English Bangers & Mash

An English home comfort, this simple dish combines pork sausages and mashed potatoes with a rich caramelised onion gravy.

Bangers and mash have been an English comfort food since World War 1. As much as I keep arguing that British cookery goes much deeper than wartime cookery, this simple, economical dish beckons on a dark, wet winter’s night. The sausages used for bangers and mash are traditionally bulked with wheat rusk - a trick employed during wartime to save meat - which creates a tender, moist sausage. This added moisture from the wheat rusk would often cause steam to build up in the sausages during cooking, causing them to pop and bang, hence the nickname ‘banger’. The closest sausages you’ll find to a true banger tend to be called ‘Irish recipe’ and these are the best for this dish. Feel free to use any sausages that you like however. The real make-or-break star of this dish is actually the gravy. It’s heaving with caramelised onions which only take 12 minutes to make with my nifty little science hack. All will be explained. Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2x)

• 6x pork sausages (ideally Irish-recipe or ‘Irish style’)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1x red onion, sliced

• 1/4 tsp salt

• pinch of baking soda

• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon plain flour

• 400ml beef stock or ham stock

• 1x sprig of thyme

• 2x bay leaves

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

WALKTHROUGH

1. First, let’s cook the sausages. Cook the 6 sausages in the oven/air-fryer at 180C/350F for 15 minutes until they are lightly browned. You don’t need to prick the sausages before cooking.

   

2. Now we’ll slice the onion. For the best onion gravy, we’ll slice the onion in two ways. Halve the onion down the centre. Taking one half, slice the onion in ‘rainbow-like’ slices. Using the other half, slice the onion along the grain (the ribs in the onion). Both onions will cook differently: the rainbow cuts will break down to form a gel, and the grain-cut onions will keep their shape and add texture to the gravy.

   

3. Now we’ll make the gravy. Into a frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil followed by the sliced onions. Add 1/4 tsp salt followed by the pinch of baking soda. Place the pan onto medium heat and cook the onions, stirring often, until they are browned - about 12-15 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and stir in, cooking it until the sugar starts to smoke slightly.

   

   

4. Once the onions are caramelised, add the 1 tablespoon of plain flour. Mix well to form a paste. Gradually add the 400ml of beef stock, stirring as you add it, until you have a smooth gravy. Allow the gravy to come to a boil and thicken.

   

   

5. Add the 2 bay leaves, sprig of thyme, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp Dijon mustard. Allow to gravy to simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, adding more water if it gets to thick. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt or Worcestershire sauce.

   

6. Just before serving, add the cooked sausages and any drippings released during cooking. Allow the sausages to sit in the gravy for 1-2 minutes. If left in the gravy too long the sausage skins may become tough.

   

7. Serve the bangers and gravy with mashed potatoes and greens. Enjoy!