Tremendous Bangers and Mash
Prep
15m
Cook
45m
Total
60m
Bigly says
Sit. Pour yourself a coffee. We're doing this right. The British. People love to throw shade at British food — they're scared of it, they think it's all boiled and beige, an entire island of sad gray dinners — but the British figured this one out. They figured it out HARD. They took a sausage. They took a potato. They put a brown sauce on top and they invented one of the greatest plates of food in the entire HISTORY OF FOOD. A triumph. Hands down. Tea is fine, tea is acceptable, but bangers and mash is the GIFT. That's the British contribution. That's the masterclass.
I've had a version of this in a pub in the north of England that didn't even have a name — just a faded sign that said PUB — and the bartender served the plate without a word, then watched me eat it like he was waiting for a verdict. I gave him one. I said 'This is the best thing I've eaten in this country and possibly several others.' He nodded once. That was the whole conversation. That's how serious this dish is. My grandmother — tough woman, tougher than most men walking around today, she could break a walnut with a look — she made a version that involved beer in the gravy. Beer in the GRAVY. People thought she was reckless. She was a visionary. The neighbor she taught the recipe to lived to be 101. Could be a coincidence. Probably not.
And the GRAVY. THE GRAVY. The onion gravy is the third leg of this stool, and without it the stool falls over and you sit on the floor and that's embarrassing for everyone. Sweet onions cooked low and slow, beef stock, a splash of dark beer, mustard, a knob of butter — it's like a sauce hug. A SAUCE HUG. People come up to me, big strong men, sauce guys, gravy guys, and they say 'Bigly, the onion gravy, my grandfather would have wept.' And I say yeah. Yeah, he would have. That's what good gravy does to a generation of men who didn't cry about anything else. Plain and simple.
Ingredients
- 8 linksgood-quality pork sausages (British-style or bratwurst)(the cheap ones are 40% water, spend the extra two dollars)
- 2 lbYukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 tsp, divided, plus more for the potato waterkosher salt
- 6 tbsp, dividedunsalted butter
- 1/2 cupwhole milk, warmed
- 1/4 cupheavy cream, warmed
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 2 largeyellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2 tbspall-purpose flour
- 1/2 cupdark beer (stout or porter)(Guinness works, anything dark works)
- 1.5 cupsbeef stock, low-sodium
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- 1 tspfresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 2 tbsp, for servingfresh parsley, chopped
Steps
- 1
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by an inch. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a strong simmer, and cook 15-18 minutes until a knife slides through easily.
- 2
While the potatoes cook, heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until deeply caramelized and golden brown.
- 3
Add the garlic to the onions and cook 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir, cooking 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- 4
Pour in the beer, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan, and let it bubble for 1 minute. Add the beef stock, Worcestershire, mustard, thyme, and pepper. Simmer 8-10 minutes, until thickened to a gravy consistency. Taste, adjust salt, keep warm over very low heat.
- 5
While the gravy reduces, heat a separate large skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp butter. Add the sausages and cook 12-15 minutes, turning frequently, until deeply browned on all sides and cooked through (165°F internal). Cover and rest off heat.
- 6
Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot off the heat for 30 seconds to dry out any excess water.
- 7
Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or pass through a ricer. Add the remaining 4 tbsp butter and 1 tsp salt, stir until melted. Slowly stream in the warm milk and cream, stirring, until smooth and creamy. Taste, adjust salt.
- 8
Pile the mash onto plates, lay 2 sausages on top, ladle the onion gravy generously over everything. Finish with parsley.
One more thing
This is a plate of food that fixes things. Bad day at work? Bangers and mash. Weather gray and miserable? Bangers and mash. In-laws coming over and you need them to think you're a serious person who has it together? Bangers and mash with the gravy, the parsley, and a confident look in your eye. The British knew what they were doing. I'll say it. I'll give them this one. Tell your friends.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Tremendous Bangers and Mash.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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