Posh Sausages in Yorkshire Puddings, with Red Onion gravy

When I produced this cute little dinner one night this week, Mr Saturday Night was delighted – it’s comfort food at it’s best – sausages, home-made gravy and Yorkshire pudding – does it get any better than that?

It’s a really good way of making a ‘sausage and mash’ dinner into something special. If you’ve bought some nice sausages, you might want to give this a go sometime. Otherwise, the Red Onion Gravy is a little recipe worth keeping up your sleeve, as is the Yorkshire pudding recipe.. I’m going to post them both up separately later on, for ease of use.

EQUIPMENT:

• baking tray, for the sausages ( If you always fry your sausages, you’ll need a frying pan; if you always grill them, a grill etc..)
• small – 15cm- round tins, for the Yorkshire puddings, or a large, deep roasting tray.(see NOTES)
• small saucepan, for the gravy
• medium/large bowl
• A whisk (hand-held is fine)

INGREDIENTS: for 4

• 3 really good quality sausages per person (I used Venison)

For the Red Onion Gravy:

• 2-3 large red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoonful of vegetable oil, and a knob of butter
• tablespoon of fresh Thyme, or a teaspoon of dried.
• 1 dessertspoon of plain flour
• Splash of red wine or Port
• 300mls hot beef stock
• squeeze of lemon juice

For the Yorkshire Puddings:

• 175g  plain flour
• 2 large eggs
• 175ml cold water
• 75ml milk
• salt and pepper

 

METHOD: I make the gravy first, so that it can be bubbling away gently while I get on with the rest

• Heat the oil and butter on a fairly high heat.
• Add the sliced onions and coat them in the oil/butter mixture.

• Cover, and reduce the heat a little until they’ve softened.
• Add the finely chopped thyme
• add the wine and allow to bubble up and reduce.
• add the flour, and stir in well- the mixture should look fairly dry at this stage.

• Add the hot stock gradually , stirring all the time.
• The gravy will thicken up – if you think it’s too thick, just add a little more hot water.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning – you might want to add the lemon juice at this stage – just a tiny squeeze to sharpen the flavours.
• Put the pot into a very low heat at the back of the hob until you need it
• Put the sausages on to cook.

Make the batter for the Yorkshire Puddings:

• Season the flour with salt and pepper
• add the eggs and whisk in – this will be a horribly sticky mess, but don’t panic!

• Add the milk/water mixture a little at a time, whisking vigorously as you go
• Add the last of the liquid, and whisk again. You should have something that looks like pancake batter.

• This batter will wait (in a cool spot) until you’re ready to make the puddings
• Check that the sausages are completely cooked – keep warm.
• Put the oven on to a very high setting – I usually put mine to 220 degrees
• Add a tablespoonful of vegetable (not Olive) oil to each dish that the Yorkshire puddings are going to be made in (see NOTES)
• Put the dishes into the hot oven until they are really hot, and the oil is almost smoking.
• Remove the dishes (CAREFULLY!) from the oven and immediately divide the batter evenly between them – if the oil is properly heated, you’ll see the batter start to cook at the edges.

• return the dishes to the oven and leave, at the high heat for about 15 minutes – if you watch, you’ll see them rise up and brown in the oven.
• Remove the cooked Yorkshire puddings from the oven, and place them on warmed  dinner plates
• Add the cooked sausages and top with the red onion gravy

• Serve with mashed potato or Champ.

NOTES:

• The dishes for the Yorkshire Puddings will vary – this recipe is enough to make 12 x muffin-tin-sized puddings (use a teaspoon of oil in each), or 4 x 15cm/6 inch individual puddings (like the ones in the pictures) or one small, deep roasting tray (mine’s about 30×20 cm) Use 2-3 tablespoonfuls of oil for the large tin.  If you’re making the smaller puddings, you could cut your sausages in half to fit them into each pudding. If you’re making one large pudding, just cut it into 4/6 pieces, making sure that everyone gets a nice crunchy side bit, then arrange the sausages and gravy on it.
• Yorkshire puddings can be made ahead and reheated when required, and the gravy can too. And of course you can buy ready made..
• The lemon juice in the gravy is optional – I think it depends on what kind of onions you’re using. Be sure to taste it before deciding to use the lemon juice, and even then, use just a teaspoonful.
• These are very good for parties – You can make individual Yorkshire puddings earlier in the day, then fill them with cooked cocktail sausages, heat them in the oven until piping hot, and give each one a dollop of gravy as you serve them..