This flavorful dish consists of seafood such as salmon, prawns, white fish, and haddock, paired with milk, cream, and vegetables such as onions, potatoes, carrots, and garlic. The chowder is popular both as a refreshing course in the hot summer months, and a rich, comforting winter dish.
It is recommended to garnish the bowl of chowder with some fresh, finely chopped parsley.
MOST ICONIC Irish Seafood Chowder
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Mussels in cream is a traditional dish originating from Ireland, and it's especially popular in Donegal and Cork. Although there are many variations on this simple dish, it's often made with a combination of scrubbed and debearded mussels, butter, heavy cream, flour, salt, and pepper.
The mussels are heated in a skillet until the shells open, and any unopened mussels are discarded. A roux is made from butter and flour, and it's then mixed with a bit of water and heavy cream until the sauce thickens. The sauce is seasoned with salt and pepper and it's then mixed with the mussels and their juices.
In the past, stout and raw oysters were considered a poor man's lunch, and although even today this combination may raise eyebrows, they do complement each other well by balancing, yet enhancing their contrasting flavors. It is believed that this pairing was created in the 19th century with the invention of stout, and many credit Galway as the place of origin, which is no surprise given that it is a harbor city.
Shucked oysters are typically served alongside lemon wedges and a glass of stout, but there have been inventions in this department as well, such as shucked oysters topped with stout granita.
MOST ICONIC Stout and Raw Oysters
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Dublin Bay prawns with mayonnaise is a traditional dish that's often found in seafood restaurants, especially along southern and southeastern coasts. It's usually made with a combination of fresh Dublin Bay prawns, lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt, and chives.
The prawns are placed in a pot of boiling water, drained, refreshed with cold water, and the meat is pulled out of the shells in one piece. The meat is left to cool down to room temperature, deveined, and the prawns are rinsed and dried with paper towels.
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Skate in brown butter is a traditional fish dish originating from Ireland. The dish is usually made with a combination of skate, onions, bay leaves, parsley, lemon juice, butter, white wine vinegar, capers, and salt. Skate (or ray) wings are placed in a skillet with onions, bay leaves, parsley, water, lemon juice, and salt.
The ingredients are cooked until the flesh easily lifts from the cartilage. The butter is melted until brown in a saucepan and then mixed with white wine vinegar, capers, and salt. The skate is divided into individual portions and drizzled with brown butter.
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This classic Irish dish combines thick and creamy bisque with Dublin Bay prawns. The bisque is made from a mix of various vegetables (usually onions, shallots, potatoes, or tomatoes), milk or tomato purée, double cream, and seasonings such as parsley, thyme, fennel, paprika, and bay leaves.
Some recipes also suggest adding an alcoholic drink such as cognac, sherry, or wine. The mix is first cooked in butter and then puréed, which gives the dish its rich and creamy texture. Before they can be added to the bisque, the prawns need to be boiled and cleaned.
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Dublin lawyer is a traditional dish that's named after the city's wealthy lawyers and their love for whiskey. Although there are variations made with shrimp or crab, the dish is usually made with a combination of lobster and a sauce consisting of butter, whiskey, heavy cream, salt, and black pepper.
The lobster meat is cooked in the sauce until it becomes reduced and thick in consistency. The dish is served with pasta, rice, or toasted slices of bread for mopping up the sauce.
This comforting seafood chowder originates from Greencastle in County Donegal, Ireland. It is especially popular on colder days of the year and it's made with a plethora of ingredients such as fish stock, salmon, haddock, butter, onions, carrots, leeks, celery, dill, pink peppercorns, flour, salt, pepper, milk, and Angostura bitters.
The chowder is cooked until the vegetables are fully tender and the liquid becomes slightly reduced. The dish is typically garnished with cream and parsley, then served with scones on the side. Greencastle chowder originates from Kealys Seafood Bar and was invented by its late owner, James Kealy.
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