Ok, since I’m super-obsessed with this Irish pub called MacCool’s (see my other post about Boxty’s) and St. Patrick’s Day is on Monday, I figured that I absolutely needed to share at least one more dish from their menu that my husband, Ben, recreated – this awesomely delicious Potato and Sausage Breakfast Casserole. And, no it is not just for breakfast, but it’s full of all sorts of yummy and savory breakfast “stuff”.
So is this really authentic Irish cuisine? Well, I dunno, but it’s got potatoes, it’s got sausage, and it’s got an amazing gravy……so I’ll go for it!
By the way, how do you feel about dicing? This recipe gives you a little bit of practice as you have to dice all of the potatoes into small cubes. Ben dices the perfect little hash brown cubes; me, not so much. It’s taken a bit of work to get there. I’ve kind of resorted to the cheater’s method by getting one of those little potato choppers (kind of like this one) to take out part of the work (this can also be great for french fries!). To keep them the most uniform with my particular version of chopper, it’s easiest to peel them, and then slice them 1/4″ width-wise (into circular bits) and then take a half stack at a time and push ’em through the chopper. I swear Ben can still chop ’em just as fast doing it all by hand as I can with this contraption. But hey, if it makes it where I can actually do the job respectably, then I’ll take it!
Oh yeah, and don’t forget the fried eggs on top folks. Why is it that a fried egg on top just makes life better?
"Irish" Potato and Sausage Breakfast Casserole: Classic Style
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes about 5 medium, peeled & diced into small cubes
- 1 ounce hot Italian sausage link 4
- 1 3/4 cup beef broth - I prefer to use water and beef base to get my broth 14 ounce can
- 2 tablespoons red cooking wine
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 8 ounces shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese about 2 cups, divided
- 20 leaves basil or 1 tablespoon dried, rough chop
- 1 roasted red bell pepper diced
- 2 green onions white parts discarded, green parts chopped
- 4 eggs
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter until melted and sizzling.
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Add diced potatoes to skillet, creating one flat layer over bottom of entire skillet.
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Cook for 7-10 minutes or until potatoes are crispy and evenly browned on bottom.
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Flip over as uniformly as possible and cook for another 7-10 minutes until other side gets nice and browned.
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Note on the potatoes: Do not over flip these as it may result in soggy potatoes! Give each side time to get nicely browned and crispy. You want to have the potatoes getting done about the exact time you want to mix everything together to throw into the oven. If potatoes are done cooking, and you are not quite ready for them, just flip again, let them continue to crisp and keep a close eye on them. If they are starting to get too dark, turn heat down to just keep them warm until further use.
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Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over medium heat.
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Remove sausage link from casing and cook until browned, 5-7 minutes, breaking up into small pieces with spatula as it cooks.
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Put cooked sausage in large bowl to reserve for later.
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Return to saucepan and add beef broth and cooking wine.
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In a very small bowl, mix together about 1/4 cup of the broth and the cornstarch to prevent lumping. Add to sauce pan and whisk.
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Add dried rosemary.
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Continue heating broth until starting to bubble and thicken, about 5-7 minutes, whisking frequently to avoid lumps and sticking to the bottom of pan.
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Once gravy is thickened, add 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat.
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Return to big bowl where sausage is reserved. Add basil leaves, roasted red bell pepper, and green onions. Add hot crispy diced hash browns straight from the pan. Quickly toss together until evenly distributed.
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Add gravy and stir together until evenly distributed. Mixture should have a decent amount of gravy, but not appear soupy. If you are concerned that you have too much sauce, reserve some of it to add after the initial mix.
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Place hash brown mixture in a 2.5 quart casserole dish.
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Top with remaining Cheddar cheese.
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Place in oven and cook for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is starting to melt.
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Turn to broil and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese starts to bubble and turns brown on top. (Watch closely to make sure it doesn't burn!)
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While cheese is melting, return to your large skillet.
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Add additional butter to coat pan (if needed). Pan should still be on medium heat and already preheated from before.
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Crack four eggs into pan.
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Fry until whites are set and yolks are still runny.
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Slide eggs on top of casserole and serve warm!
Recipe Notes
Change it Up:
Substitute chicken broth (or base), white wine, and Swiss cheese for a bit different taste.
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