Bangers and Mash

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Succulent sausages nestled on a bed of buttery mashed potatoes and drenched in a rich onion gravy, Bangers and Mash has been ranked as Great Britain’s #1 most popular comfort food.   This bangers and mash recipe is the ONLY one you’ll ever need!

Why I Love Bangers and Mash

Having lived for 7 years in England I was able to tour around the UK and enjoy a lot of delicious home-style pub food.  We go back every year to visit and one of the meals we always make a point of ordering is Bangers and Mash.  For home-style comfort food it’s really hard to beat those succulent savory sausages embedded in a pile of creamy mashed potatoes and drenched in a rich onion gravy.  I’ve already shown you how to make the best homemade bangers and the richest onion gravy and now we’re going to put them together to create the BEST Bangers and Mash recipe that will make your taste buds sing!

What Is Bangers and Mash?

Bangers & Mash is a dish consisting of sausages served with mashed potatoes and onion gravy.  Also known as sausages and mash, it’s a quintessential British dish that’s served throughout Great Britain, traditionally in pubs, and a survey a few years ago ranked it as Britain’s most popular comfort food.

Bangers is slang for sausages and can refer to any number of sausage varieties.  The term surfaced during WWI and became even more widespread during WWII when meat rations were low and sausages had to be made with other inexpensive fillers like rusk or breadcrumbs and a large ratio of water that would result in the sausages bursting with a “bang” when fried.  The term “bangers” stuck and has continued to be used since, specifically in conjunction with the dish known as “bangers and mash.”

While the term “bangers” can refer to a variety of different sausages, in the homemade sausage-making world the term “bangers” has come to be associated with a particular blend of seasonings and key ingredients, including ground mace and breadcrumbs, giving them a unique flavor and texture.  That said, any number of sausage varieties can be and are served with bangers and mash including one known as Cumberland sausage.

How To Make Bangers from Scratch

Whether you’re a beginning or an expert sausage maker, making your own homemade British bangers is well worth the effort.

Check out our full picture tutorial on how to do it and get our Homemade British Bangers recipe!

How To Make Onion Gravy

The other key ingredient in Bangers and Mash is onion gravy.  We’ve had bangers and mash in many a pub and restaurant throughout the UK and have experienced some truly excellent onion gravies as well as the very worst that tasted little more than salty brown water.  Here is a truly excellent, incredibly rich and flavorful onion gravy recipe that we’re confident you’re going to love and it will take your bangers & mash to the highest level possible!

Check out my recipe for the BEST Onion Gravy!

How To Make the Mash

The final ingredient you’ll need to create your Bangers & Mash is the mash, or mashed potatoes.  Don’t cut corners on this essential part of the dish because texture and flavor are key.  Below are some tips to help you achieve those perfect mashed potatoes.

Which Potatoes are Best?

Different potatoes are best suited for different purposes.  For mashed potatoes that are soft, smooth, creamy and flavorful you’ll want to choose a variety that is high in starch (floury/mealy), but not too high (more on that shortly).  High-starch potatoes will mash more easily and quickly which is important because the more you mash the potatoes the gummier in texture they will become.  The science behind that is that potatoes have starch cells that swell during boiling and when you mash them those starch cells rupture; the more cells that are ruptured, the gluier in texture the potatoes become.

However, if the potatoes are too high in starch they will absorb more water meaning less flavor and non-fluffy, water-logged texture.  While some people use russets for mashed potatoes, they have the highest starch content and are more ideal for baking than for mashing.

On the other side of the starch spectrum are the low-starch potato varieties (i.e., firm, waxy potatoes).  They hold their shape better after boiling and so require more mashing – this leads to overworked potatoes that too often result in a gluey, gummy potato paste.  So avoid low-starch/waxy potatoes.

For the best results, many chefs recommend using medium-starch potatoes such as Yukon Gold.  Not too high or low in starch, Yukons also have a great buttery flavor.  They have a uniform, dense flesh that is resistant to absorbing water and becoming grainy or mushy.  If you’re still partial to russets, you can use half and half.

Pro Tips for the Best Mashed Potatoes:

While making mashed potatoes is incredibly easy, there is a world of difference between “okay” mashed potatoes and “fabulous” mashed potatoes. Here are my top tips for making the best mashed potatoes:

• Choose the right variety of potato (see above).
• Cut the potatoes into large pieces, not small.  Small pieces enabled more water to get into the potatoes negatively impacting both texture and flavor.  Another option is to boil the potatoes whole with their skins on and peel them while they’re still hot.
• Avoid overcooking the potatoes.  This is one of the most common mistakes.  The potatoes end up water-logged and sticky and won’t fluff up properly.
• Thoroughly drain the potatoes.  This is another common mistake and will have the same result as overcooking them.
• Avoid over-mashing the potatoes (see above for explanation).
• Mash the potatoes while they’re still hot.
• Mash your potatoes by hand.  Avoid using an electric mixer or food processor which too often results in overworked potatoes.
• Add the butter first, then the milk.
• Use hot milk, not cold.
• Add the liquid gradually to give the potatoes time to absorb the liquid.
• For the best possible texture pass the potatoes through a ricer or food mill before adding the butter and hot milk.

Bangers and Mash Recipe

And now with your homemade bangers (or quality store-bought sausages), your incredibly delicious homemade onion gravy, and your perfect mashed potatoes, you are ready to sit down to the BEST plate of Bangers and Mash EVER! To make Bangers and Mash you will simply:

• Portion the mashed potatoes out onto plates.
• Top with a couple of bangers.
• Pour the onion gravy over everything.

For a traditional side you can serve this with authentic British Mushy Peas.  For dessert try my Sticky Toffee Pudding or Treacle Tart! Or if you’re feeling extra adventurous, make a traditional Spotted Dick or Lardy Cake!

Enjoy!

For more authentic British recipes be sure to try my:  

Originally published on The Daring Gourmet October 31, 2019