What better way to celebrate
St. Patrick’s Day than by cooking traditional pub fare? Think of this like British bangers & mash, but with distinctive Irish heritage and flair. Put these flavorful sausages and mashed potatoes together with a rich onion gravy, and you’ll have one seriously satisfying meal for St. Patrick’s Day and beyond.
What makes Irish sausages special?
During WW2, rationing meant that many meat products were made with more fillers than usual—sausages had higher water-to-meat ratio, causing them to occasionally explode when cooked. Hence, the name bangers was born. Irish sausages are similar in composition, though there is one distinctive difference: British sausages are made with bread crumbs, whereas Irish sausages are made with rusk (a twice-baked bread somewhat like a savory biscotti).
What is champ?
Champ is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with scallions, butter, and cream. It’s similar to colcannon, but without the cabbage. We’ve kept it simple here, but any of your favorite potato add-ins would be welcome.
How to make Irish sausages & champ:
The thing to note in this recipe is that all three elements—potatoes, sausages, and gravy—cook simultaneously. The order of operations is as follows: Cook potatoes, then tent to keep warm. While the potatoes cook, sear the sausages, then use the same skillet to cook the onions. The onions will take at least 30 minutes to get deeply caramelized, so you’ll want to get your potatoes done while they cook. If the onions start to get burnt or stick to the pan too much, simply add a little bit of water. Once the onions are finished and the potatoes are soft, you’ll simmer the gravy for another 10 minutes and mash up the potatoes.
Serving ideas:
To serve, you’ll want to plate up a big scoop of potatoes, 2 sausages, and a generous amount of the warm onion gravy spooned over everything. This dish is great on its own, but there are also so many side dishes and condiments that would be delicious nestled next to the sausages and champ. Try baked beans, Yorkshire puddings, braised cabbage, sautéed peas, or whatever you can come up with. We say, you can never go wrong with the classic combo of crusty bread and butter.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below.