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Dublin Coddle is a traditional Irish stew of bacon, sausage, and potatoes that’s pure comfort food baked low and slow in the oven. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this irresistible dish. Even your pickiest leprechaun will love it.
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I like to serve the coddle with a Sweet And Sour Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, a large slice of my Dutch Oven Irish Soda Bread, and of course a big Boozy Irish Mint Shake for dessert.
History Of Dublin Coddle
Dublin coddle is considered a hearty stew, but it’s really more of a casserole since it has only enough liquid to steam the potatoes and keep everything from burning to the bottom of the pot.
It dates back to the early 1700s and the first Irish famine. Since grains, dairy, and even potatoes were scarce, anything that you had on hand was thrown into a pot and stewed together with leftover bits of meat for a nutritious meal that stuck to the ribs.
The name is derived from the French verb “caudle”, which means ‘to boil gently, stew, or parboil’. It’s a recipe with working-class roots and was originally made on Thursdays with leftovers to use any remaining bits of pork before Friday when Catholics refrain from eating meat.
There are as many recipes and variations to Dublin Coddle as there are home cooks. Purists believe that it should be made with only potatoes, onions, and sausage – no barley, no carrots. Some also believe this to be a ‘white stew’, meaning it should not contain any Guinness.
There is a popular legend that Irish wives would make a pot of Dublin coddle early in the day, leaving it to cool down and await their hard-working husbands to come home after a night of drinking in the local pub to warm a large bowl for them.
Ingredients Needed
- Bacon – I used thick-cut, hickory smoked bacon, but use whatever you have on hand. You could cut down on the amount of bacon, but it adds tons of flavor. Another option would be to use leftover ham.
- Sausage – In Ireland, they use a banger sausage, which is difficult to find here in the US. Any mild pork sausage will work. Smoked sausage, Polish sausage, or even mild Italian sausage work well in this dish.
- Onions – I used sweet onions only because I love their flavor. Use whatever you have on hand.
- Garlic
- Guinness beer – this is optional, but delicious in the recipe. It’s used to deglaze the pot after browning the bacon and sausage and again to finish the final dish. If you don’t want to use beer, you could use more chicken stock, white wine, apple juice, or hard cider.
- Fresh parsley
- Dried thyme
- Potatoes – any waxy potato will work well. This includes both red and yellow-skinned potatoes, new potatoes, baby potatoes, and fingerling.
- Chicken stock – you could also use ham base, beef broth, or vegetable broth. Keep in mind that the liquid will steam and lend flavor to the potatoes, so you want to use something with good flavor.
How To Make This Recipe
- Render the fat from the bacon.
- Add the sausages to the bacon and bacon fat and cook until brown. Remove the meat from the pot.
- To the remaining bacon fat, saute the onions and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Deglaze the pan with Guinness.
- Layer the meats over the onions.
- Add the potatoes over the meat. Don’t stir or mix. Season well
- Pour chicken stock into the bottom of the pan, but don’t submerge the potatoes.
- Bake low and slow in the oven until the potatoes are tender.
- Season with salt, pepper, and parsley, and pour in the remaining Guinness.
- Serve hot.
What To Do With Leftovers
- You can store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- I don’t recommend freezing this dish as potatoes become mushy and mealy when frozen.
- Eat the leftovers the next morning for breakfast and add a fried egg on top.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes To Try
- Irish Bangers And Mash
- Savory Irish Beef Stew
- Irish Boxty
- Irish Potato And Leek Soup
- Fruit And Honey Irish Oatmeal
- Raspberry Irish Stout Brownies
- Comforting Shepherd’s Pie
- Irish Coffee
- Irish Colcannon
- Oven Roasted Corned Beef And Roasted Cabbage Steaks
Dublin Coddle
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Dublin Coddle is a traditional Irish stew of bacon, sausage, and potatoes that’s pure comfort food baked low and slow in the oven. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with this irresistible dish. Even your pickiest leprechaun will love it.
Ingredients
1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound mild pork sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large garlic cloves, minced
½ cup Guinness beer, divided
½ cup fresh parsley, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 pounds waxy potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes (I used Yukon Golds)
2 cups chicken stock
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, break up the bacon and begin to cook, continually breaking the bacon into individual pieces, until the fat renders – about 15 minutes.
Add the sausage and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage and bacon are both browned on all sides – about 15 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and sausage to a plate.
Drain most of the fat from the pot and return it to the stove over medium-high heat.
Add the onions, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and ¼ cup of Guinness.
Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Stir in the garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the parsley, the dried thyme, and another ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
Spoon the bacon and sausage over the onions.
Layer the potatoes over the meat.
Pour in the chicken stock or enough to submerge everything but the potatoes.
Season the potato layer with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of parsley.
Without stirring, bring the pot to a boil. Cover and transfer to the preheated oven.
Bake for 2 hours, checking often to add more stock if needed until the onions are caramelized and the potatoes are tender. Try to keep about 1-inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching.
Remove the pot from the oven and pour ¼ cup of Guinness on top and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.
Serve with soda bread.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: Irish
Keywords: Dublin Coddle, Irish food, St. Patrick’s Day food, potato recipes, sausage recipes, comfort food, Irish stew
