MAIN
Bangers & Mash
Sausages, mash and onion gravy. Spend what you want on the snags; the important part is making whatever you've bought taste like you meant it.
BASIC
Buy whatever sausages suit the budget, make decent mash and give packet gravy just enough help to make your tastebuds appreciate it.
Method
Boil the potatoes
Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until completely tender, usually around 15–20 minutes. A knife should slide through without the potato putting up a fight.
Cook the sausages
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with a little oil if the sausages need it. Cook them, turning regularly, until browned and cooked through. Move them to a plate when they're done, but keep the pan.
Don't pierce the sausages. I don't know who decided that was a good idea, but all you're doing is letting moisture and flavour escape. If your sausages are bursting open by themselves, the pan is probably too hot or you've cooked them too far.Cook the onion
Add the sliced onion to the sausage pan and cook over medium heat for about 6–8 minutes until soft and getting some colour. If the pan is looking a bit black, the onions are sticking or things are getting ready to burn, add a small splash of water and scrape the bottom of the pan clean. Let the water cook away and keep going. Repeat whenever you need to.
Make the lazy onion gravy
Make the gravy according to its packet instructions and pour it into the pan with the onions. Stir well and scrape up anything tasty still stuck to the bottom.
Make cheap gravy better
Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter until it disappears into the gravy and the sauce looks smoother and glossier. Add as much black pepper as brings you joy.
Mash the potatoes
Drain the potatoes and leave them for a minute so some steam can escape. Mash with the butter, then add milk until you have the texture you like. Add salt now, a little at a time, until the potatoes actually taste good.
Put it together
Return the sausages to the gravy for a minute to warm through, then pile the mash onto plates and spoon the sausages, onions and plenty of gravy over the top.
UPGRADE
Meatier sausages, onions given enough time to become properly sweet, better stock and mash worth dragging through every last bit of gravy.
Method
Boil the potatoes
Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until completely tender, usually around 15–20 minutes.
Brown the sausages
Cook the sausages over medium heat until properly browned and cooked through. Remove them from the pan, but leave all the browned bits behind.
BrownLet the food develop actual brown colour. Grey meat can be cooked, but it is not browned. If liquid pools in the pan, use more heat or cook in smaller batches.Cooking words →Still don't pierce them. Those juices belong inside the sausage. If they're splitting or bursting, back the heat off rather than stabbing holes in them.Take your time with the onions
Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 15–20 minutes until soft, sweet and properly browned. If they start sticking or the pan gets too dark before they're ready, add a splash of water and scrape up the browned bits. Let the water evaporate and keep cooking. Repeat as often as needed.
Build the gravy
Stir the flour through the onions and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the beer or wine if using, scrape the pan clean and let it reduce by about half. Gradually add the beef stock while stirring, then add the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Reduce the gravy
Simmer until the gravy is glossy and thick enough to coat the sausages rather than running straight off them. Add plenty of freshly cracked black pepper and taste before deciding whether it needs any salt.
ReduceCook a liquid so some of its water evaporates, leaving less liquid with a stronger flavour and usually a thicker texture.Cooking words →Make the mash
Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry for a minute. Mash with the butter and warm cream or milk, then add salt a little at a time until it tastes properly seasoned.
Bonus round: absurdly smooth mash
If you're willing to create some extra washing-up, push the cooked potatoes through a fine sieve or a potato ricer before mixing in the butter and warm cream or milk. It is a pain in the arse, but the texture is excellent.
Finish
Return the sausages to the gravy and warm everything through. Spoon generously over the mash.
EAT ME WITH