Dublin Coddle — Irish Sausages with Bacon and Potatoes

Preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 170°C. Have ready a wide ovenproof pot, approximately 5 l in capacity and approximately 26 cm in diameter, with a well-fitting lid. Cut the peeled potatoes into slices approximately 1.5 cm thick, the onions into half-moons approximately 5 mm thick, and the bacon into pieces approximately 2 cm across. Leave the sausages whole, and finely chop the parsley and set it aside for serving.

Put the bacon in the cold pot and cook over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, until the fat renders and the edges brown lightly. Transfer the bacon to a plain plate with a slotted spoon, leaving all the fat in the pot. Brown the raw sausages in this fat in two batches of four, for approximately 5–6 minutes per batch, turning until lightly browned; transfer them to the bacon. This is only preliminary browning: the sausages still need to cook thoroughly in the oven.

Add the onions to the same pot and cook over medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Pour in 100 ml of unsalted poultry broth and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. This makes a flavorful liquid base with the onions and rendered fat; do not pour anything off.

Return the bacon, sausages, and all the juices from the plate to the pot. Add the whole bay leaf, thyme, and pepper, then arrange the potato slices on top so they overlap. Pour in the remaining 500 ml of unsalted broth: the liquid should flow between the ingredients and does not need to cover the top layer of potatoes. Bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop and cover with the well-fitting lid.

Place the covered pot on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 90–105 minutes at 170°C on the conventional (no-fan) setting. The potatoes should be tender in every layer and easily pierced with a fork, and the sausages must be fully cooked in the center. If the potatoes are still firm or the sausages need more cooking, continue baking with the lid on; allow any longer cooking time recommended by the sausage manufacturer. The meat must be thoroughly cooked before the final browning in the open pot.

Remove the lid and increase the temperature to 200°C, keeping the conventional (no-fan) setting. Bake without the lid for another 15–20 minutes, until some of the potato edges turn lightly golden and the broth reduces a little. There should still be broth to spoon out of the pot; the potatoes should be tender, not dried out and crisp.

Take the pot out of the oven, remove the bay leaf, and let stand for approximately 10 minutes. Scatter over all the chopped parsley, letting some of the leaves fall into the broth. Divide into four portions, each with two sausages, bacon, onions, and potatoes, and spoon over the broth from the bottom of the pot. Serve hot; the bacon and sausages season the dish, so do not add salt.