Origination of the humble Bangers and Mash
Thought to be an Irish dish, Bangers & Mash originates throughout the British Isles, a group of islands including Great Britain, Ireland, and over six thousand smaller isles.
In native British terms, the “bangers” portion of the dish has been linked to the World War I meat shortage.
Sausages were produced with such a high water content, they popped under high heat cooking methods.
Modern sausages do not contain such a high water content.
Construction of Bangers & Mash
Bangers & Mash can be constructed using any type of sausage you like.
Traditional dishes are made of pork or beef, or a Cumberland sausage, long, coiled, and named for the ancient county of Cumberland, England.
Bangers & Mash is sometimes served with onion gravy, fried onions, baked beans, or peas.
As a shortcut – we will incorporate a gravy powder mix into our sauce.
Of course, the “mash” portion of the dish refers to traditional mashed potatoes, which will be served under the sausages.
Last week, I posted how to prepare mashed potatoes with leeks.
Using leftovers from those delicious potatoes, I will explain a great way to reheat mashed potatoes without getting “chef Mike,” (aka microwave), involved.
Chef Mike can dry out the mashed potatoes, to almost a paste-like consistency – yuck!
My reheating method is easy.
Reheating Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Find a saucepan that will allow a small, glass bowl to sit in it.
Add about 2″ of water to the saucepan.
The glass bowl should sit in the saucepan but allow a 2″-3″ gap between the bottom of the bowl and the top of the water.
Place on the stove under medium heat.
Add leftover mashed potatoes to the bowl – remember, the water should NOT touch the bowl (hot water can cause your glass to shatter).
Add 1 Tablespoon of butter, per 1 cup of leftover potatoes you have in the bowl.
Place lid on top.
It will probably sit on top of the glass bowl, which is fine.
Allow to heat. Occasionally, gently stir the potatoes to allow heat to incorporate.
Meanwhile….for the “Bangers” portion of the dish…
Oscar Mayer’s Selects Cooked Sausage.
This is the Italian Herb variety. They contain NO NITRATES!
READ ABOUT THE DANGERS OF NITRATES HERE!
Bangers and Mash
Ingredients
- 16 oz. uncured Oscar Mayer cooked pork, or beef sausage
- 3-4 servings mashed potatoes
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 Tbsp butter divided
- 2 Tbsp Maple Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Cracker Barrel brown gravy mix
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Prep your onion. For two people, I used one medium-sized sweet onion.
- For easy prep, I used a mandolin, set to about 1/4" thickness, to slice my onion.
- Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a 12" skillet. When butter becomes frothy, drop in onion, separating ringlets.
- Add a pinch of salt.
- Add sugar and baking soda to the onions.
- Saute onions until just starting to brown. Approximately 6-7 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Once onions start to brown, add the 1 Tablespoon of maple balsamic vinegar.
How I prepared my gravy
- Into a glass measuring cup, I scooped out excess butter fat from my onions.
- I poured in the Cracker Barrel gravy powder. I added approximately 3/4 cup of water and begin to whisk together.
- Once the onions were cooked, I added the gravy mixture.
- Using a whisk, incorporate the onions and the gravy. If you used a skillet without a non-stick coating, make sure to scrape up the brown bits - they are loaded with flavor.
- Once thoroughly mixed, add your sausage. I cut mine for ease of serving.
- Using a spoon, baste the links with your sauce.
- Top with a lid, allow to cook on medium heat.
- After 6-7 minutes, turn links over, baste with gravy again.
- Since the sausages are pre-cooked, you are only heating them up and incorporating flavors.
DON'T FORGET TO MONITOR THE POTATOES
Plating the Bangers & Mash
- Once the gravy and sausages are thoroughly heated through, turn off and recover with the lid.Allow it to sit for 4-5 minutes.
- Place potatoes on plate. Lay sausages across potatoes, gently pressing them into the mound of potatoes.
- Drizzle with onion/gravy mixture.
And that is it! I served mine with a light spring mix salad. This is not a complicated dish, hence it is served mostly in pubs or gastropubs as “pub grub.” Which means relatively quick and easy to make in large quantities. I think this can be an easy weeknight meal, let me know what you think. Send pictures of your Bangers & Mash.
One Comment
Thad Zeches
We really like your blog, it has good information, Thank you!