Coming to Ireland and getting up to speed with the locals’ favourite dinners/dishes is going to prepare you in good stead for your trip. From hearty stews to tasty bacon and a few local delicacies thrown in, these are the dishes you are going to be seeing a lot on restaurant menus, wherever you decide to dine. The Irish staple food is potatoes and meals are usually hearty and filling, no salads welcome!
Irish Stew – This hearty meal is a favourite on dinner tables and considered the national dish of Ireland/ A favourite in winter months, the dish is prepared like a one pot casserole and beef, or lamb is commonly added to onions, carrots, potatoes and oxtail soup. Traditionally, mutton or lamb was always used but as time went on, more people had a preference for beef. Some people also prefer to omit soup or any sauce mix as they believe this spoils the true flavour of the meat. Some restaurants offer a Guinness Stew option, which is a clever marriage of our national dish and drink! If your trip happens to fall during bad weather, then you will be happy to find a hearty stew on the menu of a restaurant.
Bacon and Cabbage – A tasty favourite, bacon and cabbage is a welcome addition to many Irish kitchen tables on a rainy day. It is a meal of sliced back bacon, green cabbage, and potatoes. Sometimes, parsley or white sauce is added as an accompaniment. As Irish emigration to the U.S.A. became popular, the recipe took on a different identity and many Irish Americans may be more familiar with corned beef and cabbage. Corned beef was substituted for bacon and that recipe is used to this day by Irish Americans, especially on St. Patricks Day.
Coddle This is an old school Dublin dish and a favourite of many older Dubliners. Cheap and cheerful, it was consumed in a generation when money was tight so meals had to be nutritious and tasty but cheap. Boiled sausages, potatoes, onions and bacon are boiled and some salt, pepper and parsley is used to season. The name coddle comes from coddle which means to cook food in water below boiling. The recipe itself can stoke controversy with different recipes handed down through generations. Some people like to add carrots even though this is not in the original recipe whereas others add tomato soup. If you would like to try a local dish when in Dublin, then fear not as Coddle is a common feature on bar/restaurant menus.
Full Irish Breakfast – Breakfast like a King and nowhere has that saying been applied more than in Ireland. The Full Irish is a tasty mix of sausage, bacon, black and white pudding, fried eggs, hash brown and beans. It is the most popular breakfast choice in service stations, cafés, and restaurants throughout Ireland. Commonly served with toast and tea/coffee, it is the perfect meal to fuel you for a busy day of travelling. The salt may also help to cure a hangover, as a lot of Irish people will attest to!
Colcannon Mash mixed with kale or cabbage, a hearty side to meat and vegetables for dinner.
Boxty A potato pancake. Finely grated raw and mashed potato, flour and buttermilk and baking soda are used to make Boxty and the pancake is then cooked like a pancake.
Black Pudding – This a staple for a “full Irish breakfast” but the ingredients are perhaps not for the faint hearted. The pudding is made using sausage made from cooked pigs’ blood, oats, onions, seasonings, and rusk. There is also a white pudding variation which doesn’t contain blood.
