Irish ‘Dublin Coddle’ – Simply delicious comfort food served at its best!

Coddle ingredients

Potato

Chopped bacon

Ready to boil

Delicious

Although this dish is easy to prepare and uses just one pot, its simplicity belies its amazing flavour. Simply delicious, winter comfort food served at its best!

My mother is from Dublin and throughout my childhood I can remember many a winter’s night being served up this dish. History says it is thought to have been a firm favourite of Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels and Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

It was made and eaten more by the people of the city of Dublin rather than rural families and the traditional dish – using sausages, bacon, onions and potatoes – dates back at least as far as the early 18th century.  

Goddess Tip:

In Dublin, coddle retains its reputation as a dish that can be prepared ahead of time making it an excellent dish for busy people.  Why not make it over the weekend and Monday night’s dinner is ready to go.  We recommend serving with a pint of Guinness and some crusty bread to soak up the soup. Sláinte.

Here is our family recipe for you to try – we'd love to hear what you think…

Irish ‘Dublin Coddle’ Recipe Serves: 4  Cost: Approximately AU$10 per head

Ingredients:

• 6 large brushed old potatoes
• 2 large brown onions
• 1 Ham hock (approx. 1kg)
• 4 slices of eye bacon
• 1 litre of Massel liquid chicken stock
• 1 litre of Massel liquid vegetable stock
• 500gms of good quality pork sausages
• 4 Large vine ripened tomatoes
• 2-3 tablespoons of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

1. Peel potatoes and cut four of them in half.  Dice the remaining two potatoes into small pieces – these will cook quicker and slightly thicken the soup

2. Peel and dice the onions

3. Remove the outer skin and layer of ‘white’ fat from the ham hock

4. Slice the bacon into strips

5. In a large pot pour in the 2 litres of Massel stock

6. Add the small chopped potatoes, onions, ham hock, bacon and sausages

7. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 40 minutes

8. Turn off the heat, add the potato halves and quartered tomatoes and let the dish cool down on the bench – with the lid on

9. When cool, remove the ham hock and chop up the meat. Return meat to the pot and discard the bone. Leave dish in fridge overnight.

10.  Remove any fat that has settled on the top before bringing the pot back to the boil.  Simmer again with the lid on for 30 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy x

Alison Carmichael-Rulten

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