Don't omit the parsley, and don't use dried parsley as a substitute.
It makes a big difference.
"Bacon bits" in Ireland refers to the chopped-up leftovers from
various other cuts of smoked or cured pork or bacon, usually with the
pork rind still on. This is wonderful if you can get it. If your
butcher doesn't carry off-cuts or ends of bacon, ask him for the
cheapest cut of pork he has that has a good mixture of fat and lean,
and ask him for some salt pork or fat back as well. Anything smoked
is preferable. This can be cubed and go into the dish with the rest
of the pork, to add flavor.
Get good quality pork sausages, flavorful ones, and preferably ones
without cereal fillers. Spicy sausages work well in this (though they
wouldn't be terribly traditional:typically about the only herb or
spice you find in Irish sausage is a little sage or thyme). Peel the
onions and potatoes: chop the onions roughly, and chop the potatoes
into three or four pieces each. Chop the fresh parsley. Layer the
ingredients in a flameproof casserole with a tight-fitting, heavy
lid, in this order: onions, sausages, potatoes, bacon, a grind of
pepper: and so on, until you run out of ingredients. Add 2 cups of
water to the pot -- no more. Bring the contents of the pot up to a
boil, without stirring. Then cover the pot, lower the heat to the
barest simmer --only a bubble or two should come to the surface every
now and then -- or put it in a low to medium oven, say about 275 F.
And just leave it there. Come back in anywhere from 3 to 5 hours.
Recommended to eat with this dish: soda bread, or potato farl (see
elsewhere for recipes for these), and Guinness. (Draft Guinness is
now being exported in bottles and cans...) This is friendly, homely
food: not the kind of thing you offer to guests at a fancy dinner
party, but good for when you just need something sustaining.
The original meaning of "coddle" was to cook something very slowly
over a low heat (and this usage is still heard regarding "coddled"
eggs): only later, and by derivation from this meaning, came the
sense of the word meaning "to handle something very gently". Dublin
coddle is a slow-cook dish, famous for being good to have after a
long night at the pub: it also has a slightly doleful reputation as
one of the foods served to people after funerals, since it can be
left unattended for long periods without coming to harm. Various
Irish literary figures, specifically Jonathan Swift (or Dean Swift as
the Irish tend to call him) were reported to be very fond of coddle.
The problem is understanding why, since many coddle recipes are
incredibly bland. This one is the best version we've been able to
track down.
By the way, some people believe in offering the pot a nice half-cup
or so of Guinness itself, before putting the lid on. We haven't tried
this ourselves, but it sounds sociable.
NOTE: a "Bottled Draft" Guinness is now available in some parts of
the States:it comes in six-packs, the bottles being stumpy rather
than the usual long-necked shape, and the packing contains an
injector syringe to produce the proper creamy head on an otherwise
smooth beer. Despite what come out of the pull-tab cans, Guinness is
*not* usually fizzy -- it's a side-effect of the canning process.
(This has led to the odd situation over here of draft and
bottled/canned Guinness being regarded as two different drinks. Draft
is for slow, leisurely consumption, for the lubrication of gossip and
discussion, and for the refreshment of the spirit. Bottled/canned
Guinness is a thirst-quencher, and not much else.)
Guinness in the keg is also notorious for not travelling well
anywhere off the island of Ireland, even just across the Irish Sea to
England. The Port of Liverpool seems to have come to some
arrangement, but hardly anywhere else. Even the best Irish Pub in the
States can't do anything about the width of the Atlantic Ocean that
separates them from Uncle Arthur's brewery in Dublin. These fat
little bottles are worth looking for; try serving your Guinness in
the old style, at "cellar temperature" rather than chilled. Put the
bottles (or cans, if that's all you can find) into a sink full of
cold water (no ice) rather than your fridge. Leave for an hour.
Enjoy. Repeat as necessary.
per Diane Duane
