The weather is miserable and wet outside, it's cold, windy and there's nothing like coming home to a plate of sausages, a pile of creamy buttery mash, shredded cabbage and ladles of onion gravy.
Pick some pork sausages that don't dry out too much when they cook. Sometimes the premium brands are a bit too meaty with not enough fat and can make the meal hard work so I like sausages with a decent fat content. Butchers Choice in Sainsburys are good as are the Duchy's if you're feeling rich.
For the mash the secret is to use a floury white potato, make sure it's cooked well, loads of salted butter and milk. You can mash it with a fork if it's cooked enough and it won't have any lumps, just work in the butter and milk. I actually cook the spuds in their skins on the jacket potato setting, scoop the insides out for the mash and use the skins the next day filled with bacon and cheese. If you use a waxy potato (most red skinned potatoes) the mash will turn out quite sticky and you'll need a lot of milk to loosen it.
Shredded Savoy cabbage or peas, no substitute
Now here's the bit that will make a plate of bangers and mash quite special: A killer onion gravy. This will make quite a lot of and takes about an hour. The effort is so worth it and it freezes perfectly so make lots, then you just have to microwave it next time and the time after that
You will need:
2 onions
Large knob of duck or beef fat or butter
glass of white wine & splash of ginger wine (both optional but strongly recommended, if no wine use a bottle of beer)
Beef stock, fresh or Oxo cubes
Salt, lots of pepper, pinch of chilli
Cornflour to thicken
Chop up the couple onions quite fine. In a big pan get the fat melted and start the onions sweating. Duck or beef fat adds a lot to the flavour so use it if you can, otherwise use butter or oil. Duck fat comes from one roast duck when it's on special offer in the supermarket. One duck makes about 1/2 pint of top quality fat that keeps for months in the fridge and literally makes everything taste fantastic. Beef fat comes from roast beef and beef mince. Never throw it away! When the onions are opaque pour over the two wines and allow to reduce. The sweetness of the ginger wine really brings out the onion flavour but won't make it taste gingery, if you have it chuck in a generous splash or add a bit of fresh or powdered ginger. A bottle of beer is a perfect substitution for the wine - basically get some booze in there! Top it up with about half a pint of boiling water so it can simmer nicely, add the stock cubes to taste, salt, lots of pepper and a tiny pinch of chilli. Let it simmer for at least half an hour and add the cornflour to thicken it up near the end. Mix it up with a bit of cold water first and add it bit by bit and it will dissolve in with no lumps.
Assembly: Mash goes in the middle of the plate, a huge pile of it, the sausages are stuck in the sides and the veg goes wherever you can fit it on. Then drown the lot in the extra thick onion gravy.
I really need to start taking some pictures
Pick some pork sausages that don't dry out too much when they cook. Sometimes the premium brands are a bit too meaty with not enough fat and can make the meal hard work so I like sausages with a decent fat content. Butchers Choice in Sainsburys are good as are the Duchy's if you're feeling rich.
For the mash the secret is to use a floury white potato, make sure it's cooked well, loads of salted butter and milk. You can mash it with a fork if it's cooked enough and it won't have any lumps, just work in the butter and milk. I actually cook the spuds in their skins on the jacket potato setting, scoop the insides out for the mash and use the skins the next day filled with bacon and cheese. If you use a waxy potato (most red skinned potatoes) the mash will turn out quite sticky and you'll need a lot of milk to loosen it.
Shredded Savoy cabbage or peas, no substitute
Now here's the bit that will make a plate of bangers and mash quite special: A killer onion gravy. This will make quite a lot of and takes about an hour. The effort is so worth it and it freezes perfectly so make lots, then you just have to microwave it next time and the time after that
You will need:
2 onions
Large knob of duck or beef fat or butter
glass of white wine & splash of ginger wine (both optional but strongly recommended, if no wine use a bottle of beer)
Beef stock, fresh or Oxo cubes
Salt, lots of pepper, pinch of chilli
Cornflour to thicken
Chop up the couple onions quite fine. In a big pan get the fat melted and start the onions sweating. Duck or beef fat adds a lot to the flavour so use it if you can, otherwise use butter or oil. Duck fat comes from one roast duck when it's on special offer in the supermarket. One duck makes about 1/2 pint of top quality fat that keeps for months in the fridge and literally makes everything taste fantastic. Beef fat comes from roast beef and beef mince. Never throw it away! When the onions are opaque pour over the two wines and allow to reduce. The sweetness of the ginger wine really brings out the onion flavour but won't make it taste gingery, if you have it chuck in a generous splash or add a bit of fresh or powdered ginger. A bottle of beer is a perfect substitution for the wine - basically get some booze in there! Top it up with about half a pint of boiling water so it can simmer nicely, add the stock cubes to taste, salt, lots of pepper and a tiny pinch of chilli. Let it simmer for at least half an hour and add the cornflour to thicken it up near the end. Mix it up with a bit of cold water first and add it bit by bit and it will dissolve in with no lumps.
Assembly: Mash goes in the middle of the plate, a huge pile of it, the sausages are stuck in the sides and the veg goes wherever you can fit it on. Then drown the lot in the extra thick onion gravy.
I really need to start taking some pictures
