Dublin Coddle Recipe
Dublin Comfort Coddle, Irish style
I remember Dublin Coddle from my childhood. Coming in the door from school, I would be hit by the awesome smell of bacon and pork sausage and my stomach would rumble in anticipation.
When I bake a Dublin Coddle now, I can't keep the guests or the grandchildren out of the kitchen.
It's a simple dish to prepare, a slowly cooked casserole that looks after itself in the oven. Or make it in your crockpot, even easier.
Add Guinness for an extra touch of blarney and serve on St Patrick's Day.
Dublin Coddle is made with simple ingredients: pork sausages, bacon, onions, and potatoes.
The only seasonings are salt, pepper, and parsley. Water or a ham stock is added which also makes a simple, but delicious, gravy.
The Bacon for Dublin Coddle
You need Irish Bacon
Traditionally Irish bacon is made from the back meat of the pig, as opposed to the pork belly used in American bacon.
This makes it quite similar to Canadian bacon.
Both Irish bacon and Canadian bacon are cured and have about the same thickness in slices.
Both are cooked until done but not crisped like American bacon.
If you can't get Irish bacon, use bacon that's not sweetened.
Cook Time
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 kg potatoes
- 2 large onions
- 500 g thick cut back bacon
- 500 g good quality pork sausages
- 1 ham stock cube
- 500 ml water
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into three or four pieces, leaving smaller ones whole.
- Finely chop the parsley.
- Boil the water and dissolve the stock cube. (If you can't get a ham stock cube use a chicken or vegetable stock cube).
- Chop the bacon into thick pieces. Chop the onions.
- Brown the sausages and the bacon.
- Layer the onions into a casserole dish first, then the bacon. Top the onion and bacon with the pork sausages and then the potatoes. Season each layer liberally with fresh-ground pepper and chopped fresh parsley.
- Continue until the ingredients are used up. Pour the ham stock mixture over the top
- Cover the pot with a heavy lid and cook in medium oven for 3 and 1/2 hours to 4 hours.
- At the two-hour point, check the casserole and add more water if necessary. You can add a little Guinness at this point.
Gorgeous Green Casserole Dish - Perfect for St Patrick's Day or any time of the year
How about you?
Do you make a special meal for St Patrick's Day?
Irish Cookbooks for St Patrick's Day
© 2012 Susanna Duffy
