Saturday, March 9, 2013

St. Patrick's Day Irish Pound Pot

My son was asking about St. Patrick's Day and what traditional foods they ate in Ireland. It inspired me to do a pound pot. A pound pot is used for a lot of occasions. It can be for soups, stews, seafood boils, but I decided to do an Irish Pound Pot. These are fun because nothing is exact. It's all about, as the name implies, about a pound. For liquid measurements you will just use a pint because, as the old saying goes, "A Pint's a Pound the Whole World 'Round!" So this will be easy--I'll just give a list of ingredients and just assume it's all a pint or a pound of that ingredient. Only thing that won't be a pound are the seasonings. Now keep in mind that this ain't a pretty dish, but a hearty pot of delicious, heartwarming Irish goodness.

Ingredients
  • Bacon or Pork Belly, chopped
  • Sauerkraut
  • Polish Sausage or your favorite cased sausage, whole or choped
  • Potatoes, chopped 1'' cubes
  • Carrots, chopped 1 1/4'' length
  • Brussel Sprouts or Chopped Cabbage
  • Pint of Guinness Beer (1 Bottle or 1 Can)
  • 1/3 C White Vinegar
  • 1T Granulated Garlic Powder
  • 1.5T Kosher Salt
  • 1t Ground Black Pepper
  1. In a large pot, bring heat to high and cook bacon/pork belly until fat is rendered.
  2. Place sauerkraut into pot and stir to mix.
  3. Place sausage on top of sauerkraut and bacon/pork belly
  4. Place all other ingredients into the pot.
  5. Cover, bring to a boil, stir to incorporate all seasonings, reduce to a simmer and replace the cover.
  6. Let simmer until all veggies are done and all sausage is cooked throughout (about 35 minutes)
  7. Enjoy!