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Saturday 3 December 2022

Bangers and Mash ... a great British Supper

Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is a quintessential British meal... but you may be wondering how sausages ended up with the nickname "bangers." 

Well, it dates back to World War I, when food shortages necessitated the use of fillers (mostly water) in meat. The high-water content and tight casings often caused the sausages to explode during cooking. The term was widespread by World War II. These days, British and Irish people usually only use the term when they're referring to bangers and mash.

Eddie and I enjoy Bangers and Mash but instead of using mashed potatoes we have ours with mashed celeriac or swede, as you can see from this post that dates back to October 2011


However, I came across this BBC Food Recipe which does look tasty. You can always substitute ingredients to better suit your dietary needs or preferences. 

Ingredients
Serves Four
1kg/2lb 4oz potatoes*
8 large good-quality sausages
1 tbsp oil
250g/9oz Savoy cabbage
4 spring onions (scallions)
5 tbsp milk
50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
salt and pepper
Method
1. Peel and dice the potatoes then tip into a large pan of salted cold water. Bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, cook the sausages. Pierce the sausages with a fork then heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the sausages gently for 10-12 minutes or until golden-brown and cooked through.
3. Separate the cabbage leaves, cut out the stalks and discard, then finely slice. Bring a separate pan of water to the boil, add the cabbage and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain thoroughly. Finely slice the spring onions.
4. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pan and add the milk and butter. Using a potato masher, mash until smooth and creamy. You may want to add a little bit more, or less, milk and butter, according to taste.
5. Stir the spring onion and cabbage into the mash and season with salt and pepper. Serve the cabbage mash topped with the cooked sausages.

*If you would like a lower carb alternative to potatoes, you will find some suggestions here
Original recipe can be seen here

~ it's looking Christmassy ~
enjoy your day

You will find a variety of recipes and articles within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e., use your meter. If you have any concerns about your health, it is always advisable to consult your doctor or health care team.

All the best Jan

42 comments:

Jo said...

I love bangers and mash, great comfort food.

Tom said...

...this is a meal that is new to me. I love a sausage.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
Bangers and Mash, looks yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Take care, enjoy your weekend.

Giorgio said...

Interesting info about the nickname bangers. I was also interested in lower carb alternative to potatoes. Great post!

Extraordinary weather events this week in Italy, particularly affecting the village of Casamicciola on the island of Ischia (South Italy).

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/28/europe/landslide-italy-ischia-death-toll-intl/index.html

Have a nice weekend

CJ Kennedy said...

Love the history of the dish.

DVArtist said...

How different foods got thier names always have an interesting story behind it. This one certainly does. Have a lovely day today.

Hilly Nicolay said...

Looks good.
The flower arrangements are beautiful too.

Greetings and have a nice weekend,
Hilly

Laura. M said...

Me encanta este plato. Por aquí las salchichas las hacen de carne de cerdo o pollo.
Buen fin de semana para Todos.
Un abrazo.

Elephant's Child said...

Bangers and mash was a staple when I was growing up. Not least because they were tasty, filling and fairly inexpensive.
Love those floral arrangements.

Chatty Crone said...

I make bangers with mashed potatoes - lol. Polish Sausage

Christine said...

Interesting about why they are called bangers, will try your potato cabbage mash thanks. I didn't see where you added the cabbage to the potatoes but am assuming it got there.

William Kendall said...

So that's where that term comes from.

Shari Burke said...

I'd heard the term (and listened to a comedy series of that name on the BBC Radio 4 website some years back), but I never knew how sausages got to be called bangers. Now I know!

My name is Erika. said...

I like bangers and mash, but I didn't know the story behind the bangers. That's interesting. Happy Saturday. hugs-Erika

Lowcarb team member said...

Christine said...
Interesting about why they are called bangers, will try your potato cabbage mash thanks. I didn't see where you added the cabbage to the potatoes but am assuming it got there.

Hello Christine
The cabbage is added at instruction number five, this was omitted in the original post ... now corrected.
Thank you.

I'm sure you will enjoy the mash :)

All the best Jan

Carola Bartz said...

The bangers in your photo look very tasty. I never had them during my many visits to the British Isles though. I'm not the biggest sausage fan.

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Bangers makes sense now. Thank you!

The Happy Whisk said...

Nice for folks who can't have spuds to have alternatives. Very cool that you linked some. Happy Weekend.

Mary Kirkland said...

I have never had onion and cabbage in my mashed potatoes before. I would try it though.

Luiz Gomes said...

Boa noite Jan. Essa receita parece ser muito gostosa. Obrigado pela dica. Bom domingo com muita paz e saúde.

Susan Kane said...

I am salivating, and I mean in reality. We lived in Ireland for a few years, and your bangers and mash sounds great now. I am up for shepherd's pie.

Lowcarb team member said...

GOOGLE TRANSLATE

Laura. M said...
Me encanta este plato. Por aquí las salchichas las hacen de carne de cerdo o pollo.
Buen fin de semana para Todos.
Un abrazo.

I love this dish. Around here sausages are made from pork or chicken.
Good weekend to all.
A hug.

Luiz Gomes said...
Boa noite Jan. Essa receita parece ser muito gostosa. Obrigado pela dica. Bom domingo com muita paz e saúde.

Good night Jan. This recipe seems to be very tasty. Thanks for the tip. Good Sunday with lots of peace and health.

happyone said...

Sounds filling and GOOD!

J.P. Alexander said...

Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Never heard term banger.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Catarina said...

It looks good to me!!

Margaret D said...

We sometimes have sausages thin ones in a slice of bread and of course tomato sauce if needed along with onion.

Jules said...

You can't beat a good plate of bangers and mash. I never knew that was why they were called bangers. X

Iris Flavia said...

I think British/Australian sausages are like Marmite/Vegemite.... if you didn´t grow up with them you just don´t like them.... I did try. More than once ;-)
Ours are so different (sausages, we have nothing like Marmite...).

Phil Slade said...

Bangers and mash always goes down well with the grandkids, with brown sauce of course. I've had to explain to them all why sausages are known as bangers. What do they teach kids at school nowadays? Or maybe I am being sausageist?

stardust said...

The historical story behind the name “banger” is interesting. The fried bangers in your photo look so delicious.

linda said...

You can't beat bangers and mash yum.

Jenn Jilks said...

That is a hoot! My family always referred to them as such. My ancestors came from England, and it sticks! You answered a question I didn't know I had. Fun!

It's me said...

Mmmmm yammie….love the flowers….love happy week from me and Leaf 🍀❤️🐾🎄

Kay said...

We'll have to try this when we get to London. :-)

Jeanie said...

We always do the mashed potatoes. I'd never have thought of the celeriac!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

It's amazing how some foods get their nicknames. This was fascinating.

carol l mckenna said...

Great British recipe ~ Xo

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Teresa said...

Muy interesante lo de las salchichas. Besos.

Martha said...

Very filling comfort food!

Debbie said...

i would love this BUT with potatoes of course!! great story which i enjoyed!!

Conniecrafter said...

oh my hubby would love this