Bangers and Mash with Guinness Gravy

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4.84 from 37 votes

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Gravy

Bangers and mash with Guinness gravy is pub fare fit for a St. Patrick's Day celebration or whenever the comfort food notion strikes! Juicy sausages, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and a savory stout-infused onion gravy make the ultimate Irish dinner at home.

Prep Time25

Cook Time35

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Irish

Servings: servings

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Cost: $3.79 per serving

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Bangers

1 pound bangers or good quality pork sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces Guinness stout

For the Stout Onion Gravy

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large yellow onions thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Guinness stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beef broth or chicken broth
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

For the Buttermilk Mash

4 large russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup buttermilk warmed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking the Bangers

Add the olive oil to a large cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, carefully add the sausages and slowly pour in the stout. Reduce the heat slightly and place the lid on askew to allow some steam to escape. Cook the sausages and stout covered for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through.
Uncover and allow the liquid to reduce a bit and coat the sausages. When the liquid is almost gone, lower heat to low, cover and cook, rotating occasionally, until the sausages are evenly browned and cooked through, about another 10 minutes. Sausages will begin to glaze and become dark and shiny.

Making the Stout Onion Gravy

In a separate deep skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sliced yellow onions and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook until lightly golden and very fragrant, about 20 minutes. Add the fresh thyme leaves and stir for a minute until the thyme becomes aromatic.
Sprinkle flour over top the onion mixture and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in stout and scrape the bottom of pan to deglaze and loosen brown bits. Add Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, stir, and allow to simmer until no longer foamy, about 15 minutes. Stout onion gravy will thicken upon standing.

Making the Buttermilk Mash

Fill a large pot with water and the kosher salt. Add prepared potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes until they are fork tender, then drain them well and add them back to the pot. Place the pot on the still-hot burner and shake the pan to encourage the potatoes to dry out further.
While potatoes cook, melt butter in a saucepan along with buttermilk, salt and pepper. You only need to heat the buttermilk enough to warm it.
Combine the buttermilk with the potatoes and use a handheld potato masher to mash and cream the potatoes. Leaving a few chunks here and there is fine.
Assemble a heap of potatoes in several wide shallow bowls. Ladle generously with the Guinness stout onion gravy and top with two or three bangers. Enjoy with a pint and wedges of warm Irish soda bread!

Notes

Try to use authentic bangers that include rusk if you can find them (I bought mine at Trader Joe's). Otherwise, use good-quality pork sausages.
Use Guinness or any ale, lager, or stout to poach the sausages. The beer will evaporate, and the sugars will caramelize, leaving a thick, dark, and flavorful syrup coating the sausage. This will add an amazing flavor to the gravy!
If you don't have russet potatoes on hand, Yukon Gold is a good substitute. Either of these types will make wonderful mash!

Nutrition