RecipeTin Eats x Good Food: Bangers and mash (plus the secret to lump-free gravy) (2024)

FAQs

Why does my sausage gravy taste like flour? ›

Your gravy might taste doughy or chalky if you didn't cook the flour enough when making your roux. You'll want to cook the flour for at least five minutes, until it smells nutty and begins to turn light brown. But if you don't notice until it's too late and you've already added your broth, bring the gravy to a simmer.

Bangers and mash consists of sausages ("bangers") served with mashed potatoes ("mash") and onion gravy. While lamb or beef sausages can be used, the most traditional choice is pork – specifically the Cumberland variety, a type of pork sausage seasoned with pepper, thyme, sage, nutmeg and cayenne.

Bangers and mash is a quintessential British dish of sausage and mashed potatoes, typically served with onion gravy. It's roots extend to Ireland where you'll find the dish in many local pubs. I found “Irish Style Banger Sausages” at my whole foods and knew I had to try them out.

While bangers and mash make a filling meal all on its own, you can serve it with green peas, carrots, or a fresh salad for added color and nutrition.

If you realize that your gravy tastes like flour when you're almost finished, turn up the heat to maintain a rapid simmer for several minutes; then thin it again with more stock or water if necessary.

If, after much searching, you find yourself without bangers (and without the proper equipment to make a batch yourself), then in a pinch substitute any sort of plain, fatty pork sausage. Bratwurst always seems closer to a proper banger than a mild Italian sausage in my mind. But use your own judgment.

Bangers and mash is a staple of the country's overall cuisine and is a popular pub dish. The term bangers supposedly originated during World War I, when meat shortages resulted in sausages' being made with a number of fillers, notably water, that caused them to explode when cooked.

Bangers is a centuries-old traditional British and Irish recipe. They consist of lean and fat pork that is ground up tossed with spices and herbs that is then encased in hog casing to make sausage. There are many variations of Bangers when it comes to the ingredients depending on who makes them.

IMPORTANT WORD YOU SHOULD LEARN: Rashers. That's Irish slang for bacon. You'll find back (wide) or streaky (narrow) rashers in an Irish breakfast; both types may look and taste different to what you might expect. Irish bacon is chunkier than American bacon, with a little more meat.

British sausages being called bangers seems to be a historical legacy, a colloquial term left over from war time when sausages sometimes exploded in the pan when you cooked them. We started calling sausages bangers sometime during the first World War, it was a slang name for a sausage at the time.

What is the English word for bangers and mash? ›

Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is a traditional British dish consisting of sausages and mashed potato.

Sausages – You can use any sausages you want, classic Bangers and Mash is made with thick pork sausages. I used beef in some of the photos and pork in the video. If you use low fat sausages, they will not drop as much juice and fat when cooking so the gravy will not be as tasty.

Bangers and mash is a dish of sausages (“bangers”), mashed potatoes and onion gravy popular in Britain and Ireland. Although often made at home, the dish is also a pub menu favorite and is sometimes referred to as “pub grub,” a term that's synonymous with comfort food.

A banger is a nickname that the British and Irish give to sausages. The nickname “bangers” originated during World War II, when rationing was common and meat was scarce. Bangers have two distinct characteristics – they have a much softer texture and are much less salty than their American and continental counterparts.

If your gravy is too thick, that just means it contains a bit too much flour. Thin it with additional stock; you could use water instead, but then you'd be watering down the flavor.

Cook the Flour Longer: If your sauce tastes like raw flour, it's possible that the flour hasn't been cooked long enough. Try cooking the sauce over low to medium heat for a few minutes longer, stirring constantly, to allow the flour to cook and the raw taste to dissipate.

You'll want to cook it for a few minutes because raw flour has a doughy taste you won't want in your sauce. Cooking the roux for a few minutes helps get rid of that raw flour flavor. Beyond that, how long you cook the roux depends on what you're using it for.

Whisk It. Your first defense against a lumpy pot of gravy is a simple whisk. Use a pot holder to steady the pan with one hand. Simply break up those clumps with a vigorous bout of whisking using a circular motion.