I asked the waiter and he gave me that crap about changing the menu for the summer. And guess what else they had taken off for the summer? CARROT CAKE. At this point I was pretty much like F-this. I understand bringing in different items for summer for things that are in season in the summer like strawberries. But I'm thinking that sausages and potatoes and carrots are pretty much in season all year round (or at least imported from some place where they're in season).
We ended up staying and had a nice time. We both had fish and chips - mine with cod, J's with walleye. He always has to have the one that's more expensive. If you ask me, fish and chips should be made with cod.
But, alas, I left longing for bangers and mash. So yesterday I looked up a recipe online - of which there are thousands of different versions - and decided to give it a shot. I also learned another interesting thing on my bangers and mash quest. The term mash I'm sure we all understand: mashed potatoes = mash. But why is a sausage called a 'banger?' It turns out, when you cook a sausage on too high of heat, it tends to burst, releasing juices. And it makes a pop or bang sound. Hence sausage = banger.
You can thank me when you're on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and this little tid-bit of trivia is the million-dollar question.
THE MISSION: English-style Bangers & Mash
Traditional bangers and mash is served with mashy peas, but I think peas are gross and, hence, decided not to include them in my version.
THE INGREDIENTS: 6-8 pork sausages (preferably Cumberland sausage), 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 pounds peeled and quartered potatoes, 6 tablespoons milk, 1 stick + 2 tablespoons butter, S&P, 2 medium onions thinly sliced, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 1 pint beef stock, 4 teaspoons corn starch, 4 teaspoons cold water.
A couple of notes:
1) I went to three different stores, including a deli, and no one had any idea what I was talking about when I asked for Cumberland sausage. This must be some English thing. So I tried finding the typical little pork sausages that they give you when you order bangers and mash to no avail. It was either buy bratwurst, Italian sausage, or Polish sausage. I ended up choosing Polish sausage but think I would get regular bratwurst next time. The Polish sausage was too salty for this.
2) Four teaspoons of corn starch will be nowhere near enough corn starch for a thick gravy. Use at least 6 teaspoons and that means use 6 teaspoons of cold water as well.
3) This recipe is all over the place. I mean the way it's written. So bear with me here.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and add the sausages. Fry until the sausages are golden brown and firm, turning occasionally - about 20 minutes.
We have a sweet griddle pan that we usually use for pancakes or burgers and it worked really well for frying the sausages. With the heat on medium the sausages popped and shot hot oil everywhere so I kicked the heat down to medium-low and let them cook through while I made the mashed potatoes and gravy, slightly more than 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, start the mashed potatoes by boiling the potatoes in lightly salted water until soft - 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, and keep warm until ready to mash.
While the potatoes are cooking, make the gravy. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil with 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and cover with lid. Cook slowly for approximately 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar to the onions and stir well. Replace lid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and boil gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
In a heat-proof bowl, mix the corn starch and cold water together until it forms a thin paste. Pour a little of the hot gravy into the bowl with the corn starch paste and mix thoroughly. Pour the starch mixture back into the gravy, raise the heat to high, and boil for 10 minutes or until the gravy is slightly thickened.
Finish the mash by placing the stick of butter and milk in the pot used to boil the potatoes, return to low heat and warm gently until the butter has melted. Add the potatoes and mash using a fork or masher.
Whip the potatoes and season with S&P.
In the picture above you'll notice that my mashed potatoes are in a casserole dish. Well, that's because I finished the potatoes waaaaaayyyyyy before the gravy was done. The sausages ended up in a little casserole dish, too. And both ended up in a 215-degree oven to stay warm while the gravy was thickening up. I think the recipe is written in the wrong order. It goes sausages, potatoes, gravy when in fact it should go gravy, sausages, potatoes. I'm really working on the timing aspect of cooking. It's difficult.
MISSION COMPLETE:
DEBRIEFING: As I mentioned above, I really would have liked to find an appropriate sausage for this recipe. If I can't, next time I make it I'll use brats instead of the Polish sausage. They were just too salty.
The potatoes were great but my gravy wasn't as thick as I would have liked it to be. That's why I strongly recommend adding more corn starch than the recipe originally calls for. Or a trick that my Mom uses is to buy one of those ready-to-go McCormick packets of gravy. Some of the recipes I scanned suggested doing that.
For the gravy, too, I liked the flavor the onions gave it but I think I would have liked it better to strain the onions out after cooking. That way the gravy would have kept the flavor but you wouldn't be chomping on onions in every bite. I'll probably do that next time.
My night last night was very international: Bangers and Mash from England. 'Shall We Dance?' from Japan. Wine from Germany. I love 'Shall We Dance?' We watched it every year in Japanese class 7th through 12th grade. I've been missing Japan. I'd like to go back soon and share the experience with my husband who has never been there.
Yesterday was the 66th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs that ended WWII. Thoughts are in Hiroshima and Nagasaki today. A couple of photos I took while I was in Hiroshima last summer:
To a nuclear weapon-free world.
Rachel
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