by Austin Coe Butler
1 lb. Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb. France 44 OG Brats, cut into 1 inch rounds
2 cups Stock (Beef, Pork, or Chicken)
2 lbs. Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8s
2 large yellow onions, sliced thin
1 14.9 oz can of Guinness
1 tbsp AP Flour
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Bay Leaves
3 tbsp Parsley, chopped
If you’ve ever been to Ireland, and especially Dublin, you’ve probably encountered Coddle. Coddle is more often called Dublin Coddle because of the city’s fondness for the dish; it was a favorite of many of the city’s preeminent writers: James Joyce, Sean O’Casey, and Jonathan Swift. It’s fundamentally a city-dwelling, working class dish with the substitution of bacon and sausages in place of mutton.
Like most traditional dishes, there’s no real recipe. Everyone has their own version, and coddle originated as a way to use up leftovers: typically made on a Thursday to use up all the rashers (bacon) and sausage before Friday—when Catholics abstain from meat. But what every recipe has in common is bacon, sausages, onions, and potatoes stewed for several hours in a low oven. (The dish’s name is derived from the French caudle “to boil gently or stew.”)
This is a rich, rib-sticking stew, and (if you’re not already laying into a few pints while you stew it) the intoxicating smell will rile your appetite. Mop it all up with some soda bread from the shop for a hearty stew that will be enough of a buffer for a few more pints, or as a late night meal to come stumbling home to.
Preheat your oven to 300º.
Render the fat from the bacon and sear the sausages. Place the bacon in a cold, heavy bottomed pot like a Dutch oven and turn the heat up to medium. Render until crisp. Remove from the pot, then sear off the sausages. Our sausages are already fully cooked sous vide, so you don’t have to worry about cooking them, just get some nice color on them.
Pour off most of the fat, leaving about two or three tablespoons in the pot. Over low heat, add the flour and whisk for a minute or two to cook off the raw flavor. Add the beer while whisking to create a thick brown gravy. Turn off the heat.
Layer half of each of the following ingredients in this order: potatoes, onions, garlic, bacon, sausage, bay leaf, parsley, then repeat once more.
Pour over the two cups of stock over and top with a well fitting lid. Place it in the oven to “caudle” for 2 hours or up to 5.
Serve with a soda bread to mop it up and a pint of Guinness to wash it down. It ain’t pretty, but it’s pretty good!