Boxty on the griddle; boxty on the pan.
If you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man!
Boxty, a potato dish whose quality only increases with massive amounts of butter, has several ties to St. Brigid’s Day (Feb 1), which will become a national bank holiday in 2023. In Bríd Mahon’s Land of Milk and Honey, she lists freshly churned butter, a “cake as big as a cartwheel” made of flour, curds, milk, and egg, button, bacon, fowl, colcannon, boxty bread and dumplings, and sowans/flummery as traditional St. Brigid’s Day foods.
Like champ, boxty is associated with NI and the northern midlands, particularly southern Ulster and northern Connacht, more specifically Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Fermanagh, Longford, Leitrim, and Cavan.
St. Brigid’s Day / Imbolc
The feast of Saint Brigid of Kildare (Lá Fhéile Bríde) is celebrated on February 1st each year. She is one of the three national saints of Ireland, alongside Saint Patrick and Saint Columba/Colmcille. Fergus Kelly, in his great text Early Irish Farming, supports the theory that St. Brigid’s Day is a christianization of Imbolc, a Celtic spring festival. Cormac mac Cuilennáin calls this Óilmec, or isi aimser andsin tic ass cairach melg (the time that the sheep’s milk comes), an ancient spring festival associated with Brigit, a pagan earth goddess who was “transformed into a saint whose mythical career is described in Bethu Brigte and other texts and whose feast is celebrated on February 1.” Brigit (“exalted” or “bright one”) was a pre-Christian triple goddess with strong associations to domestic animals and poetry. Catholic Brigid, the patron saint of cattle, is the queen of dairy – she had a magical cow (often white with red ears, a recurring theme in Irish mythology) and was able to multiply milk and butter.
She was also represented by, and had mastery over, light and fire (think of the perpetual flame in Kildare) just like her pagan counterpart, and early traditions included driving cattle through specially woven rope or fire.
Some customs survived into the 19th century, which may or may not be carried over from Imbolc:
- Freshly cut rushes were spread on the floor and doorstep, where one would kneel outside, sometimes holding the rushes, humbling themselves before Brigid. They would knock three times and ask “can Biddy come in,” or “kneel down and let St. Brigid in,” while those inside would repeat that she was welcome.
- The rushes were also made into crosses, which were hung around the house and in the outhouses and left up until the next year. This is the familiar three- or four-armed cross seen alongside traditional symbols of Ireland.
- Pieces of cloth, ribbon, or scarves were hung outside or on bushes for Brigid to bless, and then used throughout the year as a cure for sore throats and headaches. Sometimes oaten bread (bannock) and wool were left on the doorstep or in the window for the same purpose.
- Holy wells like St. Brigid’s Well in Co. Clare and Co. Kildare would be visited.
- Animals were left outside during the night as it was believed they would be protected.
- Doors were left open, fires lit, and clothes laid out for Brigid.
- “Biddy boys” or young girls would go door to door in disguise collecting money, flour, eggs, bread, or milk.
- The girls would sometimes carry with them a Brídeóg, a straw or wood doll (sometimes a butter churn handle would be used) dressed in white. This would be accompanied by a version of the following: “Here comes poor Brigid both deaf and both blind, put your hand in your pocket and give her a coin. If you haven’t a penny a halfpenny will do, if you haven’t a halfpenny God bless you.” “This is Saint Brigid dressed in white. Give her some thing to honor the night. Give her nothing black but something white.”
Boxty
In its most basic form, boxty is a mixture of mashed potatoes, grated raw potatoes, and flour, which is either made into cakes, dumplings, or a pancake-like batter and cooked on a griddle, boiled, or baked. There are two possible sources for “boxty:” arán bocht tí, poor-house bread, or bacstaí, which several sources point to as meaning “bakery,” but as Malachi McCormick says in Irish Country Cooking translates to “a bread made from the raw pulp of potatoes.” As for the use of the word in other contexts: ““Boxty” was sometimes used figuratively to express confused fumbling, as when an indignant client rounded on his solicitor and told him that he had “made boxty” of his case” (Irish Times, 15 Jan 1931).
As stated above, this is a popular northern dish, but today is eaten all over. While searching both Irish and Irish-American sources, boxty was often viewed with a sense of nostalgia – which highlighted its good, and not so good (read: digestible) qualities.
The first newspaper mention comes from 1829:
Yes, there was boxty bread to be made, to take, if they liked, with their tea; and for his purpose a basket of raw-peeled potatoes was ground upon the rough side of a tin collinder, and afterwards put into a sheet, (for table-cloth they had none,) which was twisted in contrary directions by two of the softest men about the house, until it was shrunk up into a round hard lump in the middle, and made quite dry; it was then taken, and (being mixed with a little flour, and some of Katty’s questionable butter) formed into flat cakes, and baked upon the griddle.
Roscommon & Leitrim Gazette, 17 Jan 1829
Several accounts from Duchas mention these homemade graters and colanders, fashioned out of tin boxes or lids with holes punched through using nails, and a sort of strainer was made by turning a chair upside down, tying a cloth to each leg, and placing a bowl in the middle.
There are a few primary source references to boxty being made out of the “good portions” of affected potatoes during famine years, which is supported by Margaret Hickey in Ireland’s Green Larder. Quinn and Delay credit this to the “creative stretching” of Irish women acting as “watchdogs” over food supplies in “Bounty, Moderation, and Miracles: Women and Food in Narratives of the Great Famine.” In 1854, Sir William Wilde attested to its popularity with children, noting it was alternatively referred to as ‘scotchy,’ ‘buck-bread,’ or ‘stampy’ (“a deluxe version of boxty bread”) in the south.
Nowadays boxty is a luxury and is only made in the country on “Set Nights”. But in the years (eighty) eighteen eighty and eighteen seventy when the crops failed, owing to the damp summers, boxty first made its appearance. It was the chief food of the peasantry at that time.
Charles Campbell, Frosses, Co. Donegal (NFCS 1036:26)
In a few such neighbourhoods, too, “boxty” will be made and eaten. How that strange confection is prepared none of the cookery-books can tell, and the most that is known to the mere male observer of culinary processes is that raw potatoes are crushed and strained until a dry, white pith remains, which is the foundation of the finished dainty. This taste for “boxty” seems to be dying with the hardier generations. Served to the delicate palates of to-day, it might be mistaken for roasted shoe-leather. A Donegal poet, it is true, in a Gaelic hymn in praise of his fellow country-man’s Hallowe’en dish, declares that a diet of “boxty” was the secret of the victories of the Fianna, and that Brian fed his armies upon it before the battle of Clontarf.
Irish Times, 31 October 1925
Another dubious claim was that Napoleon “fed his army on boxty with highly successful results” while crossing the Alps (Derry Journal 17 April 1942). Apart from St. Brigid’s Day, boxty was also a popular Halloween dish:
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the eating of boxty makes a man of one, but I do know that it takes a man—and a strong one—to digest it. In the West of Ireland, I remember, it was a favourite Halloweve dish when I was a child. At school one day a boy suddenly collapsed and fell in a dead faint on the floor. When the teacher had succeeded in reviving him she said: “What in the world happened to you, son!” and he was just able to gasp “Halloweve.” “Oh! I see—Boxty,” was her reply, and the diagnosis was complete.”
Belfast News-Letter, 4 Feb 1936
Boxty seemed to always feature in the Gaeltacht, especially on St. Brigid’s Day, and a 1940s flour shortage saw a resurgence of the dish.
“Boxty bread with a good helping of butter and strong tea, is the meal prepared in every part of the Donegal Gaeltacht to-night. Boxty was used by our ancestors, and was the supper to which we all eagerly looked forward.”
Derry Journal, 31 Jan 1940
In 1984, a five-person company called Beeseas Limited from Belmullet, Co Mayo received 120,000 pounds in backing from Udaras na Gaeltachta. After giving out samples of boxty during a Gaeltacht Industry exhibition, they identified “handsome markets” in the United States, the UK, and Europe. According to one of the founders, “Irish stores in all the major u.S. cities want to stock the potato cake. There is great nostalgia amongst Irish-Americans for the ‘boxty’ because of the role it played in sustaining their ancestors during the Famine.”
The preparation for each type of boxty is similar. After the raw potatoes were grated, the water was squeezed out, sometimes in a “boxty bag,” like cheesecloth. It was common practice to use the starch that settled on the bottom for linen – one pound of potatoes provided about two ounces of starch.
There are several different types of boxty, as identified by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and Pádraic Óg Gallagher in “The Potato in Irish Cuisine and Culture,” who break it down into three categories (boiled, loaf, and pancakes), but I’m going to add a fourth (griddle/cakes). There is also another way called “German boxty” which involves cooking it in boiling fat.
The preparation for each type of boxty is similar. Raw potatoes are grated and the excess liquid squeezed out (sometimes into a “boxty bag”). The starch that collected at the bottom was often used for linen – one pound of potatoes provided about two ounces of starch. If not saved for laundry, it’s added back into the mixture. The grated potatoes are then combined with an equal part cooked mashed potatoes, then bound with flour, seasoned with salt, and milk is added until the desired consistency is reached.
“BOXTY ON THE GRIDDLE” – BOXTY CAKES/BAKED BOXTY
The boxty mixture is formed into round, thick cakes and baked on a griddle until cooked through, or cut into “farls” (quarters). This is similar to potato latkes.
“First, the raw potatoes – the best and biggest ones were brought in and washed thoroughly and the eyes or buds removed and after-wards the skin was peeled off. Then the grater and basin were procured and the potatoes were grated one by one by rubbing them up and down on the rough side of the grater. (The grater was an oblong piece of tin full of little holes and was rough on one side and smooth on the other) until the potato was turned into a soft watery pulp. This grating of the potatoes was continued until there was quite a big amount of the pulp in the basin – sufficient to make several cakes or dumplings according to the size of the family. Next a strong piece of clean white calico – preferably a piece of a strong flour bag was got and the pulp was put into the cloth – a handful or two at a time and squeezed almost dry and then it was put down on the table and some flour and salt and a little cold, mashed potatoes were added and all were mixed thoroughly together and then kneaded into a good-sized cake about an inch thick which was made smooth on both sides by rubbing a pinch of flour all over it. Then it was cut into four or eight pieces called farls after which it was put down to bake on the hot pan or griddle which was heating beside the fire. When the pieces were crusted on one side they were turned and the other side got crusted. Then they were frequently turned from side to side until baked.” – Carrigeen, Co. Roscommon (NFCS 0255:153)
“BOXTY ON THE PAN” – PAN/PANCAKE BOXTY
Enough milk is added to achieve a batter of “dropping” consistency, with the optional addition of an egg or baking soda, and the boxty is then fried on a pan and flipped like a pancake.
“Large (raw) potatoes are peeled and then grated on a grater in a basin. The grater is made from tin with holes punched with a nail and the potatoes are grated on the rough side. A few handfuls of flour and some salt is added and the mixture is spread on the pan like a pancake. When the underside is nicely baked the cake is turned and the other side is baked. Six or seven of these cakes are made and when well buttered make a delightful meal with tea. A person can fast far longer on boxty than any other meal.” – P. Mac Giolla Choinnigh, Sunnagh More, Co. Leitrim (NFCS 0221:111)
BOILED BOXTY/BOXTY DUMPLINGS
Orange-sized balls, cakes, or “hurleys” were shaped from the boxty dough, and boiled or simmered in water from anywhere from five minutes to an hour. After cooling, the balls are sliced and fried in butter.
Here is the disclaimer for boiled boxty from Traditional Irish Cooking, which, after trying this myself, is an understatement:
I will not be posting pictures – it tasted better than it looked. In addition to pan and loaf boxty, McNiffe’s of Leitrim sells premade boiled boxty.
“The boiled boxty was prepared in this way:- Potatoes were peeled and grated. Then the water squeezed out of them through a cloth. What was left in the cloth was mixed with boiled potatoes and salt. Then if too dry was wet with a little new milk. It was then shaped into cakes called dumplings and put into a pot of boiling water with a plate at the bottom to keep the dumplings from sticking. They were kept boiling until they were boiled through. They were then taken up and eaten with butter, honey or “flour brocán”. The “flour brocán” was made like white sauce. Some new milk was put in the fire to boil. A little cold new milk was mixed with flour and stirred into the boiling milk and sweetened with sugar.” – James Kiernan, Drumbreanlis, Co. Leitrim (NFCS 0228:085)
LOAF BOXTY/BOXTY BREAD
The preparation is the same as boxty dumplings, but after kneading, the boxty is baked in a greased tin for about an hour. This was also called “buck bread.” Sometimes currants and raisins were added.
“We make a boxty loaf every two evenings for the next mornings’ breakfast. It nearly always does two mornings. First I get about 15 good sized potatoes. Then they are washed and peeled thoroughly. Then they are grated in a basin with a grater. When they are grated they are mixed with three handfuls of flour and a pinch of salt. The oven must be well greased and real hot when one is putting in the boxty. It is left down to bake for about two hours. It is warmed on the pan for the next mornings breakfast with some lard or bacon. We call it Father Killduffs (RIP) boxty loaf because it was he who gave us the recipe.” – Mrs. Michael McGuire, Moyne, Co. Longford (NFCS 0767:097)
VARIATIONS
Malachi McCormick recommends adding half a chopped onion to the grated potatoes, which again is very similar to a latke. Caraway seeds are a popular addition to sweeter and loaf varieties, as well as sweet milk and sugar. There were a few references to a version called “dippity,” particularly from a Mr. Patrick Gallagher, born in Cleendra, Co. Donegal in 1873 in Theodora FitzGibbon’s A Taste of Ireland, that was served with milk and salt.
Folklore
In keeping with similar food customs, rings were often wrapped in paper and hidden in boxty on Halloween for those destined to marry that year.
There are many traditional rhymes about boxty, besides the well-known “boxty on the griddle.” Here are a few that I came across while doing research:
1. Two pounds of boxty baked in the pan,
Everyone came in got a farl in their han’
Butter on the one side, sugar on the tother,
Sure them that gave me that,
They were better than my mother
2. The boxty mill began to shrill,
It sounded like a fiddle
She strained it through her ould shift tail
And clapped it on the griddle,
Said the mother to the daughter:
“I think we want some butter,
For he seems to be a decent man,
Shure, we’ll trate him to his supper.”
So she whipped the six cuts off the reel,
And doun to Nancy Dawson,
And the ould man in the corner cries,
“An’ don’t forget the rosin!”
3. I’ll have none of your boxty,
Nor I’ll have none of your blarney,
But I’ll whirl the petticoats over my head
And be off with my Royal Charlie
4. The ballyhoo baigles, with their shins all red,
Blowin’ up the fire till the boxty-bread (from County Armagh)
5. Round the old turf fire with boxty on the pan
Sure there’s o one half as happy as meself and Mary Ann
Love of my heart the potatoes
That need not kiln nor mix
But the digging in the garden and their laying on the fire
6. Boxty on the griddle
And boxty on the pan;
The wee one in the middle
It is for Mary Ann
7. The girls from the mountain their eyes are red,
Blowing the coals to the boxty bread
8. Three pans of boxty, baking all the day,
What use is boxty without a cup of tay?
The children in those days got very little ‘tay.’ Each one got a nice tin porringer of milk and sat up to the table and ate hot buttered boxty to the fill–and we lived.
Grannie Doyle of Lennox Street, Feasting Galore, Maura Laverty
Pan Boxty Recipe
This recipe for pan boxty is from Pádraic Óg Gallagher of Gallagher’s Boxty House in Temple Bar, Dublin. I remember going there when I was little and trying boxty for the first time – I didn’t like it at first! However, next time I go back I look forward to trying their boxty fries.
Boxty can be served with butter, bacon, eggs, smoked salmon, chives, curry, crème fraîche, custard, fruit, honey, sugar, or anything you like.
To make this recipe vegan, used plant-based milk in the batter and plant-based butter when frying.
INGREDIENTS
300g (2 medium to large) raw potatoes, peeled
300g (2 medium to large) cooked potatoes, mashed (you can use leftover champ!)
300g (1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons) flour
10g (about 2 teaspoons) salt
850ml (about 24 fl oz, or 3 cups) milk
METHOD
1. Grate raw potatoes into cloth and wring out liquid into bowl, then let stand for about 20 minutes.
2. Discard liquid and set aside leftover starch.
3. Mix grated potatoes into flour and mashed potatoes, then add salt and starch.
4. Add ¾ milk to form a pourable batter, adding or retaining milk as necessary.
5. Rest batter for 30 minutes.
6. Using a ladle, drop onto a buttered or oiled nonstick pan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes until golden in color, adjusting heat as necessary.
7. Flip and cook other side for another 2-3 minutes.
Best the next day, reheated in butter.
Boxty Bread
From Savor the Flavour – not a traditional recipe (most don’t use baking powder), but this is a fairly nice and simple one as opposed to the absolute brick you may get otherwise.
To make this bread vegan, use plant-based butter and milk.
INGREDIENTS
200g (1 cup) plain mashed potatoes
200g (1 ⅔ cups) flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
55g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
75ml (about ⅓ cup) milk
200g (7oz, 2 medium) peeled and coarsely grated russet potatoes
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Warm mashed potatoes and combine with melted butter, salt, baking powder, and flour.
3. Peel and grate potatoes, wring out liquid and stir into mixture.
4. Gradually add milk until dough comes together, then turn out and knead gently.
5. Shape into disc, score deeply and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Bake for around 40 minutes until golden.
Further reading:
Danaher, Kevin. The Year in Ireland. A Calendar. Mercier Press, 2001.
Mac Con Iomaire, Máirtín & Óg Gallagher, Pádraic. “The Potato in Irish Cuisine and Culture.” Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 7:2-3, 2009, 152-167.
Mahon, Bríd. Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink. Dufour Editions, 1992.
Nic Philibín, Caitríona & Mac Con Iomaire, Máirtín. “An exploratory study of food traditions associated with Imbolg (St. Brigid’s Day) from The Irish Schools’ Folklore Collection.” Folk Life, 59:2, 2021, 1-20.
cleite agus cnámh 