British · Main
Bangers and Mash
The pub staple executed properly: slow-browned sausages, silk mash with too much butter (correct), and a gravy of truly caramelised onions
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- Cumberland sausages — 8 (600 g)
- Olive oil — 20 ml
- Floury potatoes — 1.2 kg, peeled
- Unsalted butter — 120 g (100 g mash, 20 g gravy)
- Whole milk — 100 ml, hot
- Onions — 400 g, thinly sliced
- Plain flour — 15 g
- Dark ale — 100 ml
- Beef stock — 400 ml
- Thyme — 3 sprigs
- Balsamic vinegar — 10 ml
- Fine sea salt — 9 g; black pepper — 2 g
Method
- Gravy first: cook onions in 20 g butter and a pinch of salt over medium-low, stirring occasionally, 25–30 minutes to deep mahogany.
- Stir in flour, 1 minute; deglaze with ale, then add stock and thyme. Simmer 10 minutes to coating consistency; finish with balsamic. Season.
- Sausages: brown in oil over medium heat, turning often, 15–18 minutes to a 72°C core — never prick them.
- Boil potatoes 20 minutes; drain, steam-dry, rice.
- Beat in 100 g butter cube by cube, then hot milk; season. The mash should just hold its shape.
- Rest sausages 3 minutes in the gravy pan, coating them.