew, it’s not super cheap but it’s not bad–I can often find it for about five bucks a pound and I’ll get a four or five pound chunk, cut a bunch of it up for stew and keep one big piece for roasting. One of the advantages to living alone is that one spendy chunk of meat for a family becomes a very inexpensive several chunks of meat for a singleton.
Oh, and one great place to find lamb for a lot less is to find the halal butchers in your area. Might be a little bit of research to locate, but they generally have locally sourced meat and the prices are usually a lot better than the grocery stores. Plus, great spices and other fun foods to try.
Yeah, the Middle Eastern and Indian markets are the best place to find reasonably priced lamb around here, too. I like shoulder for stew, and it’s usually a good bit cheaper than leg, even. But I generally can’t find that cut anywhere but these ethnic shops. The mainstream stores, if they at all have lamb, will have chops, maybe a crown roast, and leg at the most.
Last time I did this, I realized too late that I was out of bay leaves and sherry. I skipped the leaves and added a few glugs of Monopolova. And mushrooms.
I am afraid I am stuck with the crock pot this time for time reasons. I will prep everything tonight and toss it in the pot before work tomorrow.aybe I can marinade the meat overnight and brown it in the morning- brown then marinade doesn’t sound right. I will stow it in my Yeti thermos and eat it all week to avoid McDonald’s- there are fares worse than mushy carrots.
But I appreciate ALL the advice, I will have to try the Dutch oven approach another time. What a great thread! 
I don’t think you need to marinate stewing meat. It’s not going to tenderize it (that’s what the slow cooking will do) and it won’t be any more flavourful. I marinate cuts of meat that won’t be served with soup/sauce/stew, like steaks for stir fry or chicken cutlets.
Whatever pan you brown in, dry your meat really well and make sure you deglaze the pan and pour the results into the crock pot! I’ve also had some good results browning stew meat on the grill, although of course you’re limited to the browned surface of the meat, not the fond.
There’s no need to marinade. I would actually advise against marination. Just salt and pepper generously before browning.
Better to brown it in a chunk or as cubes?
Cubes. More surface area to brown and add flavor. Do it at a high temperature, turn when the beef naturally releases from the pan and make sure to brown all sides. It will leave a dreadful mess of your stovetop from spattering oil, but it’s worth it.
I disagree. Kenji at Serious Eats compromises, by slicing the meat into a few big steaks (like the recipe posted by Chefguy above), then dicing after browing. Easier than constant turning to get each of small six faces properly brown, and much quicker.
As others have said, if you’re browning a piece of marinated meat, always pat it dry with paper towels before you put it in the pan. You’ll get a much better sear.
I make mine exclusively in the crockpot and it comes out great because I brown the meat first. My broth comes out so flavorful and rich, potatoes are brown all the way through. I like some parsnips as one of my veg. Sometimes I blanch my peas (added only at the end) because I find that does keep them from getting brown and mushy the next day. Next day stew is so good.
My unusual addition is a small can of V8. It’s salty as hell and adds some interesting flavors, as I’m not a fan of adding tomatoes or paste outright. I skip adding extra salt if I use the V8. Low-sodium V8 works great too.
I like using shanks when I can get them. They’re cheaper than the leg cut (although admittedly they have a higher bone-to-meat ratio). I brown them in the pan and then cook them in the crock pot. When the stew’s done, it’s easy to remove the bone from the meat.
I find that anything that involves browning meat is improved by cumin. The cumin doesn’t make as much of a difference as the browning itself, but it helps.
Also, on the “moar garlic” front, I like to brown some garlic in with the meat and onions, and also to put some more in near the end of cooking. You get different flavors out of the garlic that way, and I like both sets of flavors.
Lamb shanks USED to be cheap but man, they’re ridiculous these days! I have a lamb shanks with about four million garlic clove recipe that’s served over barley and I can’t afford to make it any more because the damned shanks are ten bucks a pound. Dafuq?
Oh, and when you brown your meat chunks, it helps a lot to do it IN the pot you’re going to cook the stew in. Less spatter because of the high sides, and you don’t lose any of the yummy crunchy bits. Deglaze with onions and liquid then pop the meat back in to cook.
I like cumin in my stew
Ok, time to go shopping. For this round, I think I will try the Jamaican style. I promise to brown the meat, and I will at least cruise the meat aisle for some worthwhile lamb cuts. There is about 1/2 hour left for any last ditch effort to change my mind. Thanks a bunch, everybody!
Old Bay seasoning, that is all I am saying.
May I suggest a dash of fresh grated nutmeg?