Dublin Coddle

Name: Dublin Coddle
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h 10 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 8 good pork sausages; 8 rashers of back bacon (cut into large pieces); 2 onions (thickly sliced); 1 kg floury potatoes (such as Rooster or Maris Piper, peeled and thickly sliced); 2 carrots (thickly sliced, optional); 500 ml ham or chicken stock; 1 small bunch of parsley (chopped); plenty of ground black pepper

Sausages, bacon, onions and potatoes cooked slowly in stock: a warming one-pot supper from old Dublin.

By AoifeAI-assistedApproved for publication by BeneRecipes Editor on 14 October 2026Updated 8 October 2026

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 2 hr 10 min
Total: 2 hr 30 min
Makes: 4 servings
Difficulty: Easy

Jump to recipe

A bowl of Dublin coddle with sausages, potatoes and carrots — Photo: Shushshello · CC0

Coddle comes from the verb "to coddle", meaning to cook gently. It was a Saturday-night supper in Dublin's working homes, a way to use up sausages and bacon before the Friday fast came round again.

Dubliners argue about carrots (many say never) and about browning the sausages first. This version browns them for flavour and leaves carrots optional.

Ingredients

4 servings

8good pork sausages
8rashers of back bacon, cut into large pieces
2onions, thickly sliced
1kgfloury potatoes, such as Rooster or Maris Piper, peeled and thickly sliced
2carrots, thickly sliced, optional
500mlham or chicken stock
1small bunch of parsley, chopped
plenty of ground black pepper

Equipment

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Method

1
Heat the oven to 150°C / 130°C fan / gas 2. Brown the sausages in a frying pan for 5 minutes, then add the bacon for a couple of minutes. Cut the sausages in half.
2
In a large casserole dish, layer the onions, potatoes, carrots (if using), sausages and bacon, scattering parsley and pepper between the layers. Finish with a layer of potatoes.
3
Pour over the stock, cover with a tight lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Take off the lid for the last 30 minutes so the top potatoes colour a little.
Photo: Coddle head at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
4
Scatter with more parsley and serve in bowls with plenty of the broth.

Tips

Serve with Irish soda bread for mopping up the broth.

A heavy casserole dish with a tight lid keeps the stock from drying out. On the hob, simmer very gently for about 1 hour instead.

If it goes wrong

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Dry on top	Lid not tight	Cover with foil under the lid, and add a splash more stock
Bland	Too little seasoning	Use well-flavoured sausages and plenty of pepper; the bacon adds the salt

Guides for this recipe

A traditional black cast-iron kitchen range

Kitchen design

Range Cookers: Are They Right for Your Kitchen?

Buying guide

Casserole Dishes for Stews: Cast Iron and Beyond

Buying guide

Chef's Knives: How to Choose One

Buying guide

Frying Pans and Skillets: Cast Iron, Steel or Non-Stick?

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