- Prep time 20 minutes | Cook time 3 hours 45 minutes – Serves four people
Equipment:
- Dutch oven or oven-safe pot with lid
Ingredients:
- 8 rashers of thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 chopped brown onions
- 4 minced cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of chopped spring onions, plus extra green tops for garnishing
- 1 cup of stout beer
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
- 1/4 cup of Italian flat-leaf parsley
- Freshly ground pepper to season
- 2 teaspoons of sea salt, or to taste – add at the end as it may not be required
- A pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1.3kg of waxy potatoes – we recommend Nadine, Jersey Benne, Red King Edward, Draga or Frisia (they will break down if they aren’t waxy), peeled and halved
- 4 cups of good quality chicken broth/stock
- 6-10 large pork sausages (if you can source Irish, that would be even better!)
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut into large chunks (optional)
- 1/4 of a large cabbage sliced (optional)
Cooking Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 150°C (note: you can cook on a very low heat on the stovetop if you like)
- Cook the bacon in your Dutch Oven or large oven-safe pot with a lid over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it’s evenly browned.
- Lower the heat, and add butter, onions and a pinch of salt (so your onions don’t burn) to the pan. Cook until your onions are soft and translucent, around 10 minutes.
- Add in your garlic and cup of chopped spring onions, cooking for two minutes.
- Pour in the beer, raise the temperature to high and reduce the liquid by 75% or so, stirring on occasion.
- While the stout is reducing, season the stew with your thyme, parsley, black pepper and cayenne if you wish to add a bit of heat.
- Once the liquid has reduced, add your potatoes (and carrots if you are having them) and your chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
- Prick your sausages on both sides and add to the pot on top of all the other ingredients.
- Put the lid on top of your oven-safe pot or Dutch oven and place it into the preheated oven. Cook for 2.5 hours before removing the lid (if you are adding Cabbage, now is the time to throw it into the pot, giving everything a quick stir) and cook for another hour uncovered.
- Remove from the oven, skim any excess fat from the top.
- Taste for seasoning, add more salt if required, sprinkle with some green spring onion ends for garnish, and serve up with some Irish Soda Bread and a glass of Guinness. Enjoy!
RECIPE BY ALLRECIPES CHEF JON MITZEWICH