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If you’re craving a warm and gratifying authentic Dublin coddle, everything you want in a traditional Irish dish is found right here. It’s a one pot comfort food that’s perfect for cold days. This easy Irish recipe is assembled with simple ingredients and is sure to be a family favorite.
Looking for more Irish recipes? Don’t miss my traditional Irish cottage pie and these succulent bangers and mash with Guinness gravy.
Quick Look: Authentic Dublin Coddle Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 25 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 2 hours
- ⏲️ Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 5 servings
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: Irish
- 🍽️ Calories: 685 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦 Dietary Info: Dairy Free; can be made Gluten Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop & Oven
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: smoky, rich, and meaty.
- 🔑 Top Tip: Avoid starchy potatoes like Russets and Idahos; use Yukon Golds, as they hold their shape better when cooking for a long time.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: This hearty Irish stew pairs well with a stout like Guinness.
- ❄️ Storage: When properly stored in a refrigerable container with a tight-fitting lid, this sausage stew keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Do not freeze.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Tried-and-True Irish Coddle for St. Patrick’s Day: This dish is cooked low and slow and all in one pot. Once the stovetop prep is completed, it goes into a low oven to braise in a gorgeously constructed stock for between 2 and 4 hours. The longer the braise, the deeper the flavor the resulting pot liquor becomes.
- Perfect Flavor and Texture: The potatoes absorb the bacon’s sweet, caramelized onions and smokiness while simmering in the pot liquor. Meanwhile, the stout breaks down the starches, marrying everything. The product is a highly reduced, perfectly tender layered Irish stew.
- Easy to Tweak: Good quality pork sausages or bangers, bacon, onions, potatoes, and stout are phenomenal. The beer may be omitted, and chicken or beef stock may be used if preferred. The stew may also be served chunky, or half the potatoes and juices mashed and served alongside the stew. Serve with Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway, toasted slices of Traditional Irish Barmbrack, or crusty Dutch Oven Beer Bread.
“I found this recipe early in March and immediately added it to my roster for St. Paddy’s week. It is SO good – so good that I’m standing around prepping it again this morning for an Easter Sunday meal, too.. It is going to be a pretty constant member of the Sunday supper rotation. Even my three year old asked for seconds! Thank you for such a great recipe!”
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Irish food by itself has never excited me. Maybe it’s because I’d never tasted real Irish recipes prepared with authentic and available ingredients. I am a big proponent of “getting it right” by incorporating as much of an original ingredient list as I can find. Here’s the key ingredients you’ll need…
- Smoked Thick Cut Streaky Bacon: Bacon fat is essential to the success of this dish, so look for very well marbled bacon.
- Irish Bangers or Quality Pork Sausages: Dublin Coddle is traditionally made with bangers, a pork sausage seasoned with garlic and herbs and made from 50% fat to 50% meat (pork). You may well have tasted bangers before if you’ve ever visited an Irish pub and order standard fare such as Bangers and Mash with Guinness Gravy. If you have difficulty finding traditional Irish bangers, use any high-quality pork sausage. Bratwurst and mild Italian sausage both work well.
- Pint of Guinness Stout: The stout adds a wonderful flavor to the broth! Substitute with beef broth combined with seltzer if you prefer.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: Avoid starchier varieties like Russet potatoes and Idaho potatoes. These do not hold their shape when cooked over a long period of time. Instead consider purchasing Yukon Golds. These are considered a medium-starch potato and a waxy potato. Red potatoes are a low-starch potato that is high in moisture. They too, work great in stews such as this coddle.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Add in other ingredients like pearl barley, root vegetables, Brussels sprouts, layers of sausages, layers of potatoes, and fresh herbs for a hearty meal. Also, you can try cabbage, barley, leeks, or hard cider in lieu of the stout.
- If stout isn’t your thing, substitute beef stock. I like to mimic the stout by adding ¼ cup of club soda to ¾ cup beef broth. It’s not the same as adding stout, but the resulting pot liquor produced from the long braise is quite simply outstanding. Use homemade stock if you have it. Finally, be sure to ladle a bit of that pot liquor into your bowl when serving.
How to Make an Irish Coddle
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Cooking the Bacon & Sausages
Place a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered, but don’t let it get crispy. Remove the cooked bacon to a plate and set aside.
Carefully add the sausages to the Dutch oven. Brown on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and reserve to same plate as bacon.
2
Caramelize the Onions & Deglaze
Slowly cook the onions in a few tablespoons of the rendered fat. Add a heaping tablespoon of granulated sugar to aid and hasten caramelization.
To finish the onions, douse them in crème sherry to sweeten them and to deglaze the pan. Be sure to scrape up all those precious browned bits. Add the stout and cook briefly.
3
Assembling the Coddle
Start by layering half of the potatoes in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Season with pepper and half of the parsley, then top with half of the onions and half of the cooked bacon. Repeat the layers, beginning with the potatoes and ending with the bacon.
Place the bangers on top and add the chicken broth. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the oven.
4
‘Coddling’ the Stew
Braise in the oven for 2 to 4 hours, checking every 30 minutes to see if broth must be added. (Maintain an inch of liquid at all times to prevent burning.) It’s usually finished at 2 hours, but I usually cook mine for 3 hours, as additional time ensures a well flavored pot liquor and very tender potatoes.
5
Serve & Enjoy
Ladle the stew, pot liquor, and a banger into each serving bowl. If you want to “rough mash” the potatoes, feel free!
This authentic Irish recipe is perfect for weekends during cold months, and cozy dinners like Valentine’s Day and Saint Patrick’s Day. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Dublin Coddle is traditionally made with bangers, a pork sausage seasoned with garlic and herbs and made from 50% fat to 50% meat (pork). You may well have tasted bangers before if you’ve ever visited an Irish pub and order standard fare such as bangers and mash.
If you have difficulty finding traditional Irish bangers, use any high-quality pork sausage. Bratwurst and mild Italian sausage both work well.
Yes, you can do the ‘coddle’, or braising, in a slow cooker. However, it does still require browning, rendering, and caramelizing on the stovetop, so it would no longer be a one pot meal.
Two hours in the slow cooker may or may not be enough for the potatoes to sufficiently coddle, so you may need a third or even forth hour of cooking.
When properly stored in a refrigerable container with a tight-fitting lid, this sausage stew keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Gently reheat on the stove in a large saucepan over medium low heat, or in a small Dutch oven at 300° F oven for 30 minutes.
No, Dublin coddle should not be frozen, as it contains potatoes. They don’t have a good texture when thawed.
Serving Suggestions
Remember, this is a one-pot meal, so there’s no obligation to serve anything alongside. I’d bet that a pint of Guinness and a hunk of crusty bread would be in order though!
Great bread sides to serve with Dublin coddle include this Artisan Dutch Oven Beer Bread or my crusty French bread yeast rolls. Enjoy a slice of traditional Irish barmbrack for dessert!
Expert Tips
- I recommend preparing this coddle in a large cast iron Dutch oven for the best results.
- If you are not keen on using beer, substitute by combining ¾ cup beef stock with ¼ cup seltzer.
- Avoid starchy potatoes such as Russets and Idahos; they do not hold their shape when cooked for a long time. I specify Yukon Golds, and I will further mention that I try to find the baby Yukons whenever possible.
- Irish bangers are a pork sausage seasoned with garlic and herbs and can be difficult to find here in the United States. If you are unable to locate authentic bangers around St. Patrick’s Day, use a high-quality pork sausage as a substitute.
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Authentic Dublin Coddle
Video
Equipment
- 4 quart or larger Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting ovenproof lid
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon, smoked, thick cut, diced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 pound pork sausages, if you are able to purchase pork bangers, those are preferred
- 2 extra large onions, randomly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed and rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ⅓ cup crème sherry
- 1 cup stout
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, halved and quartered if large
- 3 cups homemade chicken broth, substitute with ham stock
- ½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Cooking the Components
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Place a large Dutch oven on the stove. Over medium heat, render the bacon. You want it cooked, but not crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked bacon to a plate and set aside.
- Carefully add the sausages to the Dutch oven. Brown on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and reserve to same plate as bacon.
- Discard all but 1 or 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Add the onions. Sauté until the onions just begin to break down, 5 to 8 minutes. Toss onions several times to ensure they are breaking down evenly. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and toss again. Add the garlic. Sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Off the pot from the heat briefly and deglaze with crème sherry. Replace pot atop heat and bring the sherry mixture to a boil. Use the back of a spoon to scrape up all of the fond at the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low and reduce the sherry until all of it has largely evaporated and the onions are caramelized. Pour in the stout. Again bring to a boil before lowering the heat and allowing the stout to largely evaporate. Remove the pot from the heat again. Remove the onions from the pot to a bowl. Set aside.
Assembling the Coddle
- Add half the chunked potatoes to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Season liberally with pepper and add half the chopped parsley. Add half the onions. Finish with half the cooked bacon. Repeat beginning with the remaining potatoes and ending with the remaining cooked bacon.
- Nestle the bangers atop the layers. Add the chicken broth all at once. Replace the pot (very heavy now) to the heat and bring to another boil. Off the pot from the heat and fit the pot with its lid. Carefully transfer the pot to the oven.
Braising the Coddle
- Braise for 2 to 4 hours checking every 30 minutes to see if broth must be added. (Maintain an inch of liquid at all times to prevent burning.) The braise is largely complete at 2 hours. Adding additional time ensures a well flavored pot liquor and very tender potatoes. I braise for a minimum of 3 hours and use the last hour to set my table and prepare my biscuits.
- Season with salt and pepper if necessary. If planning to mash some or all of the potato mixture, carefully spoon out to a bowl and use a hand masher to 'rough mash' the potatoes. I use about ½ cup of the pot liquor to mash in lieu of butter or milk.
- Serve by mounding some of the mash in a bowl. Ladle some remaining stew and the pot liquor over top and nestle a banger right in the middle.
Notes
- If you are not keen on using beer, substitute by combining ¾ cup beef stock with ¼ cup seltzer.
- Avoid starchy potatoes such as Russets and Idahos; they do not hold their shape when cooked for a long time. I specify Yukon Golds, and I will further mention that I try to find the baby Yukons whenever possible.
- Irish bangers are a pork sausage seasoned with garlic and herbs and can be difficult to find here in the United States; if you are unable to locate authentic bangers around St. Patrick’s Day, use a high-quality pork sausage as a substitute.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You make it look so easy to make this! Thanks for sharing!
I have to be up front here…IT IS THAT EASY! And your house will smell AMAZING! Jenny
I found this recipe early in March and immediately added it to my roster for St. Paddy’s week. It is SO good – so good that I’m standing around prepping it again this morning for an Easter Sunday meal, too.. It is going to be a pretty constant member of the Sunday supper rotation. Even my three year old asked for seconds!
This go round, I have a bunch of leeks to use up, so it’s getting a mix of onion and leek. I’m excited to see how that variation goes – I think it should be lovely.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Kirstie, I think your message is among the kindest I have read from. You have made my day, and because readers like you take the time to acknowledge the recipes of mine that you enjoy, I am 100% motivated to keep going. I am still a baby blogger and there are days that I wonder if I am on the right path, but you’ve just reinforced why I need to keep doing what I love. And I LOVE THAT CODDLE! I am soooo glad you love it, too! Thank you 🙂 x – Jenny
New chef here… is it possible to do this in a slow cooker instead of in the oven?
Hi Chris! I knew I’d get this question, so cooked up my coddle last weekend again, but this time in my slow cooker. My answer may seem a bit lengthy, so bear with me. You need to have a vague idea of how hot your cooker runs when it’s on high. Most are between 200 and 300 degrees Fahrenheit. That is a BIG margin. If your cooker is older, it’s likely somewhere around 200 degrees when on high, newer, maybe 300 degrees when on high tops. A coddle is a braise, so while it goes long, it also MUST maintain a consistent temperature. That means no frequent lifting of the the lid. Seriously, ONLY to make sure you’re maintaining an inch of liquid and no longer. My cooker ran at about 275 degrees Fahrenheit, so I figured my braise would need to be extended to at least 4 1/2 hours. I began testing my liquid at 1 hour (every hour), and testing my potatoes at 3 1/2 hours. Ultimately, I ended up going for 5 1/2 with my slow cooker on high. So, yes, it can be done, but you’ll need to do your rendering, browning, and caramelizing in a pan on the stove, then layer it all into your cooker. My results were quite surprising to me – IT WAS OUTSTANDING. I can honestly say I will do it this way again. Absolutely. Please let me know how this ends up working for you if you try it. I already know you’ll love the coddle, but it’s more your thoughts on the slow cooker method that I am interested in hearing about! 🙂
This post is getting me excited for St. Patty’s Day already. My husband is 100% Irish. This would be a fun dish to surprise him with to celebrate his Irish heritage. Can’t wait to try!! Love the other recommendations you made too- Maybe we’ll have those bailey Irish cream cupcakes for dessert!
Ashley, oh how I’d love to be cooking and baking in your fancy kitchen! I bet together, we would crush St Pat’s Day!