Dublin Coddle

Last week I went looking for a couple **really** Irish recipes. I even asked for suggestions on facebook. The answers I got weren’t quite what I was looking for: battered sausage, Dublin Coddle and “King crisps and Brennan’s bread.” I think there are very few places in the world where crisps (chips in America) and soft, white, (nutritionally weak) bread would qualify as a sandwich, let alone a recipe. But that’s another discussion for another day.

Since the only suggestion that was actually a recipe was the Dublin Coddle, and since the name is hilarious and I’d never heard of it before, I looked it up.

{Image from here.}

I haven’t geared myself up to try it yet, but I might some day when I won’t have to move for a few hours after I eat it. It doesn’t sound like it’s for the faint of heart, but I’ve been assured by some *serious* Dubliners that it is very tasty.

Actually, reading the recipe, it’s a neat idea and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of cooking something in quite this manner – layered ingredients cooked on the stovetop. I think if you added a bit of cream or milk it might have a potato gratin quality to it, which might be quite nice.

So here it is, Dublin Coddle!

{If you try it, perhaps you could roll yourself to the computer and email me how it was! Ha!}

1lb/ 500g best sausages
8oz/ 250g streaky bacon
1/2pt/ 300ml/ 1 cup stock or water (or regular or hard cider!)
6 medium potatoes
2 medium onions
salt and pepper

Cut the bacon into 1in/ 3cm squares. Bring the stock to the boil in a medium saucepan which has a well-fitting lid, add the sausages and the bacon and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the sausages and bacon and save the liquid. Cut each sausage into four or five pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut into thick slices. Skin the onions and slice them. Assemble a layer of potatoes in the saucepan, followed by a layer of onions and then half the sausages and bacon. Repeat the process once more and then finish off with a layer of potatoes. Pour the reserved stock over and season lightly to taste. Cover and simmer gently for about an hour. Adjust the seasoning and serve piping hot.

Some other recipes I saw included carrots and pearl onions in the mix as well – might lighten it up! Oh maybe even some peas! Alright, looking like I might be making this soon after all!

{Recipe from A Little Irish Cookbook via this site}