Bangers

With Firework night on Monday and British Sausage Week starting the same day, it’s only right to dedicate this post to the humble banger. For some people sausages are a summertime food, but I’ve never found them to be particularly well suited to barbecue cooking and I don’t think you can get a much better accompaniment than a big dollop of creamy mash and a vat of onion gravy.

The British banger used to be a sad pasty shadow of its European cousins in France, Spain and Italy, but those days are thankfully far behind us. There has been a huge sausage renaissance in recent years with the ratio of meat on the up and an ever expanding range of flavours and seasonings to choose from.

They are great bonfire night food too, whether it’s a quick sausage in a bun before going to watch the fireworks or a comforting sausage casserole to warm you up when you get back.

When cooking sausages, there are a few tips that will make them a sizzling success:

• Take the sausages out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you start cooking so they come up to room temperature – this will help them cook more evenly inside.
• Never prick them – any holes in the skin will encourage the bangers to burst and you want to keep all those sausagey juices on the inside.
• For me there’s only one way to cook a sausage and that’s in a frying pan. Before you send in the health police, remember that sausages aren’t particularly absorbent, so they won’t take on the oil you cook them in, but it will stop them from drying out like they can under the grill.
• Use just 1 tablespoon of oil and start the sausages off in a cold pan. Arrange them with the inside of the curve facing down – if you cook the sides first, they’ll be too rigid for you to go back and get this bit browned later.
• Cook the sausages over the lowest heat setting – a proper thick sausage should take between 15 and 20 minutes to cook to bronzed and juicy perfection.
• Turn the sausages little by little every few minutes and by the time you’ve built up a lovely burnished brown skin, the inside should be just right.

My top 5 sausage buys

Sizable sizzles – if you have a hungry sausage-loving crowd to feed, this fantastic reversible griddle is your friend (currently down to £22 at Procook). It fits over 2 rings on your hob and can also be used on the barbeque in the summer – genius!

Brilliant banger recipes – “Sausages - Mouth-watering recipes from merguez to mortadella” by Paul Gayler is a comprehensive guide to grilling, baking, frying and casseroling your way through the great sausages of the world (£20 from Waterstones). A sizzlingly good read!

Sensational sausage stews – the best sausages deserve the best cookware and this oval Le Creuset casserole dish in cassis will look stunning on any table (currently down to £92.80 at Debenhams). Definitely one for the Christmas list!

Sausage spotter’s guide – “Sausage - A country by country photographic guide with recipes” is the perfect present for sausage geeks (£14.99 from Waterstones). So many sausages to try, so little time.

Tender turning – these stylish tongs by Joseph Joseph are covered in non-stick heat resistant silicone, making them perfect for dexterous turning, without bursting your bangers (£12.50 from Debenhams). The clever design also elevates the ends off the work surface, so no more sticky puddles.

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Review of Ed’s Easy Diner

With all this talk of sausages, I feel I have to confess something: I’ve never had a true American hotdog. We’ve been to the States a couple of times, but I’ve always been distracted by the pastrami sandwiches and pretzels. My children remember them though and whenever we go to Festival Place they’re always desperate to go into Ed’s Easy Diner. 

I normally try to steer the children away from fast food, but when I looked on the Ed’s website, I discovered that all the beef they use for their hamburgers and hotdogs comes from Farm Assured West Country farms. They also do a fantastic deal called ‘Kids Club Fridays’ where the children get a free meal with every adult main ordered. I’m sold!

The restaurant is a fantastically kitsch replica of a 1950s American diner – all chrome and red vinyl. There are some very cute touches like the restored ‘Dime Selector’ duke box at each table where 20p will buy you a tune and all the proceeds go to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. 

Ed’s make a very respectable milkshake in a mouth-watering range of flavours, made the old fashioned way with proper ice cream. Of the flavours that we try, the mint one is the clear winner – smooth and cooling and a beautiful duck egg green colour.

In the name of research, I choose the ‘classic dog’ – a frankfurter sausage in a soft bun topped with a mountain of fried onions. Mr B goes one further and orders the chilli dog which arrives with a generous portion of the house chilli con carne on top. To get in the spirit of the place, I top my classic dog with the traditional twin zigzags of French’s mustard and ketchup, and take my first bite. Pretty darn good! The frankfurter is nothing like an English sausage as it’s made in a completely different way, but it has loads of flavour and a lovely firm meaty texture. Mr B, who has more hotdog experience than I do, assures me that not all frankfurters are created equal and vouches for the fact that these are a very good quality example (must be all that prime British beef!).

We order a portion of sweet potato fries which turn out to be my favourite dish of the evening. They have the thinnest of batter coatings to help crisp the outside and they go very nicely with the jalapeno jelly that comes with the onion rings. The chunky onion rings themselves are also very tasty, the batter properly crispy and the onions meltingly soft inside.

With the sound of Elvis on the jukebox, the riotously retro design and the all-American menu, Ed’s Easy Diner is like taking a little break away from real life. It’s also brilliant fun for the kids, and in this case, a little bit of what they fancy doesn’t have to do your pocket or your conscience any harm.

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So what’s your favourite bonfire night food and how will you be celebrating on 5th November? Do the British make the best bangers or do you hanker after a Yankee hot dog? 

Happy nibbling!

Fiona B x