British Sausage Week: How do you like your sausage?
In association with
British Sausage Week is an annual celebration of the taste, quality and diversity of the traditional British Banger. From sausage dishes around the world to the quality of British sausage meat, we have lots to shout about – but how do you like your sausage?
When it comes to sausage dishes, there are some that spring immediately to mind. But sausages are not limited to the conventional. In honour of British Sausage Week, here is a list of things that can be done with British bangers – some traditional, some unusual, all worth trying.
Was there ever a better suited couple than bangers and mash? This simple staple has been around for centuries, gaining popularity as a cheap but filling working class meal. It is best with traditional British sausages, perhaps with your regional variety of choice, and a serving of thick onion gravy.
Glazed
The marriage of sausage flavours and textures with a sticky sweet glaze makes a winning dish. Honey alone is a popular choice, as is the combination of honey and mustard. International flavours are more than welcome here, too – honey and hoisin would make a taste-rich glaze. Roast or barbecue large glazed sausages for a delicious meal, or use chipolatas and cocktail sticks for snacking and sharing. Don’t forget to provide some dipping sauces.
With pasta
Who said bangers belong to British cuisine? Pasta is wonderfully diverse, and as this list shows, so are sausages. Whether you’re looking for a quick lunch or a bubbling family bake, you should find a winner with this combination. Sausages in a pasta dish can be sliced, diced, or even crumbled – with it being so succulent, sausage meat makes a good ingredient on its own. It is a simple process of slicing a sausage’s skin open before removing the inner meat, which can then be crumbled and pan fried before serving on pasta or between sheets of lasagne. It makes an interesting alternative to minced beef, and is flavoursome enough without sauce.
It doesn’t have to stop at pasta dishes. Crumbled sausage meat can be used to stuff vegetables such as mushrooms and peppers, or can be reworked into patties with other meats and spices.
Casseroles present boundless opportunities. Whether you plan on slaving over a hot stove or bunging something in a slow cooker and leaving it to cook itself, sausages can easily find a home in a casserole. Beans and lentils add texture – you could try beans with red wine and sausage, or perhaps a warming mix of peppers, paprika, sausage and chorizo. Sausages also go well with mushrooms, and a creamy casserole could accommodate the pairing well.
When it comes to pastry, it is difficult to run out of options. Pies make a warming comfort dinner, be they puff or short crust pastry. In terms of filling, you could try sausage pieces with leeks in a mustard sauce, or perhaps with cheese and onion. Sausages could even be teamed with apples for a hearty filling – after all, the South West’s signature pork and apple sausage is a great success. If you’re a fan of quiche, crumbled sausage meat makes a nice variety. The possibilities are almost endless.
On the subject of pastry, it would be wrong to forget that party buffet favourite, the sausage roll. This simple template leaves much room for creativity. The pastry can be decorated, for example woven to transform your roll into a plait. Or, to add a new dimension of flavour and texture, a thick sauce such as cranberry could be dolloped between the sausage meat and the pastry before baking.
Dating back to the 1800s, the traditional full English breakfast is a favourite for many, and can involve any sausage you want – including black pudding. For the full works add bacon, hash browns, eggs, and extras such as tomato, mushroom, baked beans and toast. Breakfast doesn’t have to stay conventional; the combination of sausage and egg can also be reimagined in many ways. Inspiration could be taken from a Turkish dish of spicy sausage slices fried with eggs. Or sausages can be taken down the French route – crumbled sausage meat makes a for flavoursome omelette.
With hair
The haired sausage’s name is not appealing, and the jury is still out on whether the sight of it is either. But for lovers of spaghetti and sausages alike it could well be wonderful. Originating from Russia, the recipe for a haired sausage – thankfully containing no real hair – has spread rapidly online. It involves spearing a sausage with uncooked spaghetti sticks, before boiling the whole thing until the spaghetti is cooked and it looks like the sausage has grown long hair. The novel effect lends this dish the potential to become a children’s favourite.
As peculiar as toad in the hole may sound, its popularity cannot be disputed. It is a traditional British dinner, consisting of two national favourites – sausage and Yorkshire pudding. Best complemented by gravy and roast vegetables, toad in the hole is usually bulky and seldom perfectly-shaped, but it is a true comfort food.
For dessert
Though it may conjure images of a birthday cake with sausages for candles, in reality the dish comes from a Native American recipe. It incorporates flavours of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and dried fruits with sausage meat in a dense sponge. Its legacy has echoed into the modern day, with breakfast fare such as sausage and blueberry cake becoming more popular. Whether it suits your palate is up to you.
By Julia Watts
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