Dublin Coddle
Meaty Dublin coddle is a wonderful Irish sausage stew.
It doesn't have to be St. Patrick's Day to have this wonderful Irish sausage stew. Big chunks of pork sausage and potatoes stewed in apple cider. The cider makes this stew a little sweet, but it pairs so well with the pork sausage and bacon, with the slight tartness helping to cut the fattiness of the meats.
Coddle was typically served on Thursdays as a way to use up remaining meats that couldn't be eaten by Catholics on Fridays, but today it's known as a comfort food.
Other root vegetables can be added, like carrot or turnip, and if the cider doesn't appeal, this can be substituted with water or vegetable stock. Swapping out the cider will also significantly lower the carb count of this stew.
To thicken the stew, barley can be added (see tips below for the amount of barley). However, this stew would no longer be gluten-free.
TIP: For a thicker stew add 1/2 cup barley when adding the cider.
Ingredients
(Makes 8 servings)
4 slices apple wood bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2lbs apple wood smoked sausage (or seasoned pork sausage), chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 large sweet onions, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 whole black peppercorns
4 large yellow or white potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups apple cider
2 bay leaves
Directions
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the bacon. Fry until the bacon becomes crispy and the fat has rendered out. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-lined dish. Set aside.
To the pot, add the sausage and fry in the bacon fat until the outside is dark brown and the casings start to become crispy. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-lined dish. Set aside.
At this stage, you will most likely need to remove oil from the pot, as a significant amount will have rendered out of both meats. Using tongs and a wad of paper towel, carefully soak up most, but not all, of the oil and discard. There should be a minimum of 1 tablespoon of oil remaining in the pot.
Add the onion and sauté until it softens and starts to become translucent (about 5 to 7 minutes). Add the garlic and continue sautéing for an additional minute. Add the spices and mix thoroughly. Add the potatoes, mix well, then let sauté for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the bay leaves.
Reintroduce the bacon and sausage then add the cider. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let cook for 1 hour, checking occasionally to give it a stir. When done, the potatoes should be fork tender. Serve.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 376 | total fat = 18.18g | saturated fat = 6.09g | cholesterol = 42.5mg | sodium = 879.88mg | net carbohydrates = 40.58g | dietary fibre = 1.22g | sugars = 18.22g | protein = 13.51g
