Irish Bacon, Cabbage, and Parsley Sauce Recipe (Video)

Servings:

15

Want to eat like the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day? Then make this traditional Irish bacon dish. Irish bacon is not the same as what's typically enjoyed for breakfast; it’s a special preparation of pork loin available at Irish butchers. The meat is boiled and the cabbage is cooked in the same water the bacon cooks in, taking on some of the salt and pork flavor. The cabbage is tossed with butter for serving, the bacon is sliced, and a classic white sauce flavored with parsley is the favorite accompaniment—along with mashed potatoes of course!

This recipe is from Darina Allen's book Forgotten Skills of Cooking.

Directions

Boil bacon to desalt:

Place bacon in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. If bacon is very salty, a white froth will form on surface of water. In this case, discard water and start again. Repeat process until no froth forms on surface of water; drain.
Simmer bacon:

Cover bacon with hot water. Cover pot and simmer until almost cooked through, about 1 hour.
Slice cabbage, rinse, and add to pot with bacon:

Meanwhile, slice cabbage across the grain into thin shreds; rinse with cold water. Add the cabbage to pot with bacon and continue cooking 20 minutes more.
Warm milk with parsley stems and vegetables for sauce:

Place milk, parsley stems, carrot, and onion in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper; let simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Strain and discard solids, then set milk aside. Wipe out saucepan.
Make roux, whisk in reserved milk and cook; add chopped parsley:

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for two minutes. Whisk in reserved milk and cook, stirring, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; season with salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley and reduce heat to very low; simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove bacon; strain cabbage and toss with butter:

Remove bacon from pot; strain cabbage and transfer to a large bowl or serving platter. Add butter and season with pepper; toss to combine. Serve bacon and cabbage with parsley sauce and potatoes.