Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (2024)

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I know many of you will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef and cabbage, and no offense to you guys (I mean, I love corned beef and cabbage, too), but this Dublin coddle is what you should be having instead. It’s hearty, it’s easy, it’s delicious, and from my research, it’s a more authentic way to celebrate Ireland than corned beef.

Granted, I’m pretty much the last person who should be writing with any authority about Irish culture. The entirety of my education on Ireland came from this awesome Irish restaurant in my college town that I went to weekly. I don’t have many Irish ancestors. I’ve never been to Ireland. But that doesn’t make this any less delicious. So I’m going with it.

Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (1)

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What is Irish coddle anyway?

If you’ve never had Dublin coddle before, it’s somewhat like the Irish version of beef stew. It’s bacon, pork sausages, onions, and potatoes, all long-stewed in a thick brown gravy. Everything I’ve seen about coddle talks about its working-class roots. This isn’t a delicate meal. This is the kind of meal that can slow cook away in the oven for hours and hours and hours while you’re working hard, and still be delicious when you come home.

Another tidbit I’ve read about coddle—every family seems to have their own special recipe. One true “authentic” version of coddle doesn’t really exist—it changes based on what’s available. Basically, you put whatever you have kicking around your kitchen into a pot, and it always turns out delicious. Because bacon. My version will guarantee tasty results, but feel free to experiment!

Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (2)

Can you make this in the slow cooker?

This is a slow-cooked recipe that I actually don’t recommend doing in the slow cooker! This coddle cooks for 2-3 hours in a very low oven, and while you could do it in the slow cooker, most slow cookers cook with very moist heat. Sometimes I find that moist heat actually makes potatoes go mushy instead of tender and soft. And considering this stew is 75% about the delicious, pillowy potato bites? No one wants them to be mushy. Mushy potatoes are great for mashed potatoes, less great for a stew.

Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (3)

Instead, I recommend investing in a nice, sturdy, cast iron Dutch oven, and doing this baby at a low temp in your oven. There are a lot of really beautiful and really expensive Dutch ovens out there, but the one I always recommend to folks is the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. It runs right around $60, comes in beautiful colors, and works like a champ! I’ve had mine for years.

What kind of sausage do you use in coddle?

Traditional Irish sausages can be a bit tricky to track down here in the U.S., so I recommend going with any high-quality pork sausage you can find. I’ve used both bratwurst and Polish sausage in this recipe with good results.
Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (4)

What’s the best kind of beer to use in this stew?

Why, Guinness, of course! I highly recommend keeping on theme here and going with Guinness stout. Thanks to some wonderful Dubliners that took the time to comment on this post (seriously, thank you!), I now know that many people consider coddle a white stew with no beer in it. But Irish chef and author of The Irish Cookbook, Jp McMahon says in the headnotes for his coddle recipe that, “Often it contained a drop of Guinness (or it was eaten with plenty of pints and soda bread).” So if you choose to go the beer route, I think it’s safe to say that Guinness is a perfectly fine choice! Of course, any other dark beer would do the trick—either a stout or porter. Buy a six-pack and put one in the stew and drink the rest with dinner! #pleasedrinkresponsibly

What if you don’t want to use beer?

No problemo! Just sub in more beef or chicken stock in place of the beer. It’ll change the flavor slightly, but your coddle will still be delicious.

What to serve with Dublin Coddle?

I think it’s just wrong to serve coddle without a side of warm, crusty homemade soda bread! I always like to make a green salad to go along with the coddle and bread to give us something fresh on our plates, too.

Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (5)

It’s easy to think that there is no way this Dublin Coddle is going to be flavorful enough. It seems too simple to be delicious, but magic happens in that oven! Seriously. Mag-ic. This dish is bursting with flavor that only gets better and better as leftovers. Enjoy!

Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (6)

Dublin Coddle

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Dublin Coddle is a traditional Irish potato and sausage stew that slow cooks in the oven. It’s great for St. Patrick’s Day or any day you need comfort food!

Ingredients

  • 8 slices bacon, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 pound high-quality pork sausages (see notes)
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 bottle Guinness beer (see notes)
  • 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 large onions, cut into slices
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Fresh cracked black pepper
  • 2 cups beef, ham, or chicken broth

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
  2. Heat a large, oven-proof Dutch oven over high heat. Add in the bacon and cook until crisp, about five minutes. Remove the bacon to drain on paper towels. Leave the grease in the Dutch oven.
  3. Add the sausages in, a few at a time (don't crowd the pan), and cook on each side until just golden brown—no need to cook all the way through. Remove to a plate and continue with additional sausages. Remove to plate. When cool enough to handle. Slice into 1" pieces.
  4. Reduce the heat to low, and then whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Then remove from heat completely.
  5. Whisk in the bottle of Guinness (see notes if you'd like to not use beer).
  6. Place half of the potatoes in the gravy, followed by half of the onions, half of the garlic, half of the bacon, half of the sausages, half of the parsley, the bay leaves, the thyme, and black pepper. Repeat layers with the remaining ingredients.
  7. Pour the broth over the whole thing. Place lid on, and bake in preheated oven for at least 2 hours (see notes).

Notes

If you can find traditional Irish pork sausages, that'd be awesome, but honestly, any good-quality pork sausages will do. Use whatever you can find and you like (bratwurst, polish sausage, even good-quality breakfast sausage).

Between the bacon, sausages, and broth, this dish is inherently very salty. Do not add more salt without tasting it first! I almost never add additional salt when making coddle.

If you want to skip using the beer, just sub in 1 1/2 additional cups of whatever broth you are using.

The coddle will be ready to eat after 2 hours in the oven, but it can easily stay cooking for 3-5 hours without any consequence. This isn't a delicate dish. You don't have to worry about breaking it.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 770Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 1314mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 50g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

Want more St Patrick’s Day recipes like this one?

  • Corned beef and cabbage
  • Shamrock shake
  • Irish soda bread
Dublin Coddle Recipe (Irish Sausage and Potato Stew) | Wholefully (2024)

FAQs

What is Dublin coddle made of? ›

Coddle (sometimes Dublin coddle; Irish: cadal) is an Irish dish which is often made to use up leftovers. It most commonly consists of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly sliced, somewhat-fatty back bacon) with chunky potatoes, sliced onion, salt, pepper, and herbs.

What is the difference between a coddle and a stew? ›

Coddle is considered a 'city man's stew' and is thought to have originated in Ringsend. Irish stew, on the other hand, is a bit chunkier, made with stewing beef or lamb, vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and onions, potatoes, and beef or lamb stock. Some add Guinness to the stock for extra flavour.

Why is it called coddle? ›

The word “Coddle” derives from the French term caudle which means to boil gently, parboil or stew. Apparently, coddle dates back to the first Irish famine in the late 1700s where anything to hand got thrown into the pot.

Why is Irish stew famous in Ireland? ›

Though the Romans had long outgrown it by then, stewing came to prominence in Ireland during the early 19th century, during a period of economic turmoil that led to mass poverty. With only a hanging pot, an open fire and a few fairly easily attainable ingredients, even poor families were able to survive on Irish stew.

What is Ireland's signature food? ›

To many across the country, Irish stew is the national dish of Ireland. The methods and flavour of an Irish stew vary from person to person and have evolved over the years. Previously, it all depended on which ingredients were cheaper and more common at that time.

What is the name of the Irish stew? ›

Irish stew (Irish: Stobhach Gaelach) or Stobhach is a stew from Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from time to time or place to place.

What is the difference between Irish and English stew? ›

Ireland and England are entwined rather substantially. There are differences, but there are lots of similarity. Irish stew is traditionally made with lamb onions carrots and potatoes. Beef stew is traditionally made with beef onions carrots and potatoes.

How to make stew thicker? ›

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

What is the difference between beef stew and Irish stew? ›

The main difference between an Irish stew and classic beef stew comes down to the protein. Traditional Irish stew is usually made with lamb, while beef stew is always made with beef. Our version includes beef chuck, which is less traditional, but easy to make and equally delicious.

What are rashers in Ireland? ›

A bacon rasher is a thin slice of bacon, typically cut from a larger piece of cured bacon. The term “rasher” is commonly used in the UK and Ireland to refer to these slices of bacon.

What does it mean to coddle a man? ›

To coddle someone means to treat them too kindly or protect them too much. [disapproval]

What did the Irish eat instead of potatoes? ›

Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.

Why did the Irish only eat potatoes? ›

The Irish often used the good land to grow things like wheat and corn that they would sell to pay their rent. This left the farmers with a small piece of land to grow their own food. Potatoes took up very little space and were very nutritious. One acre of potatoes could feed a family of four for a year.

What is the oldest Irish food? ›

The food eaten by the early Irish people changed very little from the time when farming began until the arrival of the potato from America in the 1600s. The main parts of the early Irish diet were milk and cereals. Butter, buttermilk and cheeses also were very popular.

What is Irish breakfast pudding made of? ›

Modern recipes consist of suet or fat, oatmeal or barley, breadcrumbs and in some cases pork and pork liver, filled into a natural or cellulose sausage casing.

What is an Irish staple ingredients? ›

Bread and milk formed the staple of the Irish diet for millennia. From Latin came tortine meaning a small loaf. Traditional porridge was cooked from oats, barley or wheat meal mixed with water, buttermilk or new milk and cooked to a smooth consistency.

What is Irish latte made of? ›

Irish coffee has four main ingredients: coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and cream. But there are many variations of this classic coffee drink, some of which include steamed milk.

What is the full Irish breakfast composed of? ›

But a full Irish breakfast usually means a hot meal with a particular set of ingredients. Expect a fully belly and at least one piece of bacon, a sausage and an egg (or three). Toast and butter are also a must. Mushrooms, tomatos, baked beans, hash browns and other regional variations are all optional.

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