I had my first experience with bangers & mash when I was about 16 years old. My parents had taken me along on a trip to Ireland, and of course, we had to hit up a pub while we were there.
Ok, to be honest, it was a few pubs, but I never drank a lick of alcohol in any of them because that would be illegal…. 😉
But never mind that, what’s more, important is that we were very, very hungry when we arrived at our first pub. Not thirsty, just hungry. And despite the fact that my mom comes from an Irish Catholic family, we were sort of at a loss as to what to order. Luckily our kind waitress pointed us in the right direction and recommended the bangers & mash.
Now like most Americans, we had never heard about bangers & mash, let alone eat it. But for our friends across the pond, bangers & mash is quintessential pub grub. In fact, few dishes could rank higher in the hearts and minds.
But this still begs the question, what the hell is bangers & mash?
Well, the answer is quite simple.
For starters, there are the bangers which are just simple pork sausages.
Why are they called bangers?
No clue, I’m a cook, not an etymologist.
The mash, on the other hand, is a little bit easier to understand. It just refers to mashed potatoes.
Yet the best part of the entire meal is that this combination of banger & mash is all smothered in a delicious onion gravy. It’s just one of those classic comfort food dishes. It goes perfect with a pint of Guinness, but then again I would know nothing about that.
So since St. Patricks day is just around the corner I thought it would be a great time to share this timeless pub classic with you fine folks. And to make our bangers & mash a little bit more Irish I thought we would add some Guinness to our onion gravy. It makes it just a little bit better.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- If you’re not a fan of pork sausages, then you can easily sub them out with chicken sausages.
- True banger sausages are hard to find in the US. Don’t worry you really just need any type of pork sausage, when in doubt use bratwurst.
- A tip from my grandmother for making better mashed potatoes is to warm the milk in your microwave before adding it to your potatoes.
- When your done eating these bangers and mash, why don’t you sip on our classic Irish coffee
Bangers & Mash Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
4 Bangers, or pork sausages
For the mash:
3 Large russet potatoes, peeled
½ to 1 Cup of milk
3 Tablespoons of butter
For the onion gravy:
1 Large onion, thinly sliced
1½ Cups of beef broth, or 1 14.5 oz can
1 Cup of Guinness
3 Tablespoons of flour
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
½ Teaspoon of dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Optional garnish:
Chopped parsley
Instructions
- Start making the mash: Cut the peeled potatoes up into roughly 2-inch sized chunks, and toss them into a large pot. Add enough water to this pot so that the potatoes are covered by an inch or two. Place this pot over medium-high heat and let it boil.
- Brown up the bangers: While to potatoes are boiling, brown up the bangers in a large walled pan, for about 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Then take the bangers out and set them aside.
- Make the onion gravy: Toss in and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pan. Then add and saute the sliced onion for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are browned up. Once you’ve done that, toss in the flour and stir it into the onion slices for 1 minute. Finally slowly add in the Guinness, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Stir this all up and let it come to a simmer.
- Return the bangers to the gravy: Return the bangers to the pan and let it simmer with the lid on for 15 to 20 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
- Finish making the mash: Check to make sure the potatoes are cooked by piercing them with a fork, if it goes in easily then they are cooked. Now drain them of the water and put the pot back over medium heat. Add in the butter, and shake the pot until the butter melts and covers all of the potatoes. Take the pot off the heat. Add about ¼ cup of the milk and begin mashing the potatoes with a potato masher. Then add more milk and mix it into the potatoes until it is the consistency you prefer. Finally, add in some salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the bangers & mash by scooping out a hefty amount of the mashed potatoes on a plate. Then top these mashed potatoes with 1 or 2 bangers, and smother it with the onion gravy. Sprinkle on top some parsley if you are using it and enjoy!
Bangers & Mash Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Bangers or pork sausages
For the mash:
- 3 Large russet potatoes peeled
- ½ to 1 Cup of milk
- 3 Tablespoons of butter
For the onion gravy:
- 1 Large onion thinly sliced
- 1½ Cups of beef broth or 1 14.5 oz can
- 1 Cup of Guinness
- 3 Tablespoons of flour
- 2 Tablespoons of butter
- 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- ½ Teaspoon of dried thyme
- Salt and pepper
Optional garnish:
- Chopped parsley
Instructions
- Start making the mash: Cut the peeled potatoes up into roughly 2 inch sized chunks, and toss them into a large pot. Add enough water to this pot so that the potatoes are covered by an inch or two. Place this pot over medium-high heat and let it boil.
- Brown up the bangers: While to potatoes are boiling, brown up the bangers in a large walled pan, for about 5 to 7 minutes each side. Then take the bangers out and set them aside.
- Make the onion gravy: Toss in and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pan. Then add and saute the sliced onion for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are browned up. Once you’ve done that, toss in the flour and stir it into the onion slices for 1 minute. Finally slowly add in the Guinness, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Stir this all up and let it come to a simmer.
- Return the bangers to the gravy: Return the bangers to the pan and let it simmer with the lid on for 15 to 20 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
- Finish making the mash: Check to make sure the potatoes are cooked by piercing them with a fork, if it goes in easily then they are cooked. Now drain them of the water and put the pot back over medium heat. Add in the butter, and shake the pot until the butter melts and covers all of the potatoes. Take the pot off the heat. Add about ¼ cup of the milk and begin mashing the potatoes with a potato masher. Then add more milk and mix it into the potatoes until it is the consistency you prefer. Finally, add in some salt and pepper to taste
- Serve the bangers & mash by scooping out a hefty amount of the mashed potatoes on a plate. Then top these mashed potatoes with 1 or 2 bangers, and smother it with the onion gravy. Sprinkle on top some parsley if you are using it and enjoy!
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