Traditional yet straightforward, bangers and mash consist of various flavoured sausages, known as bangers, mashed potatoes, and occasionally onion sauce or fried onions. It’s a classic British cuisine. Easy to make at home, sausages and mash may be found at pubs around England, Scotland, and Ireland.
How Did It Serve?
The fried sausages, known as bangers, are often paired with mashed potatoes, and green onions or parsley may be added to the mash if desired. Gourmet variants of this meal are common in upscale gastropubs, where unusual ingredients such as foreign sausages and potato mashes are used.
It’s easy to make bangers and mash. Caramelize or brown two big, thinly sliced onions in lard or olive oil. After the onions have been cooked and the stock and corn-starch have been added, mix and put aside if gravy is wanted. Using a fork, pierce the sausages and cook them on a low flame until they’re well browned.
If you prefer not to use caramelized onions, try using fried onions as a substitute, and you can find out here for more details.
Why Is It So Popular?
The sausage is the fundamental element in this style of substantial and simple pub food. The Cumberland sausage is often used to make bangers, which may be pork or beef in origin, and pork chops are mixed with white or black pepper and other herbs and spices to make Cumberland sausages, sold in long coils rather than links.
Traditional Cumberland sausage has a meat percentage of up to 98 per cent, but mass-produced sausages might contain as little as 45 per cent of the flesh they are comprised of. Emulsified meat, rather than minced pig, is used in these products, which are commonly presented in the form of links. Because of this, in March 2011, the European Union (EU) provided specific protection for Cumberland sausages. For this reason, the EU allows only Cumberland sausages prepared in Cumbria that meets specified specifications to be labelled as “traditional.”
As a slang name for sausage, the origin of the phrase “banger” isn’t apparent. Despite the widespread idea that the slang term bangers first appeared in print during World War II, it dates back to 1919. According to legend, sausages were produced with water during World War II, making them more prone to explode or “bang” when cooked at high temperatures.
Finally
The term “bangers and mash” often appears in various media, including music, literature, and cinema. British rock band Radiohead, for instance, featured a tune titled “Bangers + Mash” on the extra CD offered with their 2007 album In Rainbows. Bangers and mash, two chimps from a late 1980s children’s animation, have also starred in films including King Ralph and Get Him to the Greek.