How to Make Your Own Dublin Coddle Recipe

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Elaine Lemm
Updated 07/17/19
Dublin Coddle recipe

The Spruce
  • Total: 100 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 90 mins
  • Yield: Serves 4 as a starter, 2 mains.
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
535 Calories
38g Fat
22g Carbs
25g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: Serves 4 as a starter, 2 mains.
Amount per serving
Calories 535
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g 49%
Saturated Fat 12g 58%
Cholesterol 82mg 27%
Sodium 1379mg 60%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Protein 25g
Calcium 57mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

A coddle is a traditional Irish dish usually associated with Dublin and also as Dublin coddle. It is comfort food of the highest degree—a hearty nutritious stew-like dish made from salty bacon, pork sausages, and potatoes.

This food is known as a tasty one-pot meal that can be made ahead of time and then left in a slightly warmed oven, waiting to be eaten.

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Click Play to See This Dublin Coddle Recipe Come Together

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 medium onions (thinly sliced)
  • 4-ounce piece salty back bacon (weight after the rind removed)
  • 6 traditional pork sausages
  • 2 carrots (peeled and finely sliced)
  • 8 ounces white potatoes (finely sliced)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
  • 2 cups rich beef stock (or chicken stock)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Dubling Coddle
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  2. Heat the oven to 425 F/220 C/ gas 7.

  3. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat for about 4 minutes.

    Cooking onions
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  4. Cut the bacon piece into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the bacon to the onions and stir well.

    Add bacon to onions
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  5. Cut the sausages in half and add these to the onion and bacon.

    Cut sausage
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  6. Raise the heat and, constantly stirring, cook until the sausages start to brown. Take care not to burn the onions.

    Cooking through
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  7. In a heat proof casserole, place a layer of the onion, bacon, and sausage mixture followed by the layer of sliced carrots and then a layer of potato. Season with salt and pepper.

    Placing layers in a casserole
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  8. Repeat the layering until used up, finishing with a layer of potato.

    Layers of potato
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  9. Carefully pour over the stock.

    Pour over
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  10. Cover with a lid or a double layer of aluminum foil.

    Cover with a lid
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  11. Place in the center of the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Take a peek to make sure the coddle isn't drying out. (If necessary, top up with a little boiling water but don't flood the stew).

    Placed in the oven
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  12. Lower the heat to 350 F/175 C/gas 4 and cook for a further 30 minutes, until bubbling and the potatoes are thoroughly cooked.

  13. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before serving.

    Let cool
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  14. Serve with hefty slices of Irish soda bread and butter to soak up all the lovely juices in the dish, as is the Irish way, and enjoy!

Where Does the Name Dublin Coddle Come From?

The name comes from the long, slow simmering or ‘coddling’ of the dish. Another idea is that might be descended from the older word "caudle." This is derived from the French word which means "to boil gently, parboil, or stew". 

It has been suggested the popularity of coddle arose because it can be left simmering on the stove till the man comes in from the pub long after the wife had gone to bed.

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