Bangers and mash

Ingredients

Sausages

• 8good pork sausages
• 1 tbspoil

Mash

• 1.2 kgfloury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and quartered
• 120 mlwhole milk, warm
• 100 gbutter
• 1½ tsp salt
• white pepper

Onion gravy

• 3large onions, thinly sliced
• 40 gbutter
• 1 tspsugar
• 2 tbspplain flour
• 150 mldark ale or red wine
• 500 mlbeef stock
• 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 1 sprigthyme
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Start the onions. Cook them in the butter over medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes with the sugar and a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, until genuinely dark brown and jammy. This is the whole gravy and it cannot be hurried; onions rushed on high heat go bitter at the edges and stay raw in the middle.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water from cold, 18–20 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
3. Meanwhile brown the sausages slowly in the oil over medium-low heat, turning often, 15–18 minutes. Low and slow keeps the skins intact; high heat splits them, which is where the name comes from.
4. Drain the potatoes and leave them in the colander for 2 minutes to steam dry. Wet potatoes make wet mash.
5. Pass them through a ricer or mash thoroughly, then beat in the butter first and the warm milk second. Butter before liquid coats the starch and gives a smoother mash. Season well with salt and white pepper.
6. Stir the flour into the caramelised onions and cook 2 minutes, then pour in the ale and let it bubble away almost completely, scraping the pan.
7. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and thyme, and simmer 10 minutes until it coats a spoon. Season.
8. Serve the sausages on a mound of mash with the onion gravy poured over generously.

Technique

• Floury potatoes, riced or mashed dry, with butter before milk. Those three things separate good mash from wallpaper paste.
• Never boil mash-bound potatoes hard; they waterlog. A steady simmer is enough.
• The gravy wants the onions almost burnt-dark. Pale onions give a thin, sweet gravy with no depth.

Substitutions

• Cumberland or Lincolnshire sausages, or a good beef sausage.
• Vegetarian sausages and a mushroom stock gravy work on exactly the same method.

Variations

• Toad in the hole, the same sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter.
• Champ or colcannon in place of plain mash, with spring onion or cabbage folded through.

History

The nickname bangers comes from wartime sausages padded with water and cereal, which burst noisily when fried.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bangers and mash?

Bangers and mash is a main from United Kingdom: sausages on mashed potato with onion gravy. The nickname bangers comes from wartime sausages padded with water and cereal, which burst noisily when fried.

How long does Bangers and mash take to make?

Bangers and mash takes 20 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Bangers and mash?

Yes, within limits. Cumberland or Lincolnshire sausages, or a good beef sausage. Vegetarian sausages and a mushroom stock gravy work on exactly the same method.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bangers and mash?

Start the onions. Cook them in the butter over medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes with the sugar and a pinch of salt, stirring occasionally, until genuinely dark brown and jammy. This is the whole gravy and it cannot be hurried; onions rushed on high heat go bitter at the edges and stay raw in the middle.