Homemade British Bangers Recipes

ONION GRAVY FOR BRITISH BANGERS AND MASH

Steps:

• Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion in the melted butter until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low. Cover the pan and cook until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
• Stir flour into the caramelized onions and cook for 1 minute.
• Pour red wine, chicken stock (see Editor's Note), Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce into the onion mixture; simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

BANGERS AND MASH WITH ONION GRAVY

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan and gently sizzle the sausages over a medium-high heat for 8-10 mins, turning them, until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate, then put the butter in the pan and heat until sizzling. Scatter in the onions, stirring them into the butter, then add the thyme sprig, bay and sugar. Give everything a final stir, then put the sausages on top and drizzle over any juices from the plate. Roast everything for 20 mins, turning the sausages halfway through.
• Meanwhile, make the mash. Tip the potatoes into a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 10-12 mins or until just cooked all the way through (the tip of a knife should slide in easily). Drain in a colander and leave for a minute. Tip the milk into the pan and bring to a simmer, then pass the potatoes through a ricer into the hot milk and mash thoroughly. Once mashed, beat with a wooden spoon or spatula over very low heat, then beat in the butter a few bits at a time. You should have extra-fluffy, smooth mash. Keep it warm.
• When the sausages are cooked, remove from the oven, turn the oven off and lift the sausages onto a tray. Return them to the oven to keep warm. Put the pan back on the heat and give the roasted onions a stir, they should be sticky and slightly burnt around the edges. Sizzle for a minute or two more to caramelise, then stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Splash in the vinegar, simmer for a minute, then pour over the red wine and soy, and bubble down to a gloopy paste. Pour over the stock and boil for 3-4 mins, or until you have a rich gravy. If you prefer, scoop out the thyme and bay, or just leave it in. Tip into a bowl or gravy jug with a serving spoon for the onions. Bring everything to the table and scoop a big mound of mash onto the middle of each plate, then top with the sausages and gravy.

BANGERS

Steps:

• Cut pork and veal into 1-inch cubes and set aside.
• Rinse salt off fatback thoroughly, then soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Remove.
• Toss pork, veal, fatback, sage, garlic powder, salt, lemon zest, thyme, onion powder, mace, nutmeg, and pepper together very well and cover. Set in a refrigerator overnight for 12 hours.
• Pass all meat through a meat grinder. Lightly knead a couple of times, but everything should be close to blended evenly already. Cover and return to the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse out casings, passing water through the interior. Let soak in warm water for 30 minutes.
• Knot one end of casing and slide the other end over a sausage stuffing attachment on your stand mixer. Feed cold ground meat into casing on medium-low speed. If it gets too warm it is a pain to feed into the casings.
• Twist into links of desired size as casing fills. Tie off other end after final link.
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pan-fry sausages until browned and no longer pink in the centers, turning as needed, 10 to 15 minutes.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH BANGERS

Steps:

• Knead together the pork, veal, fat, and bread.
• Stir the salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, mace, thyme, marjoram, sage, onion powder and lemon peel into the egg, and then knead into the meat mixture.
• CHEF'S NOTE: At this point, I fry a small sausage patty and taste it so that I can adjust the seasonings, because the recipe so far is fairly mild.
• Firmly stuff the mixture into the prepared hog (sausage) casings.
• Prick any air pockets with a pin.
• Poach, broil, grill, or fry them before serving.
• Serve the bangers, drowned in nice thick onion and mushroom gravy, with a heap of mashed potatoes.
• The raw sausages can be refrigerated for 3 days, cooked sausages for 1 week.
• They can also be frozen (raw, poached, or broiled) for 3 months.

TRUE BANGERS AND MASH WITH ONION GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
• Cook the sausage links in a skillet over medium-low heat until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to an oven-safe dish and move to the preheated oven to keep warm.
• Place potatoes into a saucepan over medium heat, cover with water, and boil gently until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two. Mix in 1/4 cup of butter, milk, dry mustard, salt, and black pepper; mash until fluffy and smooth. Set aside.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook the onions until translucent and just starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Pour in the beef broth and red wine; boil the mixture down to about half its volume, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. To serve, place a sausage onto a serving plate with about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes. Pour the onion gravy over the sausage and potatoes.