Bangers and Mash – A Comforting Weeknight Meal

Bangers and mash is an easy, weeknight meal made of sausage, mashed potatoes, and onion gravy – popular both at pubs as well as homes in Britain and Ireland.

Fitzgerald notes that gravy is typically created using caramelized onions browned in pan drippings from sausages, combined with flour and stock for a rich brown sauce.

Sausage

Bangers and mash may not cause quite as much of a stir as spaghetti with ketchup or cheeseburger with pickles, but it still provides a comforting meal that has been around for centuries. Often cited as one of the nation’s favorite comfort foods, making bangers and mash an easy one-pot dinner to prepare at home and one that typically features sausages (or “bangers”) alongside mashed potatoes and onion gravy as the primary components.

Mash potatoes can be created using any variety of potato, but the traditional recipe typically calls for starchy, boiled potatoes that have been combined with butter, milk or cream and mixed until smooth. Colcannon – an Irish variation on this dish – adds cooked cabbage or kale into its mixture for extra texture and depth of flavour.

Bangers come in all forms – traditional pork bangers as well as sausages made of beef, lamb or venison can all make excellent options to satisfy a range of palates and preferences. One great aspect of this dish is that you can pair almost any kind of sausage to complement its flavors!

When making traditional bangers and mash, it’s essential that the sausage is fully cooked before it can be enjoyed with the mash and gravy. Undercooked sausage can not be properly seasoned or tender enough for best results; to prevent undercooking of sausages it may be beneficial to either bake them in an oven or fry them on a stove top.

The onion gravy that finishes this dish is also essential to its overall flavor profile. Crafted using pan drippings from sausages, flour, and beef stock as ingredients, caramelizing onions add a sweet note that pairs beautifully with sausages.

Drippings from sausages are combined with flour to form a roux that helps thicken the gravy, before stock and seasonings are added and simmered on low heat until ready to serve. When plating bangers and mash, place sausages atop mashed potatoes before spooning on generous portions of onion gravy to top everything off.

Potatoes

Bangers and mash is a beloved comfort food dish often prepared at home or in pubs, typically consisting of pork bangers (high in fat content) served over mashed potatoes with onion gravy for extra flavour. Perfect for those on a budget as its inexpensive and straightforward preparation.

Traditional recipes use pork bangers as part of the dish, but you can experiment with various types of sausage and variations on the mash. Chicken and turkey sausages offer lower levels of fat and calories than their pork banger counterparts and can often be found at grocery stores; similarly, beef and lamb sausages contain similarly minimal levels of both fat and calories. Whichever sausages you choose it’s important that they all use lean, well-trimmed meats.

Similar to making any dish healthier, mash can also be made healthier by reducing or eliminating butter and whole milk from its recipe. Instead, use skim milk or nonfat sour cream instead; replacing some or all of the butter with small amounts of melted margarine or low-fat cooking spray would work too. When creating the perfect fluffy and smooth mash texture it’s essential to use starchy potatoes such as Yukon Golds or russets that absorb milk and sour cream evenly for best results.

Instead of frying onions in butter, sliced leeks or other low-fat vegetables from the onion family offer an easy alternative that’s packed with anti-inflammatory compounds and allicin to boost immunity and lower blood cholesterol. Leeks also contain powerful antioxidants linked to reduced heart disease risk and cholesterol reduction.

Grant suggests experimenting with different recipes of onion gravy until finding one that’s lighter than traditional versions of this element of your dish. She also advises replacing it altogether by topping bangers with fried onions – this will provide texture contrast as well as flavor contrast while being much less heavy than traditional gravies.

Onion Gravy

Bangers and mash is often served with a brown gravy made from pork drippings from fried sausages, while onion gravy plays a vital role in unifying all elements of the meal, providing extra flavorful depth. Making onion gravy requires very few ingredients that might already be in your pantry.

An essential element of creating delicious brown gravy lies in slowly caramelizing onions. This gives your gravy an irresistibly rich and complex flavor while deepening its color, which is best done using yellow or red onions – although other types, including sweet varieties, may work as well. Add in garlic for additional depth of flavor if you wish; mushrooms or bacon could even make for tasty additions!

When making onion gravy, frequent stirring is required as it can easily burn. Scrape away any brown bits that accumulate at the bottom of your pan as this adds plenty of flavor. To thicken it further, cook over a medium high heat for around 10 minutes until it reaches desired thickness – you can use water, beef broth or even some chicken broth as its base; alternatively use Better than Bouillon cubes or powder to enhance its flavors in an emergency situation.

While making your gravy, you can prepare the mashed potatoes. They can be made using any type of potato you like, although starchy varieties like Yukon Golds or russets tend to work best. You could also try swapping out part of the potatoes for cooked cabbage or kale for an interesting variation on this traditional recipe.

To create the mashed potatoes, simply peel and boil your potatoes before draining and mashing with butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper. Feel free to add other vegetables such as peas or green peas for additional nutrients in your meal. For bangers and mash dishes, garnish your plate with generous spoonfuls of onion gravy before topping it off with parsley for both visual appeal and freshness in flavor!

Sides

Bangers and mash is an expansive dish, featuring sausage, mashed potatoes and onion gravy – so for maximum enjoyment it should be accompanied by something to counterbalance it all – like an acidic salad to pair with rich fish fillets, or perhaps creamy puree to accompany tender steak – something with different textures and flavour profiles – like these options would do the trick nicely.

An easy and quick way to put together a bangers and mash side dish is with Irish colcannon mash – a warming mixture of potatoes, kale or cabbage, leeks, and butter that has long been enjoyed across Europe including France, Germany, Poland Russia Scotland. While less filling than traditional mash, colcannon can also be prepared in much less time while using ingredients you likely already have on hand in your kitchen.

If you don’t have time to make colcannon mash, bangers and mash are also tasty when served alongside baked beans or Irish cabbage braised in butter. Each meal should always include a hearty pint of beer like Jever or Budvar lager; Brrakspear’s Oxford Gold pale ale; or Meantime’s dry dark malty stout are great accompaniments.

Don’t forget the bread to soak up all that delicious gravy! A thick crusty roll pairs nicely with this meal; particularly white loaves such as sourdough or rye breads are ideal. Bread makes this meal truly enjoyable!

Classic Bangers and Mash Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 pork sausages
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions:

1. Cook the Sausages:
   • Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil.
   • Cook the sausages until browned and cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
2. Make the Mashed Potatoes:
   • Boil the chopped potatoes in a pot of salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well.
   • Mash the potatoes with butter and milk until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Prepare the Onion Gravy:
   • In the same pan used for the sausages, add the sliced onions and cook until softened and golden brown.
   • Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
   • Gradually add the beef stock, stirring to combine. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve:
   • Plate the mashed potatoes, top with the sausages, and generously pour the onion gravy over the top.
   • Garnish with chopped parsley.

Enjoy your classic bangers and mash!