My Top 10 Irish Dishes of 2019 #5

Duck tacos at McHugh’s Pub in Ennis

 

Another Eire-Mex masterpiece from McHugh’s Pub in Ennis! These sensational tacos featured a rich duck confit dressed with chili sauce served on Blanco Niño corn tortillas with some greens for texture. Duck confit is a perfect taco filling–it reminds me of the asados and guisadas that you find on the tacos in Mexico.

 

 

The folks at McHugh’s gave us the Tempura Monkfish tacos with mango slaw and lime chile salsa that came in at #2 on the 2018 Top 10 Irish Dishes countdown. 

 

As noted last year, McHugh’s on Parnell Street in downtown Ennis is owned by Western Herd, County Clare’s outstanding microbrewery. The pub showcases every beer Western Herd sells (and occasionally some that haven’t been released yet).You’ll often find chef/owner Maeve Sheridan working a shift in the kitchen. 

 

The Western Herd brewery is located on a cattle farm in Kilmaley, County Clare–Ireland’s Wild West. The owners, Michael Eustace and Maeve Sheridan (nee Eustace), are the eighth generation to raise livestock here. Cattle wander around and sometimes munch on the grass just outside the brewery building. Hence the “Western Herd” moniker and the cattle head logo. 

 

A beer for Irish cowboys!