- Caroline B.
- Saturday, March 13, 2021
Flavored with sausage, potatoes and onions, Irish coddle is the perfect stew to serve on St. Patrick’s Day.
The first time I saw this recipe mentioned was on an episode of The Layover with the late, the great, Chef Anthony Bourdain. The premise of the show is that he got to explore an amazing city while on a layover and tried to experience as much of the food and culture as he could in that short amount of time.
In an episode he visits Dublin, Ireland and was served a steaming bowl of coddle at a pub during a pub crawl. Beautiful golden potatoes swam in a sea of savory broth that was flavored with pork and onions. I knew I was in love with this dish before I even tasted it.
I discovered this stew is so easy to make and there are so many variations, it was a new no brainer favorite. We made this recipe in March 2020 in the last group cooking class we held in the Northeast Teaching Kitchen right before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down. Since March has come back around (has it really been a year?), I wanted to share our version of coddle just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
Our coddle contains pork sausage, bacon, onions, potatoes and carrots, chicken stock and water. This dish is very economical as it is typically made with leftover pork sausage, called bangers in Ireland and the U.K., and bacon. Feel free to make this recipe your own and add new ingredients!
The term coddle usually refers to eggs and the slow process of gently cooking food in water that is just below the boiling point.
Ultimately, our recipe for Irish coddle is an easy one-pot dish that takes less than one hour from start to finish. It's comforting and just in time for any last wisps of cold weather. Oh, and St. Patrick’s Day!
Ingredients
1 lb pork sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
½ lb bacon, cut into ¼ inch strips, or lardons
2 onions, peeled and quartered
5 golden potatoes, peeled and quartered
5 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cups water
4 cups chicken stock
Parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Irish Coddle
The first step is to brown the bacon in a large sauce pot. Traditionally, this step is skipped and all the ingredients are added to the pot and boiled.
I chose to brown the bacon, because it adds more flavor from the fat.
Add the sausage, potatoes, onions, water and chicken stock. I left a potato whole because why not?
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are done.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley.
Print recipe, here.
Tips for Making Coddle
- You can also make this stew in a crockpot. Just add the ingredients to a crockpot and set on low for 6-8 hours.
- Make sure not to overcook the potatoes or they will become mushy.
- This stew freezes very well. Put in Ziploc bags and lay flat on a tray in the freezer. When frozen, they can be stood up to save on space. Freezes for up to 3 months.
- Use salt sparingly. There is already salt in the bacon and sausage so I usually wait until it's done to taste and adjust the seasonings.
- This stew can be made in advance to save on time. The flavor also develops when it has time to sit in the fridge overnight. Don’t store for more than 3-4 days.
Making this recipe for St. Patrick’s Day? It would go well with our Irish soda bread. Recipe can be found, here.
Want to learn more about Irish people and their culture? Start, here.
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Find more recipes, blogs and cooking resources from the library, here.