Classic Bangers & Mash

 

One of the most iconic and popular dishes in the UK has to be Classic Bangers & Mash.  Its right up there with Fish & Chips and Curry and Rice.  And let's not forget, Sunday lunch Roast Beef.

And really, in my opinion, the British have some of the best sausages in the world.  I totally fell in love with British sausage, and by that I don't mean the cheap and nasty ones. They are pretty blah everywhere.  I mean the nice and thick, meaty, butcher's style of sausage.

 

Most localities in the U.K. pretty much had their own variety of sausage. Newmarket, Lincolnshire, Cumberland, etc. My favorites of all were the Cumberland sausage, which were nice and spicy.

You can actually tell a good Butcher in the U.K. by his sausages.  We had some very good local butchers where I lived and I would have chosen any one of their sausages over a store market brand any day of the week.

A favorite way of enjoying those sausages was this very classic dish of Bangers & Mash.  Beautifully cooked and browned thick pork sausages in a lush onion gravy, served alongside of fluffy, buttery, mashed potatoes.  Its a dish that you just can't beat! 

 

This recipe which I am sharing today comes from a cookery book by Tamasin Day-Lewis entitled Tamasin's Kitchen Bible. Tamasin is the sister of the actor Daniel Day-Lewis and is an excellent television chef and food critic who has written more than a dozen cookery books.

I always loved watching her on the television and I loved her no-nonsense approach to cooking and food.  Very simple and non-pretentious and very classic, comforting, rural and seasonal.  I have never cooked one of her recipes that was not delicious.

 

Her books are some of the British ones that I chose to replace when I moved back here to Canada.  I have this one, as well as one called Supper for a Song, and another called Food You Can't Say No To.  All are excellent and highly recommended.

 This recipe for Classic Bangers & Mash is an excellent one.  It is a simple, simple recipe that will turn out as good as the ingredients you choose to make it with, so choose wisely, and you will be rewarded with one very delicious meal!

 

    WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CLASSIC BANGERS & MASH

Simple every day ingredients.  Choose quality and you cannot go wrong.

• 2 - 3 top quality pork sausages per person
• oil
• butter
• 1 medium to large onion, per person, peeled and thinly sliced into rings or half moons
• 1 tsp dark soft light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (120ml) red wine, Madeira or Marsala
• 10 fluid ounces (300ml) chicken stock
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (smooth or seeded as you prefer)
• fine sea salt and black pepper
• fluffy white mash to serve (see recipe here)

 

You will want to buy the very best sausages that you can afford.  My sister and I have made our own sausages from scratch in the past and were really pleased with how they turned out. We made apple sausages and Cumberland sausages.  We really need to make some more.

The sausages I chose to use today and which I choose to always use are the PC Free From Bangers.  They are a thick and meaty sausage made by President's Choice. They are made from vegetable grain fed Canadian pork which has been raised without the use of antibiotics.

They have just the right proportion of fat to lean in them.  I hate greasy sausages, or sausages which are made with too many fillers. These are just right.

Also if you don't have the wine, you can use a good apple juice.  That's usually what I do and the gravy always turns out beautifully flavored.

 

HOW TO MAKE CLASSIC BANGERS & MASH

It might seem a bit complicated, but really its quite easy. Just read the recipe through a few times. It doesn't get much simpler than this.  The oven does much of the work, yielding perfectly cooked tender sausages, in a beautiful flavor filled onion gravy.

Heat a little bit of oil in a large shallow flame-proof casserole, or oven proof skillet . Add the sausages and brown lightly over medium low heat. Take care not to break the skins. Remove the sausages to a plate.

Add a lump of butter (about 1 TBS) and an equivalent of oil to the pan. Add the sliced onions, turning to coat well in the fat. Sprinkle with some sea salt. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat, allowing them to cook down gently for about five minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, mixing it in well.

 

Pour the wine in over the onions. Let it bubble up for a few minutes. add the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer gently for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.

Add the sausages to the casserole, along with the mustard and a good sprinkle of black pepper. Place into the preheated oven.

Roast for about 30 minutes, turning the sausages every 10 minutes or so. Serve with the mashed potato and some vegetables on the side.

 

The gravy for these is really delicious.  If you think it is too thin, you can thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. Simply whisk together about 1/2 TBS of corn starch (corn flour) and some cold water to a paste.  Whisk this into the casserole and cook over medium heat until everything thickens up and turns glossy.  Simmer for about 2 minutes and serve.

Don't be put off by all of the spring onion scattered over top.  Brown things just look much better with the contrast of the green. Parsley would also have worked.  Brown things photograph very poorly.

This makes for a deliciously comforting supper dish that everybody loves.  The link is there to the mashed potato recipe. You can be making those while the sausages cook in the oven.    I would serve peas and/or carrots on the side, but any vegetable will do! 

 

I am feeling much better after my bout with Covid.  I am still not 100%, but my brother says it could take a few weeks before I actually start to feel like myself again.  Thankfully my taste and smell was not affected in any way!

To someone who cooks for a living, I would call that a HUGE blessing! 

Some other sausage recipes which I have served here in my English Kitchen are:

SAUSAGE ROLLS -  Buttery flaky pastry rolled around a rich sausage filling, cut into short lengths, glazed and baked to perfection. Ain't nobody going to turn down the offer of one of these.  As a snack or as a part of a buffet meal, these are everyone's favorite! 

SAUSAGE & VEGETABLE SKILLET DINNER -  A complete sausage dinner cooked in one skillet, composed of tasty sausages, crispy browned potatoes, sliced cabbage and sweet carrots.  Delicious served with some grainy mustard for dipping your sausage into. No fuss. No muss, and very little to clean up! 

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Classic Bangers & Mash

Prep time: 65 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This is a great recipe from Tamsin Day Lewis. Delicious perfectly cooked sausages with a flavor filled gravy, served with a pile of fluffy mash.

Ingredients

• 2 - 3 top quality pork sausages per person
• oil
• butter
• 1 medium to large onion, per person, peeled and thinly sliced into rings or half moons
• 1 tsp dark soft light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (120ml) red wine, Madeira or Marsala
• 10 fluid ounces (300ml) chicken stock
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (smooth or seeded as you prefer)
• fine sea salt and black pepper
• fluffy white mash to serve (see recipe here)

Instructions

1. Heat a little bit of oil in a large shallow flame-proof casserole, or oven proof skillet . Add the sausages and brown lightly over medium low heat. Take care not to break the skins. Remove the sausages to a plate.
2. Add a lump of butter (about 1 TBS) and an equivalent of oil to the pan. Add the sliced onions, turning to coat well in the fat. Sprinkle with some sea salt. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat, allowing them to cook down gently for about five minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, mixing it in well.
3. Pour the wine in over the onions. Let it bubble up for a few minutes. add the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
5. Add the sausages to the casserole, along with the mustard and a good sprinkle of black pepper. Place into the preheated oven.
6. Roast for about 30 minutes, turning the sausages every 10 minutes or so. Serve with the mashed potato and some vegetables on the side.

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