By Penny & Ed Cherubino
Here’s an idea for any of you who are tired of the routine meals you make: add a few simple Irish dishes to your rotation. Corned Beef and cabbage is not a meal the Irish Grannies made. They did and still do make soda bread, but it is most often a whole-wheat brown bread that you use to sop up delicious stews and slather with good Irish butter.
Bacon and Cabbage
The Irish version of corned beef and cabbage is bacon and cabbage. Some call it Ireland’s national dish. By bacon, Irish people mean back bacon, which comes from the back of the pig instead of the belly. Some cooks use a piece of gammon. The BBC describes gammon as “meat from the hind legs of a pig that has been cured in the same way as bacon.” It is simply a piece of ham purchased raw for you to cook as you wish.
Simmer the bacon or gammon in water, and change the water if the bacon is still too salty. When the meat is ready, you add shredded cabbage to the pot. You can serve this up as is, but many Grannies add a side of potatoes and smother the plate with a parsley white sauce.
Dublin Coddle
Penny’s family is from the far north of Ireland, so Dublin Coddle was new to her. The simple technique used to make it is familiar from one of her favorite Portuguese fish stews, Caldeirada de Peixe. You layer the ingredients in a pot and set them to simmer, without stirring or much attention.
Those ingredients and preparation may vary from cook to cook. The simplest method is to alternate three layers of onion, potatoes, and Irish back bacon in a large pot, and season each layer with pepper. Add more onions on top, then arrange Irish or English sausages on them. Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of your layers, then bring the pot to a boil. Next, reduce it to a simmer and let it bubble away for an hour or two until the potatoes are done.
Today, some cooks dislike the look of naked sausages on top and brown them before beginning. Others cut the browned sausage into chunks. This is an easy stew that can simmer away all afternoon while you do other things. It also allows you to add other layers of things you love. We’ll add rutabaga and carrot.
Bangers and Mash
If you can make mashed potatoes and grill a hotdog you can make bangers and mash. The key to this dish is to find great Irish sausages called bangers, then grill them until they have a beautiful brown skin on the outside while staying juicy inside. We would vote to have these served with an onion gravy and peas on the side.
Find the Ingredients
We’d make a trip to Adams Village in Dorchester to find the ingredients for these meals. If you have a good local butcher, they may be able to help you find the exact meat needed or suggest a good substitute.
We finally suggest you find one of the more recent Irish food trends and can tell you exactly where to find it, thanks to an Irish pal. A Spice Bag is not one to make at home, but to experience in a serious Irish pub. This popular fry-up is available at McGonagle’s Pub & Restaurant in Dorchester. Their menu reads, “An Irish – Chinese Fusion Dish of Chicken, Peppers, Onions and Fries. Tossed in a Spice Mix, Served with Curry Sauce.” They do have a vegetarian option.
You don’t have to skip the corned beef and cabbage if you enjoy that as a once-a-year celebration of the green. However, in addition to those above, there are many simple Irish dishes that could make their way into your everyday mealplans.
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