Nearly 400 years. That’s how long my family has lived in the “New World.” I’ve traced my roots back to a Scotch-Irish clan in Virginia. The records are unclear after that; but my last name is very prevalent in Scotland, particularly Glasgow. Four hundred years is a long time, and unfortunately every last trace of Scottish culture and tradition has been washed out of my DNA. In recent years I’ve spent time in Scotland and read the works of Robert Burns to reconnect to my heritage.
I have several friends whose families immigrated much more recently than mine and I am envious of the close connects they have to their ancestral homes. Nowhere is this more evident than in the kitchen. My “Sunday Gravy,” a rich long-simmered meat sauce, is good but lacks some elusive quality that my Italian friends’ versions seem to possess. I’ve stood side-by-side in the kitchen with a Japanese colleague who, although born in the U.S., can turn out a maki roll like a sushi master.
When St. Patrick’s Day rolls around each year, I find myself pulled toward a celebration that includes much more than wearing pinch-proof green. Over the last few years I’ve tried to search for some authentic Irish recipes to help jumpstart my family’s dinner-table conversation about Irish contributions to our society.
This year I decided on something called Dublin Coddle. I learned that there are nearly as many versions of this Dublin pub favorite as there are, well, pubs in Dublin. All the versions, however, include two key ingredients: Irish-style sausages (usually seasoned with allspice, sage, ginger, mace, nutmeg and cloves) and Irish-style bacon, much more like ham than the bacon we know and love. I couldn’t put my hands on either of these, so ended up using brats and American bacon. The results were delicious — a flavorful hearty stew perfect for the last days of winter.
Dublin Coddle
3 strips of thick-cut bacon
6 brats
2 large onions, cut in 1/2 inch slices
8 medium Yukon gold potatoes, washed, cut into 1/4 inch slices (skins may be left on)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
2 bottles Guinness Stout
Preheat oven to 325. On the stovetop, use a large Dutch oven to cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon and then brown brats on all sides. Remove brats and pour off all but about 1 teaspoon of the drippings. Add sliced onions to the Dutch oven and sauté until just beginning to brown. Add salt to taste. Let the moisture from the onions help deglaze the bottom of the Dutch oven and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond (bits of bacon and sausage) from the bottom of the pan. As the onions are browning, slice each brat into three to four bite-sized pieces (brats will not be cooked through). Remove the cooked onions.
Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and put a layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Next add about a third of the onion then a third of the dried parsley and black pepper to taste. Add a third of the sausage pieces and crumble in one piece of bacon. Start with another layer of potatoes. Repeat until you have three layers of everything and a forth layer of potatoes on top. Pour in two bottles of Guinness, cover, and cook in oven for 2-1/2 hours. Serve in bowls along with a green salad and bread, preferably Irish Soda Bread. Makes about six servings.
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Coddle up with this Irish stew
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