"Get that family fed fast": 3 easy, delicious ways to do sausages for dinner.

What's the general consensus on a sausage these days?

I definitely think there's a grade system. From Bunnings to bistro, there’s an appropriate snag.

Are we down with the skinny, long, fine mince varietal or is thick and chunky full of meaty jubes your vibe? It doesn’t matter.

Bangers always seem to have a pozzie in a house no matter how posh you are. They’re like a funny mate who gets invited to every gathering just to let guests know that the conditions are chill and the energy is happy. I mean even the curve on a cooked snag makes you smile. 

And there are some seriously proud sausage makers out there… and I don’t just mean in Europe. They’re accessible to us. They’re in plain site. Almost every butcher will have a trophy sausage where they flexed a little flamboyance, casually though, mind you: “Ah yeah, this one is chicken, coriander and Jarlsberg. Just trying a few things. Cooks bloody well…”

I mean the concept is brilliant. Pre-seasoned meat and flavours for all us too shy with salt or an “I don’t have time to muck about” attitude. And despite them being around forever, no one has bothered to be as brutal as when it comes to cooking ANY OTHER meat than them. 

Just do what you do - and we all do! I have one friend who (and I don’t support this) puts them on a rack in the oven till they dry out to resemble oily, witch fingers. Gross. But not even sausages care. They ooze a “you do you” attitude with zero judgement. Sausages are the best. Really. A nightmare to style for obviously immature reasons, but if you really love them, you can see past that. 

Also, I know this will come as a shock to you, but… did you know that the skin is penetrable by knife? Bonkers right… we can REMOVE the skin and suddenly have the flavoured meat to play with as we would mince! Wild.

I turn to snags often. Fast, easy, delicious dinner in seconds.

So with that in mind I give you the perfect ingredient for a mid-week-three-way. Three shorthand recipes that mean dinner can be on the table as quick as you can skin a… sausage. 

These are ideas to get the ball rolling and I am leaving particulars up to you… sausage count, etc. But hopefully enough info to sling a pan without too much thought and get that family fed fast. 

1. Bangers and Smash.

Image: Supplied/Lucy Tweed. 

Ingredients:

• Potatoes, chopped.
• Garlic cloves.
• Frozen peas.
• Zucchini, grated.
• Beef sausages.
• One brown onion.
• Butter.
• Mustard.
• Beef stock, 1 cup.

Method:

Boil chopped spuds and a couple of cloves of garlic until just soft, then add in a cup of frozen peas and a cup of grated zucchini. 

Bring back to the boil then drain and smash with lots of butter and some warm milk. Salt and pepper well!

In a large pan, brown some beef snags really well on two sides and remove and set aside. 

Add in a sliced onion and saute in the fat with a spoon of mustard. 

After a few mins add a knob of butter and an equal amount of flour and stir until smooth. Pour in 1 cup of beef stock and simmer until it's thickened*. 

Nestle the whole snags back in (or slice in chunks) and allow to poach in the onion mustard gravy until cooked through. 

Serve while warm on a big pile of smash. 

*I completely support the use of powdered gravy here too. I can’t escape my feelings on packet gravy. 

2. Sausage Ziti.

Image: Supplied/Lucy Tweed. 

Ingredients:

• Sausages, obvi!
• Olive oil.
• Basil.
• Pasta of your choice.
• Cheese, to top with.
• Chilli, optional.

Method:

This recipe goes really well with an Italian fennel sausage but honestly… choose your own adventure!

Squeeze the sausage from its skin into little teaspoon-size meatballs. This can be done directly into a large deep frying pan with some olive oil. 

Saute until they are beginning to brown then add an entire jar of tomato passata. Throw in a sprig or two of basil and bring the sauce to a simmer. 

Boil the pasta in lots of salted water until just cooked.

Drain the pasta but KEEP 1 CUP OF PASTA WATER aside. 

Stir the pasta and the sauce together in the larger pot and pour in the pasta water ¼ at a time until the sauce is glossy and loose. 

Add lots of cheese and chilli if you dare, stir again and serve into bowls. A handful of rocket and a squeeze of lemon is delicious with this!

3. Smash Burgers.

Image: Supplied/Lucy Tweed. 

Ingredients:

• Beef mince.
• Sausage mince
• Burger buns
• Your choice of fillings and condiments!

Method:

Secret to a bloody tasty burger? 50/50 beef mince and sausage mince.

Pre-seasoned and with a few binders, once you mix it all you have the perfect stick-together delicious juicy patty. 

Pan fry or BBQ the patties and that's the hard work done. 

The best part is… the rest of this is DIY!

Just serve a big tray loaded with sliced or shredded fillings and all the condiments you can think of to make the bun of your dreams.

Just to be clear though, my specifications are:

• Plain white roll toasted + buttered (not a burger or brioche bun).
• Cheddar cheese.
• Sliced dill pickles.
• Canned sliced beet.
• Sliced tomato.
• Shredded iceberg or cos lettuce.
• American mustard.
• Tomato sauce.

But, as a sausage would say: you do you. 

Lucy Tweed is a Sydney based food stylist and the creator of Every Night of the Week, an Instagram account full of recipes for people who don't like recipes. For more of that, follow her here.

Feature image: Supplied/Lucy Tweed.

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