Monday, February 25, 2013

Bangers & Mash-Up: A Meat and Potatoes Challenge


Nothing will shake me out of my blogging doldrums like a good old Creative Cooking Crew challenge. This month's challenge, hosted by the fab Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! and the lovely Joan of Foodalogue,  was as wide open as it gets: We were tasked with creating a dish around the theme of "meat and potatoes."

So. Where to begin? Well, given that I have been on something of a British television kick lately (particularly BBC Sherlock, but as this is a food blog and not a fangirl's Tumblr I will spare you the details) I decided I would look to the traditional cuisine of the U.K. for ideas.

First stop: 1787, the date that the Oxford Companion to Food cites as the first reference to Toad in the Hole.  First described as "meat boiled in a crust," it has evolved into an iconic British dish of sausages cooked in a Yorkshire pudding batter. So far, so inspiring, but my dish-to-be still needed the starch component. And what goes with sausage, or bangers, better than mash?

And so I had my dish - "bangers and mash-up," a twisted cross between toad in the hole and bangers and mash. Rather than the traditional Cumberland pork sausages, my version uses a decidedly more American beef and Kentucky bourbon sausage, and instead of a white potato mash I used mini blue potatoes which I fried in duck fat.  And finally, I dressed up the batter with a bit of fresh sage.  Gourmet? Not really, but a fun creation nonetheless.
You try making sausages look pretty.  
Before making this, I read dire warnings about the temperamental nature of Yorkshire pudding batter. The batter is simple enough to throw together - 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 3 beaten eggs, a pinch of salt, and butter - but if you don't handle it right it can flop. The keys are to let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes and to  get your cooking vessel blazing hot, with the oil hissing and sputtering, before you pour the batter in. Do this and a fluffy result is nearly guaranteed. The rest is pure simplicity: I heated my duck fat smeared casserole for 15 minutes at 425 F while I fried the potatoes and sausage. Next I plopped everything together into the hot casserole and baked for about 25 minutes.

The only thing it was missing was some traditional onion gravy, which I'll make next time. It's too much fun for there to not be a next time.

Make sure to check out the other meat and potato creations over at Lazaro's blog. Cheers!






14 comments:

  1. Love this crossover dish! It's the best of both worlds and it looks like comforting Heaven! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes very comforting and its always a real pain to photograph some dishes...I would dig into this at once...

    ReplyDelete
  3. This really looks delicious. I love that there's batter involved with the meat and potatoes.

    P.S. Thanks for the 'lovely'. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perfect comfort food for the perfectly awful weather we've been having. A lovely homage to the old country. Amazing the way comfort food can be so good... love the potato/batter combo. Great for a chilly brunch!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Its always a good time when bangers are involved. You have made the confort food of meat and potatoes even more comforting. Makes me long for the mother country.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great idea to combine all this! A complete meal!

    ReplyDelete
  7. looks great one of my fav British dishes

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'll have a nice hefty piece and a pint of lager please. Great classic pub choice for this theme.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a creative and fun idea. I'm curious now about the BBC Sherlock. I made Yorkshire pudding when I was a teenager and I cooked a prime rib and it was oh so delicious as I'm sure your dish is.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fun twist! Love everything about your redux of this classic pub dish and those KY bourbon sausages sound delicious. We just got into Downton Abbey but need to watch Season 2 to catch up - we're late bloomers.

    ReplyDelete
  11. a great meld - there are so many ways to go and I dunno if I would have thought sausage yet, it is a favorite... great job

    ReplyDelete
  12. haha, loved the comment about making sausages pretty :) i think they look pretty good with that crispy crust around them! sounds delish

    ReplyDelete
  13. Crikey, this is bloody marvelous! Jolly well done old girl!
    Super creative twist on the challenge. No, it really isn't that pretty, but I'd be chuffed to bits to be served this for dinner.
    LL

    ReplyDelete
  14. Pretty or not, this looks really, really good. Sausages and Yorkshire pudding are two of my favorite things to eat...

    ReplyDelete