English Banger Recipes

HOMEMADE BRITISH BANGERS

Steps:

• Combine the pork, fat and crushed ice in a bowl and then, working quickly, use a meat grinder to grind the mixture through a medium die. Put the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes and then grind again through a small die. (Preferably grind the meat mixture into a bowl set atop an ice bath to keep the meat cold.) Note: It is imperative that the meat be at a constant cold temperature so that the fat doesn't get too soft. You should be able to see clear definition between the lean meat the specks of fat in the ground mixture.
• Place ground meat in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add all remaining ingredients except for the hog casings. Mix the meat mixture with the paddle for 3-4 minutes until threads begin to appear in the meat: If you take a clump of meat and pull it apart with your fingers you will see tiny threads pulling apart. When you see this your meat is ready. *If the meat mixture is too dry and stiff, add a little more ice water. You want a soft/smooth mixture that will easily go into the casings.*This is also the time to taste your sausage mixture so you can adjust the seasonings if needed. To do this, take a bit of the meat mixture, fry it up in a pan, taste it and adjust the seasonings if needed.Place the meat mixture back in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the casings.
• Thread your sausage stuffer with the prepared hog casings, fill the sausage stuffer with the meat mixture, and stuff the casings being careful to avoid air gaps while also being careful to not over-stuff the casings.Twist the sausages into links. Use a sausage pricker to prick any air bubbles out of the links.For best results chill the sausages overnight. This will give the flavors time to develop. Makes about 20 6-inch links.
• To cook, gently poach the bangers in lightly salted water and then fry, grill, or bake them. Once poached they will keep in the fridge, tightly wrapped, for up to a week. (See note for freezing instructions.)

TRADITIONAL BRITISH BANGERS

Steps:

• Knead together the pork, veal, fat, and bread.
• Stir the salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, mace, thyme, marjoram, sage, onion powder and lemon peel into the egg, and then knead into the meat mixture.
• CHEF'S NOTE: At this point, I fry a small sausage patty and taste it so that I can adjust the seasonings, because the recipe so far is fairly mild.
• Firmly stuff the mixture into the prepared hog (sausage) casings.
• Prick any air pockets with a pin.
• Poach, broil, grill, or fry them before serving.
• Serve the bangers, drowned in nice thick onion and mushroom gravy, with a heap of mashed potatoes.
• The raw sausages can be refrigerated for 3 days, cooked sausages for 1 week.
• They can also be frozen (raw, poached, or broiled) for 3 months.

ENGLISH BANGER

Steps:

• Grind pork and fat together using plate of meat grinder. Add Banger seasoning and mix well. Grind again. Stuff mixture into casings and tie in 4-5 inch lengths This mixture will be too fine to form into patties. Bake or saute as you prefer

ENGLISH BANGERS

Steps:

• Wash the sausage casings thoroughly inside and out in running water, making sure they do not escape down the drain! Fill with tepid water, and leave to soak in the sink while preparing the sausage meat.
• Cut all the meat into 1" cubes, ready to mince using small holes.
• With the coarse blade in the mincer, pass all the fat through.
• Then change the blade to small and mince the lean meat.
• Grind the salt, pepper nutmeg sage and thyme in a spice mill until very fine. Mix all together thoroughly, taking care not to beat too vigorously, the meats should be completely homogenized.
• Take a small patty and cook it in a frying pan to check the seasoning. Re-season if needed.
• Slide the skins onto the filling tube and fit to the mincer. Fill the casings, taking care not to fill too tightly, or the sausages will burst when cooked.
• Twist into suitable sized links and hang up in a cool place to mature 24 hours before freezing or cooking.

BANGERS

Steps:

• Cut pork and veal into 1-inch cubes and set aside.
• Rinse salt off fatback thoroughly, then soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Remove.
• Toss pork, veal, fatback, sage, garlic powder, salt, lemon zest, thyme, onion powder, mace, nutmeg, and pepper together very well and cover. Set in a refrigerator overnight for 12 hours.
• Pass all meat through a meat grinder. Lightly knead a couple of times, but everything should be close to blended evenly already. Cover and return to the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse out casings, passing water through the interior. Let soak in warm water for 30 minutes.
• Knot one end of casing and slide the other end over a sausage stuffing attachment on your stand mixer. Feed cold ground meat into casing on medium-low speed. If it gets too warm it is a pain to feed into the casings.
• Twist into links of desired size as casing fills. Tie off other end after final link.
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pan-fry sausages until browned and no longer pink in the centers, turning as needed, 10 to 15 minutes.

ENGLISH BANGERS

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except the casings.
• Mix together with your hands.
• If using natural hog casings, salted or dry, follow the instructions on the package to prep them. If using collagen casings, use them dry.
• Stuff the casings with your preferred method, such as a sausage stuffer, a stuffer tube on a meat grinder, a hand held stuffer (my preference), or even a funnel.
• I use 28 mm (1.10 inches) collagen casings. To prep them, I tie a knot on the end then pull it out to 7 1/2 inches and cut it off, use a pin or toothpick and poke a hole near the knotted end, this allows air to escape when you start filling, and repeat for 10 or so casings.
• Now this step requires two people. Pick up a sausage, pinch the open end down to the meat, get the air out, and twist two times, have another person tie with a string. Repeat for all of the links.
• Trim off the excess string and casing, then use a toothpick or needle, and poke 3 holes in each sausage, one on each end, one in the middle, this reduces the possibility of it "banging" or popping during cooking. Sausages are now ready to be pan fried or frozen. Once cooked, simply snip off the strings before serving.