Name: Dublin Coddle
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: British Irish
Ingredients: 300 g Pork Sausage, traditional Irish or British-style sausages if available; 100 g Smoked Bacon, cut into thick pieces; 450 g Potato, peeled and thickly sliced; 1 Brown Onion, sliced; 1 Carrot, sliced, optional but practical; 1½ cup Chicken Stock, or enough to almost cover; 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped, divided; ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper, freshly ground if possible; to taste Salt, add only after tasting because bacon and sausage are salty

1 hr 20 mintotal

Prep 20 min · Cook 1 hr

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: None

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Ingredients

300 gPork Sausagetraditional Irish or British-style sausages if available
100 gSmoked Baconcut into thick pieces
450 gPotatopeeled and thickly sliced
1Brown Onionsliced
1Carrotsliced, optional but practical
1½ cupChicken Stockor enough to almost cover
2 tbspFresh Parsleychopped, divided
½ tspGround Black Pepperfreshly ground if possible
to tasteSaltadd only after tasting because bacon and sausage are salty

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

No inactive time; the hour is a gentle simmer, and the coddle sits happily on a low heat if the rest of the meal is not ready.

Method

Brown the sausages lightly in a heavy pot, then remove and cut into large pieces.
Add the smoked bacon to the same pot and cook briefly until it releases some fat.
Layer the onion, potatoes, carrot, sausage pieces, bacon, parsley, and pepper in the pot.
Pour in the chicken stock until the ingredients are almost covered.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook slowly until the potatoes are soft and the sausages are cooked through.
Taste before adding salt, then adjust seasoning carefully.
Finish with the remaining parsley and serve hot with plenty of broth.

How to tell it's done

The potatoes should be soft, the sausages juicy, and the broth savoury with a gentle bacon smokiness.

Getting it right

Tip

Simmer gently rather than boiling hard; coddle should be soft and brothy, not reduced and dry.

What to serve it with

Serve with soda bread, oatcakes, or plain crusty bread.

Common mistakes

It comes out too salty.: Taste before any salt goes in, exactly as the steps direct. Bacon, sausages, and stock all bring their own, and a coddle salted at the start is beyond rescue.
The potatoes fall apart into the broth.: Cut them large and keep the pot at a bare simmer. Coddle is meant to be a gently layered pot, not a stew — a rolling boil breaks the potatoes down and clouds the broth.

Substitutions

Use Chicken Sausage as a lighter adaptation, but the flavour will be less traditional.
Use Vegetable Stock only if Chicken Stock is unavailable; the broth will be milder.
Check sausage and bacon labels for gluten or other binders before marking allergen-safe.

Storing and reheating

Keeps four days in the fridge and is widely held to be better the next day. Reheat gently on the hob. It does not freeze well — the potatoes go grainy on thawing.

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