How to Make Bangers, the Classic English Sausage, From Scratch
John D Lee is a chef and restauranteur living and working in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He's always loved to cook.
Bangers are mildly sweet, spiced, fresh pork sausages. They are great with breakfast and great for dinner, especially as a part of the classic duo bangers and mash.
You can pay a premium for supermarket bangers that may or may not taste good, that may or may not contain a lot of additives and preservatives that you don’t really want, and that may have less meat and more breadcrumbs than you'd like. Or…
You can make your own!
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: if you can make meatballs or meatloaf, then you can make a fresh sausage! Although it is not something that many people make at home, it is a very simple thing to do:
- Mix up some meat and spices, adding a little breadcrumb and a little liquid.
- Stuff the mixture into a casing.
- Cook it!
Not exactly rocket science. Anyway, next time you’re in the mood for bangers, try making your own and be amazed at how easy and how delicious homemade sausages can be. Cleaned, ready-to-use sausage casings can often be found at butcher shops. I get mine from an Italian grocery shop (salted for long keeping), and so you may have luck with similar types of stores.
Here’s a very simple recipe that tastes great.
English Bangers Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of regular ground pork
- 2¾ teaspoons of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon of ground sage
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground mace (or nutmeg)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup of cold water
- Sausage casings
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients (except for the sausage casings). It’s always a good idea to check your seasoning before stuffing the sausages, so take a spoonful of the meat and either sauté it up until cooked through or simply microwave it until it's cooked and then taste for salt and spices, adding more if necessary.
- Select and rinse a few casings. Casings are usually sold in such large quantities they could feed a small army, so just save what you don’t use today for next time. Salted casings will last for years if kept refrigerated. Rinse them out well with water, running water over the exterior and through the sausage casing itself as well. The water will balloon through the sausage, making it easier to stuff.
- Once your casings are cleaned, take a funnel with a wide opening and insert the opening into the sausage casing. Start filling your funnel with meat, pressing it down with a spoon or with your fingers to push it into the casing. If your funnel is too small (which makes it tough to squeeze the meat through), try cutting a small plastic water bottle in half, and then using that as a homemade funnel for stuffing.
- Once you’ve filled a casing, tie off one end and then segment the casing into sausage links by twisting vigorously every few inches, making sausages of any length you desire.
- Cook them by pan frying gently until an internal temperature of 165 is reached.
Delicious!
Comments
Philip Stock on March 12, 2019:
Are Herbs & Spices increased exponentially for more meat?
Becky on March 28, 2017:
I LOVE Bangers! I went to London in 2004, and tried the English Breakfast served by the hotel where I stayed: Bangers, eggs, mushrooms, etc. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Unfortunately, where I live, we aren't able to get Bangers except to buy them online, and I hate being tied to a supplier like that.
This recipe just fulfilled a dream I've had for 13 years -- being able to eat Bangers again. Thanks so much!
