Bangers & Mash with Onion Gravy

I was in London in the mid-1990s for a business-turned-leisure trip and even though I worked for a UK-based company at the time, I somehow didn't know about Bangers & Mash.  If I had, I definitely would and absolutely could have ordered it in virtually any pub in the city.  Considered basic, if not mandatory menu fare, or "Pub Grub," at any public house, Bangers & Mash is considered the national dish of the UK along side Fish & Chips and Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding.  But it took the creativity of a local butcher shop that makes their own in-house sausages to spark my curiosity about this dish, including the origin of its name.

In The Great War (before we knew enough to number them) and again in World War II, meat was rationed in the UK, which caused sausage makers to add larger quantities of fillers, including bread, rusks, cereals and water.  Accordingly, when such ingredients rapidly expanded in hot oil, the sausage would bust open with a bang.  Hence, sausages became known as "bangers," a term that has endured for over a hundred years.

Any sausage can qualify as a banger, and there are as many sausage recipes as there are pubs in England, but the traditional banger, post WWII, is a relatively mild link made with pork and bread crumbs, seasoned with sage, white pepper, onion powder, mace and nutmeg.  Because the sausage is a tad bland, it requires a robust gravy, and traditionally Bangers & Mash is served with a rich, brown onion gravy over mashed potatoes and along side English green peas.  Bangers & Mash has been voted the country's favorite comfort food for years and once I made it, it was easy to understand why.

My local butcher specifically labeled this pack of ten sausages as "English Bangers."  The sausages were about three inches long and an inch or so in diameter, stuffed into natural casings that had been twisted in the center, providing two attached bangers.  I don't know if that's how they do it in the UK, but this presentation just smacked of authenticity as if the butcher had spent his youthful time back-packing throughout the British isles, consuming countless pints of Guinness and scores of bangers along the way.  His English Bangers were seasoned in the traditional fashion and could have used more sage.  Most importantly, they lived up to their reputation, busting open as they simmered and browned in a bit of olive oil, making quite a mess on my stove top.  Not that I minded, too much.

I won't bother to post a recipe for mashed potatoes because everyone has their own version. Nor will this recipe tell you how to make a banger.  If you cannot get a traditional English Banger, then any mildly flavored brat will do, like, Johsonville Stadium Brats.

This recipe is really about the onion gravy.  I'll give credit to Kimberly at thedaringgourmet website for inspiration on this onion gravy, in spite of her audacity to call this BEST Onion Gravy (the capital letters are hers). As usual, the hubris of some bloggers to make us believe any recipe cannot be improved astounds me. And as a matter of fact, that's what I did.  My version uses naturally sweet onions instead of adding sugar to the recipe as hers did.  I used beef stock, not broth, more red wine and more seasonings than hers, but I'll give her credit for the addition of balsamic vinegar and just a smidgen of yellow mustard.  Nice touch.

Ingredients
2 large sweet onions, diced (like, Vidalia or Texas 1015)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef stock (like, Kitchen Basics or Swanson)
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tbsp powdered thyme
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp prepared yellow mustard (like, French's)
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 4-5 tbsp water

The Recipe
Cook your bangers in a cast iron skillet over medium to medium low heat. You want the sausages to cook slowly so that they brown evenly on all sides. Add a bit of olive oil to the pan to start. Turn them periodically while you make the onion gravy.

Add the olive oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium high heat.  When the butter has melted, add the onions. Stirring frequently, cook them until they caramelize and turn dark golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Add the red wine and de-glaze the pan, being sure to scrape up all the crusty brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Simmer for about five minutes.

Add the beef stock and the remaining ingredients except the corn starch.  Blend well and again, stirring frequently, simmer the gravy over medium to medium low heat for ten more minutes.

Add the corn starch dissolved in water (called a "slurry" in culinary terms), about a fourth at a time.  Stir it in well and allow the gravy to come back to a simmer for a couple of minutes as the sauce thickens.  Assess if you want a thicker sauce and if so, add a quarter more of the slurry.  Be sure to simmer at least two minutes after adding any additional slurry.

To serve, spoon some mashed potatoes in a pasta dish or cream soup bowl, add a banger or two on top, then ladle on some gravy.  Serve next to some green peas and a pint of Stout.  

"That's some lush grub,now, innit, mate?"