This bangers and mash is the pub classic made at home in 30 minutes. The sausages brown in a frying pan, then sliced onions cook down in their fat and turn into a rich, dark gravy around them. Meanwhile, small chunks of floury potato boil and go through a ricer for smooth, fluffy mash. It is a dinner for Bonfire Night or any evening that calls for gravy.
Why this works
Potatoes cut into small, even chunks cook in 12 to 15 minutes instead of 25. Pressing them through a ricer makes smooth mash with no lumps and little beating, which keeps it light rather than gluey.
The onions cook in the fat the sausages give off, so the gravy builds in the same pan. A pinch of sugar helps the onions brown, flour stirred into them thickens the stock, and Worcestershire sauce adds the dark, savoury depth a long roast would give.
Key ingredients
- Sausages. Good pork sausages with a high meat content, such as Cumberland or Lincolnshire. Thin chipolatas cook too fast for the gravy to catch up.
- Floury potatoes. Maris Piper, King Edward or Rooster make fluffy mash. Waxy potatoes turn gluey when riced.
- Onions. Two onions, sliced thin, melt into the gravy. Red onions give a sweeter gravy.
- Beef stock. A stock cube or stock pot is fine here. The Worcestershire sauce darkens and deepens it.
Amounts for 2 to 12 people are in the recipe card below, in grams or cups.
Method
- 01
Boil the potatoes
Put the kettle on. Peel the potatoes, cut them into 3 cm chunks and put them in a large pan. Cover with boiling water, add a good pinch of salt and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
Y Peeler with Beech Handle - 02
Brown the sausages
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and brown the sausages for 5 minutes, turning them often.
- 03
Slice the onions
While the sausages brown, halve and peel the onions. Push the holder into each half and slice thinly down through the gaps.
Onion Holder for Slicing - 04
Cook the onions
Push the sausages to one side of the pan. Add a knob of the butter, the onions, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring the onions and turning the sausages now and then, until the onions are soft and golden.
- 05
Make the gravy
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the hot stock a splash at a time, stirring well, then add the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until the gravy thickens and the sausages are cooked through to 75掳C, with no pink in the middle.
- 06
Drain the potatoes
Clip the strainer onto the potato pan and pour off the water. Leave the potatoes in the pan off the heat for a minute to steam dry.
Clip-On Pot Strainer - 07
Rice the mash
Warm the milk in the microwave. Rest the ricer's hook on the rim of the pan, scoop in a few chunks at a time and press them back into the pan. Beat in the warm milk and the rest of the butter, and season.
Stainless Steel Potato Ricer - 08
Serve
Spoon the mash onto plates and top with the sausages and plenty of onion gravy. Scatter over the parsley, and the crispy onions if using.
What to serve it with
With buttered peas or greens on the side. For another sausage dinner, try the sausage and butter bean one pot.
Storing and reheating
- Fridge
- Cool quickly, cover and eat within 2 days.
- Freezer
- Freeze the sausages in their gravy for up to 3 months and defrost in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat
- The sausages and gravy in a covered pan over a low heat, the mash in the microwave with a splash of milk, both until piping hot.
Questions
They should be browned all over and firm, with no pink in the middle and clear juices. A thermometer pushed into the thickest one should read 75掳C.
Yes. Use a masher, then beat in the milk and butter with a wooden spoon. Mash only until smooth, as overworked potato turns gluey.
The stock went in too fast for the flour. Whisk it hard, or pour it through a sieve. Next time, add the stock a splash at a time and stir each one in.
For the smoothest mash, yes. A ricer can press whole boiled potatoes and hold back the skins, but peeled chunks cook faster.
Recipe
Bangers and mash with onion gravy in 30 minutes
Pork sausages and a rich onion gravy made in the same pan, served on a pile of smooth, fluffy riced mash. By Hannah Ellis.
- Prep
- 6 min
- Cook
- 24 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
- 01Put the kettle on. Peel the potatoes, cut them into 3 cm chunks and put them in a large pan. Cover with boiling water, add a good pinch of salt and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
- 02Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and brown the sausages for 5 minutes, turning them often.
- 03While the sausages brown, halve and peel the onions. Push the holder into each half and slice thinly down through the gaps.
- 04Push the sausages to one side of the pan. Add a knob of the butter, the onions, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring the onions and turning the sausages now and then, until the onions are soft and golden.
- 05Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the hot stock a splash at a time, stirring well, then add the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until the gravy thickens and the sausages are cooked through to 75掳C, with no pink in the middle.
- 06Clip the strainer onto the potato pan and pour off the water. Leave the potatoes in the pan off the heat for a minute to steam dry.
- 07Warm the milk in the microwave. Rest the ricer's hook on the rim of the pan, scoop in a few chunks at a time and press them back into the pan. Beat in the warm milk and the rest of the butter, and season.
- 08Spoon the mash onto plates and top with the sausages and plenty of onion gravy. Scatter over the parsley, and the crispy onions if using.
