return to the British banger issue . . .

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CookieMonster

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the prior thread drifted off . . .

but I have a question for the current/prior Brits - and as lately expressed,,,, the Irish

I have visited UK - primarily London and surrounds out to the Luton area - many times.
but not "lived there" - methinks one really cannot absorb what's going on unless one actually lives/cooks/etc in an area for minimum six months.
which brings me to the question:

{{backstory - have lived long term in Germany - every single butcher - 3 or 4 to a block.... - has sausages of their own making and - yes, Virginia, they all taste a-bit to a-lot different. and Italy - substitute "red gravy" for "banger" - same issue....}}

so . . . is there one semi-the-same "sausage recipe" for British breakfast bangers? or does every city/region have it's own?
(same as recently indicated for "Irish bangers"....)
if they are not "all the same" ((((((((((((((how could they be?))))))))))))))) how does one know which is 'real?'
 
CookieMonster said:
the prior thread drifted off . . .

but I have a question for the current/prior Brits - and as lately expressed,,,, the Irish

I have visited UK - primarily London and surrounds out to the Luton area - many times.
but not "lived there" - methinks one really cannot absorb what's going on unless one actually lives/cooks/etc in an area for minimum six months.
which brings me to the question:

{{backstory - have lived long term in Germany - every single butcher - 3 or 4 to a block.... - has sausages of their own making and - yes, Virginia, they all taste a-bit to a-lot different. and Italy - substitute "red gravy" for "banger" - same issue....}}

so . . . is there one semi-the-same "sausage recipe" for British breakfast bangers? or does every city/region have it's own?
(same as recently indicated for "Irish bangers"....)
if they are not "all the same" ((((((((((((((how could they be?))))))))))))))) how does one know which is 'real?'
Click to expand...
Maybe they are all "real" and quite good. I know when I eat food here in the US it can vary greatly from region to region. I love shrimp and grits, for example, but it's done in a different fashion from say, the way the Cajuns in Louisiana do it to the way they do it in the Carolinas. Same thing with BBQ meats. The rubs and sauces are going to vary from place to place, but that doesn't make it any less "real". Everyone is going to have their personal preferences.
 
don't disagree - but for some odd reason seems "British bangers" are somehow 'different, but all the same" from oh-so-many-other-sausage offerings . . .

the grits&shrimp is a good example - grits be 'all-the-same' - shrimp be 'all the same' - so the differences are seasonings . . . and 'seasoning and sausages' is the same issue....
 
CookieMonster said:
don't disagree - but for some odd reason seems "British bangers" are somehow 'different, but all the same" from oh-so-many-other-sausage offerings . . .

the grits&shrimp is a good example - grits be 'all-the-same' - shrimp be 'all the same' - so the differences are seasonings . . . and 'seasoning and sausages' is the same issue....
Click to expand...
Yup. I'd say for most everything I have ever eaten from place to place it's going to be different...except for maybe good ole' fried eggs over easy. Most everyone will just add salt and pepper and call it a day!

Edit to add: the shrimp can be quite different. I notice a distinct difference in the flavor of Atlantic shrimp to Gulf of Mexico shrimp, and also royal reds are different from tiger shrimp...oh yeah and then there are white grits and yellow grits, which not only look different but have a subtly different flavor. But basically after they are seasoned and sauced most people aren't going to tell much of a difference in the shrimp or the grits I suppose.
 
They vary a lot.
A bog standard breakfast style banger contains a reasonable amount of rusk to give them a much softer texture than other European sausages.
But that can vary wildly.
The spices often include pepper (black white or both), nutmeg (which I don’t like but works in a sausage) sometimes it’s sage or coriander or dried onion but there are many many more.
The salt levels also vary wildly.

Essentially you work your way through every brand of sausage until you find one that suits you. I dislike more of them than I actually like. The British supermarket in Spain sells British many types of British sausage but not one I want to eat 😂
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
They vary a lot.
A bog standard breakfast style banger contains a reasonable amount of rusk to give them a much softer texture than other European sausages.
But that can vary wildly.
The spices often include pepper (black white or both), nutmeg (which I don’t like but works in a sausage) sometimes it’s sage or coriander or dried onion but there are many many more.
The salt levels also vary wildly.

Essentially you work your way through every brand of sausage until you find one that suits you. I dislike more of them than I actually like. The British supermarket in Spain sells British many types of British sausage but not one I want to eat 😂
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Sounds a *lot* like sausage here. There's mild and hot and they're all Italian... I'll have to stick to making my own.
 
Barriehie said:
Sounds a *lot* like sausage here. There's mild and hot and they're all Italian... I'll have to stick to making my own.
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I think that's a good plan. My husband makes sausage with his cousins once a year. We always get the Hungarian and their version of Italian sausage (which has little to no fennel seed thankfully). I absolutely love the way they make their sausage, it's so much better than store-bought. I always ask for no casings of course. I am sure your bangers will be delicious!
 
There are certainly regional sausages in the UK. But also a plethora of other sausages from artisan to mass produced which are all on sale in supermarkets and butchers here.

Regional sausages include Lincolnshire and Cumberland sausages but there are many more
 
JAS_OH1 said:
I think that's a good plan. My husband makes sausage with his cousins once a year. We always get the Hungarian and their version of Italian sausage (which has little to no fennel seed thankfully). I absolutely love the way they make their sausage, it's so much better than store-bought. I always ask for no casings of course. I am sure your bangers will be delicious!
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Thank you! This site is contributing to dirty dishes... 🤣
 
Any time I was back in the UK between 1982 and 2008, I'd get in the car with my dad and we'd go hunting for decent bangers. To begin with, they'd be available in Maidstone, but then the butchers all closed down and we'd have to travel 10-15-20 miles ( to Appledore) to find a decent one. Not a problem as there was always a pub close by if we got thirsty.
For me, it's got to be a pork sausage, pork fat,rusk/breadcrumbs, sage (and probably white pepper), with the rusk/breadcrumbs just present enough to make the sausage soft. You can fiddle around with the seasoning a bit (rosemary, thyme, etc) but as soon as you start adding apples, dried apricots, coriander leaf, lemongrass or Thai chiles, then it ceases to be proper banger.
When in the UK in 2022-23, the best ones I ate were from Waitrose, in Putney. The Sainsbury's, Co-op and Tesco varieties were dire. Dry and tasteless.
 
My recipe that I'll be stuffing tomorrow looks like this.

Ingredients
• 4 Pounds Of Lean Shoulder Pork
• 1 Pound Of Pork Fat
• 3 Teaspoons of Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Of White Pepper
• 12 Teaspoon Of Mace
• 12 Teaspoon Of Nutmeg
• 1 Teaspoon Of Sage
• 1 Teaspoon Of Onion Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Of Thyme
• 1 Teaspoons Of Ginger
• 2 Cups Of Breadcrumbs
• Hog Casings
 
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If I were a diehard British Nationalist Banger Maker (which I'm not), I'd forget the ginger and onion powder.
Personally, - sounds great!
 
I’d also ditch the ginger.
But only 1tsp in 5llbs of pork I’m sure will be fine.
With British sausages you want the flavours there but not so pronounced that anything dominates over the pork flavour. They taste good but it’s hard to pick out exactly why.
There are a lot more spices and herbs in that recipe that you’d find in most sausages.
I’m not entirely sure you’ll have enough salt in there for the amount of pork you have. If you google salt per kilo for sausages you’ll find it’s a lot more.
Closer to the sandwich meat ratios (although I don’t like mine that salty).

When I’m not certain what traditional shop bought varieties ingredients are I head over to Ocado (because they have a large number of different varieties) and read the ingredients on the products.
Did it the other day when I want to know the piccalilli ingredients.
There was surprisingly little difference in that product.

www.ocado.com
 
Barriehie said:
My recipe that I'll be stuffing tomorrow looks like this.

Ingredients
• 4 Pounds Of Lean Shoulder Pork
• 1 Pound Of Pork Fat
• 3 Teaspoons of Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Of White Pepper
• 12 Teaspoon Of Mace
• 12 Teaspoon Of Nutmeg
• 1 Teaspoon Of Sage
• 1 Teaspoon Of Onion Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Of Thyme
• 1 Teaspoons Of Ginger
• 2 Cups Of Breadcrumbs
• Hog Casings
Click to expand...

Seems a lot of nutmeg and mace in there... both are similar in flavour and can be overpowering if you aren't careful.

I think the ginger is probably superfluous as has been said above.
 
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