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Bangers and mash


lindag

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When Heston Blumenthal did his over-the-top version of bangers and mash for his In Search of Perfection series, he insisted that the rusk was essential to the taste and texture of what he considers the classic banger. He attempted to create versions that omitted it and said it was impossible to get that food memory association he wanted without it. In an effort to keep the rusk content to the minimum needed to get the texture he wanted while still getting that bready flavor note he was looking for, he only used a small amount of rusk but bolstered the flavor by heavily toasting some bread, soaking it in hot water, straining it and using the resulting toasted bread flavored water in the emulsification process. I'm not posting this to try to say real bangers have to contain bread, I'm far from qualified to make a statement like that. I just find the diversity of opinion as to what's authentic that exists with almost any regional/cultural dish interesting.

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It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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I agree :  rusk makes the banger Ive had special.

 

I wonder if there is any difference between Irish and British ?

 

other than origin if indeed that all their is to it.

 

no bangers in my vicinity at all

 

Where is TraderJoe when I need him ?

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 You all need to stop discussing bangers right now. I have no bangers and no potatoes. I am already almost snowed in and by tomorrow morning may be under a foot or more of snow. I have had three very unsatisfactory meals in a row and a plate of bangers and mash is exactly what the doctor ordered. So have some mercy. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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@Anna N  

 

this sort of Stuffa ?

 

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I guess your are getting the North part of the Easter we will enjoy tomorrow !

 

I do think really tasty perfectly cooked Bangers and Mash would also suit me tomorrow after I plow out the first foot of the two they say

 

Ill be getting

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On 2017/3/11 at 1:23 AM, weedy said:

I feel pretty strongly that if, in a London pub, one ordered bangers and mash and received mash with, say, a black boudin sausage, or a cumin redolent spicy chorizo, or an andouille, or a kaiser wurst... no one would consider that to be "right".

 

 

The strapline to this article reminded me of your post - a typical British use of the word "banger" referring to a sausage.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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image.jpeg.498a4a48f3cf64baa20987dae838b415.jpeg

 

Needs must when the devil drives.

 

 

 

image.jpeg.0d62a18949c041461959576d872d7f4e.jpeg

 

I've had better. Per Nigel Slater I stirred in a little Dijon mustard to the onion gravy which is rather pale. I had to resort to bouillion for the gravy and it was about as salty as the Dead Sea.   I tempered it somewhat with some heavy cream. Until I find a better "banger", some real potatoes and decent beef stock it has tamed the craving. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Sausage got the name Bangers due to the large fat content, well over 30% which could coarse the sausage to explode. And would contain rusk to extend the meat as did the fat.

Most large pork or beef  sausage would be referred to as a banger much as Aussies would call all sausages a Snag. :D

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2 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

I just ordered three lbs of sausage meat from my butcher....'going to have a go at it'.....in honour of my Dad who adored sausages of any description!  

 

I'm with your dad. Any sausage is good,  esp patties as opposed to links...which are OK too. Except turkey sausage. Like turkey fat is better than pork fat?...no. 

 

Sausage needs potatoes. Everything needs potatoes, but esp sausages...unless its pasta, which is good with Italian sausage in particular.  A sagey breakfast sausage with scrambled eggs and melty cheese and well-peppered ketchup on a hoagie roll...perfect Philly breakfast-to-go. Or lunch. Or late night snack.

 

But all sausages are very very good. Unless they are made from turkey....

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7 hours ago, gfweb said:

A sagey breakfast sausage with scrambled eggs and melty cheese and well-peppered ketchup on a hoagie roll...


You almost got it right. Just replace that hoagie roll with a biscuit and leave the ketchup bottle in the fridge and you'll be spot on. :P

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It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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Bangers reminds me of the chapter in "All Creatures Great and Small" (James Alfred Wight - pen name James Herriot) where their domestic goes on holiday and Tristan takes over the cooking. The only thing he knows how to prepare is bangers and mash, which he does for every single meal.

Because @IndyRob mentioned getting some at Aldi, I looked for them this morning and found 2 types. I bought both. 

HC

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IMG_1482.thumb.JPG.05e760cce984527ecc8e9c4598d9eaff.JPG

 

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Bangers, Irish or otherwise, are hard to find here.  When I first moved here, a loooong time ago, they were very common. Now they are as scarce as hen's teeth.:(

 

@HungryChris. Those were great books, weren't they?

Edited by ElsieD
Fixed a typo (log)
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Never seen anything labeled as "bangers" in the local store. But brats (the sausages, not badly-behaved children) are on sale so I grabbed a couple packs. They're the white, emulsified type so we'll call them German style bangers. :D

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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3 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

Never seen anything labeled as "bangers" in the local store. But brats (the sausages, not badly-behaved children) are on sale so I grabbed a couple packs. They're the white, emulsified type so we'll call them German style bangers. :D

So do Brats contain the requisite filler? I can get Brats at Aldi.

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

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2 hours ago, weedy said:

Yes. Germans are usually the pasty emulsified version of Britons. <g>

I beg to differ ... sausage-wise and probably in most other instances as well ¬¬

 

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7 minutes ago, haresfur said:

So do Brats contain the requisite filler? I can get Brats at Aldi.


The brats I purchased do not contain filler (I'm not calling it requisite because I don't know that it is). To be honest, I wasn't really trying to pass them off as a banger substitute. I was just being silly because my purchase of said brats happened to coincide with this discussion taking place. But I don't see why they couldn't fill the job. Most brats I've had were somewhat mildly seasoned and any nice, porky sausage is going to be good with mashed potatoes and onion gravy regardless of their country of origin.

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It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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