St. George Bangers & Mash
This classic British pub meal makes for a tasty celebration of St. George of Merrie England. “Bangers” is slang for sausages. The “bang” comes from the fact that during WWII when meat rations were low, sausages had to be made with other inexpensive fillers like rusk or breadcrumbs and a large ratio of water that would result in the sausages bursting with a “bang” when fried. True English bangers are a whitish pork sausage with a tasty smoothness that my family really enjoys. We can sometimes find them at our local grocery store. In a pinch, any white pork sausage will do!
Ingredients
- For the Mash
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled and cut into large pieces
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- For the Bangers
- 4 links pork sausage
- 1 Tablespoon butter or bacon grease
- For the Gravy
- 2 large onions sliced
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon mustard or dry mustard powder
- 6 cups beef broth
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- sprigs of fresh thyme and fresh sage optional
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Make the Mash
- Place the 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 over low heat for a minute or two. Mix in the butter, milk, salt, and black pepper; mash until fluffy and smooth. Spoon into an oven-safe casserole dish and place in the oven to keep warm.
- Make the Bangers
- While the potatoes boil, cook the sausage links in a skillet over medium-low heat until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Place them on top of the potatoes in the dish in the oven to keep warm.
- Make the Gravy
- Melt the 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, red wine, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Add sprigs of fresh thyme and fresh sage if desired. Boil the mixture down to about half its volume, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Pour the gravy over the sausages and potatoes.
- 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.
- Serve with peas.
- Leftover onion gravy can be thinned with chicken broth and served as soup. Top with toasted bread and melty gruyere, swiss, and/or mozzarella cheese and it’s French onion soup!
0 Comments