Dublin Coddle for St. Patrick's Day

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We'll be attending a St.Patrick's Day party this weekend and I was asked to bring a typically Irish dish to the celebration. Many of the entrees I wanted to make had to be discarded out of hand, because research proved them not to be authentically Irish. Years ago, the Irish diet lacked the diversity found in France and Italy and meals centered on potatoes and dairy products that were, on occasion, extended with small amounts of meat. Armed with that knowledge, I finally decided to make a dish called Dublin Coddle. Coddle is a dish that's much like an English hot pot, though it's cooked more slowly and not allowed to boil. It consists of layers of potatoes, onions and a generous amount of pork that appears in the form of rashers and bangers. The rashers are streaky and unsmoked strips of Irish bacon that taste much like Canadian bacon. The bangers are sausages that are similar in taste to the mildly spiced version that appears on our breakfast tables, though they are less fat and have a smoother texture. Thanks to a Trader Joe's holiday special, I was able to purchase authentic rashers and bangers for my coddle. So, with a wee bit of slicing and dicing I was able to assemble a dish that purportedly was a favorite of Sean O'Casey, Jonathan Swift and James Joyce. Was it literary ambrosia? I beg forgiveness for this next but I just can't help myself, “…and yes I said yes I will Yes.” Actually, Molly, it was just O.K. It certainly could be considered comfort food. Back in the days of imposed abstinence, the dish was made on Thursday nights to finish up pork that could not be eaten come first light the following day. It was primarily a winter dish that was semi-boiled and steamed in the stock used to cook the pork. The coddle was an inexpensive one-pot affair that required only salt, pepper and parsley for seasoning. It was considered to be well with in the means of the working-class Irish, and, while the amount of meat it contained varied from on household to the next, it was a constant on their tables. So, is it any good? While it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day, I wouldn't much bother with it at other times. It's one of those dishes you yearn to try once, then wrap in the mist of memory and put to bed. I'll let you decide for yourself. Here, courtesy of the Accidental Hedonist, is the recipe for Dublin Coddle.

Dublin Coddle...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of the Accidental Hedonist

Ingredients:
2 quarts of water
1 pound link sausage (Irish bangers or American breakfast sausage)
1 pound thick cut sliced bacon, blanched
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch slices
3-4 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
Ground pepper
1 bunch curly parsley, chopped

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan.
2) Meanwhile, place bacon and sausages in a large skillet and fry just long enough to lightly color.
3) Add sausages and bacon to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Remove meat, slice into bit-sized pieces and reserve in a bowl. Reserve cooking stock.
4) Lightly grease bottom and sides of a Dutch oven or 5-quart casserole. Layer ingredients in the following order until all have been used; potatoes, onion, pepper, parsley, and pork.
5) Pour reserved stock over contents of casserole until ingredients are covered. Water may be used if you run out of stock. Bring casserole to a simmer.
6) Place in oven and cook for 90 minutes or until potatoes are tender. I cover the pot.
7) Serve hot with whole meal bread and butter. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Potato-Leek Gratin - Teeny Tiny Kitchen
Fool Proof Scalloped Potatoes - My Gourmet Connection
Fontina Scalloped Potatoes - The Other Side of Fifty
Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes and Ham - Creatively Domestic
Mushroom Scalloped Potatoes - Pots and Plots
Thyme and Rosemary Au Gratin Potatoes - Wicked Good Dinner
Perfectly Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin - Deep South Dish
Chicken, Mushroom and Potato Hot Pot - Caviar and Codfish
Dublin Coddle - Home Cooking Rocks
Irish Cooking:Dublin Coddle -Chef Mom

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Cuisine Kathleen, St.Patrick's Day Blog Crawl