There is one thing that the British do very well . . . and that is the good old British Banger! (Sausage to you non-Brits! Of course, it is also something that they do really poorly too . . . but we won't talk about those!) You just can't beat a good old fashioned, meaty, top quality, Butcher's thick sausage banger . . . avoid the cheap ones at all costs. They are just plain nasty and filled with fillers and other ucky stuff that you don't want to be eating.
I picked up some really nice smoked ones at the shops the other day. I wasn't sure what to expect . . . as they did not look like the smoked sausage that I am used to from back home. These looked just like regular bangers . . . upon reading the ingredients though, I learned that they were composed of uncooked smoked and regular pork. I thought they would be worth trying. They looked quite good.
I decided yesterday that I was going to braise them . . . I had some open cider that I had used last week and I wanted to use it up and so I decided that it would be just the thing for braising these sausages in . . .
And then I decided to add some thyme and some honey . . . because thyme and honey go very well together and I thought those flavours would be fabulous with the pork and the cider!
Know what??? I was RIGHT!
These were fabulous. They had my meat and potatoes loving hubster salivating as soon as he saw his plate. He could not wait to tuck in.
I do love it when my man is happy. It makes me happy too.
*Cider and Honey Braised Bangers*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Easy and delicious. This is a meal that cooks itself.
8 good quality thick and meaty sausages
225ml of Apple Cider (1 cup)
2 TBS runny honey
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 small cabbage, trimmed, cored and cut into wedges
a knob of butter
Melt the butter in a skillet large enough to hold your sausages and the cabbage. (You will need one with a lid.) Once the butter begins to foam, add the sausages. Brown over medium heat on first one side, and then the other. Once they are browned, tuck in the wedges of cabbages wherever they will fit. Sprinkle all with the thyme. Drizzle with the honey and pour over the cider. Cover tightly and turn to low. Braise for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the lid and scoop out the cabbage wedges. Cover and keep warm. Turn up the heat under the skillet and continue to cook the sausages, as the liquid bubbles away, turning them occasionally, until they are nicely glazed and the pan has some nice thick juices in it. Divide the sausages and cabbage amongst 4 heated plates and drizzle with some of those scrummy pan drippings.
Potatoes go very well with this, either steamed new potatoes or mash. It's up to you!
