A rustic Irish dish, done "Vrghr style". A bit too "tight" to be a stew, but a bit more broth and "looser" than a casserole. This very hearty and flavorful dish features sausage (English "bangers"), bacon, potatoes, onions, and carrots with some ham-stock broth and a few spices.

From wuff's research, the "Coddle" likely comes from caudle, which derives from the French term meaning ‘to boil gently, parboil or stew’. A popular dish for using leftover pork and rashers on Thursdays for those who weren't eating meat on a Friday. And it could be set to simmering slowly in the morning, to be dished up late in the evening with no effort when folks arrived home.

Many recipes simply toss everything in a heavy stew pot or Dutch oven. But Vrghr browned the sausages a bit before adding them to the slow cooker, to get bit more flavor out of them. The bacon, likewise, was fried up a little to render off some of the fat and give it more 'fried bacon-y" flavor. Lastly, the onions were sauteed in the rendered bacon fat for a bit before they went into the pot.

Then it was on with the lid and "just walk away". 4 1/2 hours later (on high) we had a fabulous, rich, hearty, and deeply flavorful dish that fed 7 hungry folks, with 2 servings left over after some folks had seconds.

The dish gathers a large part of its flavor from the sausage, so choosing different types will result in quite a different result. This isn't a bad thing, as you can mix and match this to "tune it up" for your particular tastes, or to vary the flavors from time to time to keep things interesting.

For extra decadent results, dab a nice big pat of Irish (or European style) butter on top when you serve it, and let it melt down among the potatoes and onions. Don't forget a nice thick slab of Soda Bread to sop of the thick gravy-like broth!

While we did this for our Saint Patrick's party, this would be delightful for a cold wintry or blustery-rainy day too!

NOTE: The Bacon, Sausage, and Ham Stock will bring PLENTY of salt to this dish. Make sure to use Low Sodium Garlic Garni and avoid adding any extra salt until you taste things!

Ingredients:
3 packs Saag’s Bangers sausage (~1 ½ lb)
1 lb Thick Bacon, Cubed
2 lg Onions, chopped
2-3 Carrots, sliced
~4 lg Russet Potatoes (~3-4lbs), peeled & sliced
1 1/2 C Ham Stock (1 1/2 C hot water + 2 TBS Better Than Bullion Ham Base)
2 Tbs Parsley
1 Tbs minced Garlic
1 tsp dried Tarragon
1 tsp dried rubbed Sage
2 tsp low sodium Garlic Garni (http://www.garlicfestival.com/low-s.....rlic-seasoning)

Irish Butter (for garnish)

Directions:
Peel and slice the russet potatoes and the carrots about 1/4" thick
Rough chop the onions
Dice the thick sliced bacon into 1/2" chunks
Mix 2 Tbs of Ham Base with 1 1/2C hot water and whisk together until dissolved. Whisk in the minced garlic, the dried herbs, and the Garlic Garni (low sodium)

In a large skillet over high heat, fry the bacon until the fat is translucent and some brown marks start around the edges. DO NOT fry it until crispy! Remove from the skillet and set aside
Add the sausages to the fry pan in the bacon grease, and fry until browned on one side. Flip over and fry the same on the other side. Remove and set aside with the bacon
Add the chopped onions to the bacon and sausage fat and fry until they start to turn translucent. Remove from heat.

In a large crockpot/slow-cooker, layer half the potatoes, onions, carrots, partly fried bacon, and browned sausages. Pour over half of the Ham Stock and spices mixture.
Repeat layers a second time with the remainder of the ingredients.

Cover and cook on High setting for 4-5 hours, until potatoes and carrots are tender

Serve with a pat of Irish Butter melting on top, and a slab of buttered Soda Bread on the side

!!DEVOUR!!