Gordon Ramsay’s bangers and mash is pork sausages basted in butter with rosemary and garlic, fluffy mash with chives, and a caramelised red onion gravy. The recipe comes from Ramsay in 10 and takes about 11 minutes from a cold pan.
In the YouTube video, he makes it with his children filming and finishes in 10 minutes 57 seconds. His daughter Tilly does the camera work and keeps telling him to pan down. He says the mash is his favourite: “just look at that smoothness.”
The gravy is where most versions fall short. Ramsay builds his in three layers: sweetness from sugar, acidity from vinegar, then a dark savoury note that turns simple onions into something rich and complex. Three layers of flavour in one pan.
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Gordon Ramsay’s Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy2
5
minutes11
minutes680
kcal16
minutesA 10-minute British classic from Ramsay in 10. His daughter Tilly films the whole thing and he finishes in 10 minutes 57 seconds. Great British Pub Food has a second version with cream, butter and sweet peppers instead of gravy.
Ingredients
3-4 potatoes, peeled and finely diced
4-6 pork sausages
2 garlic cloves
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp butter, plus 3 tsp for the onions
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for frying
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3-4 tbsp beef, chicken or vegetable stock
Pinch of smoked salt
1-2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp chopped chives
Sea salt
Directions
- Boil the potatoes: Dice the potatoes small. Boil in salted water for 5 minutes until tender. The smaller the dice, the faster they cook.
- Cook the sausages: Add oil to a pan over medium heat with the sausages. Prick with a cocktail stick to stop the skins bursting. Add crushed garlic and rosemary. Colour for 2-3 minutes, add butter and baste. Transfer to the oven at 160C (320F) for 6-7 minutes.
- Make the gravy: Slice the red onion and fry in oil. Sprinkle over the sugar and salt, add butter. When caramelised, add balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce for 1-2 minutes, add stock and reduce for 3 minutes. Finish with a knob of butter.
- Mash the potatoes: Drain the potatoes and return to the hot pan. Mash over the heat until fluffy. Beat in olive oil (no butter), smoked salt, mustard and chives.
- Serve: Spoon the mash onto plates, top with sausages and pour over the onion gravy.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay use olive oil instead of butter in the mash?
The olive oil gives a lighter, silkier mash that lets the smoked salt and mustard come through. Butter would make it richer but heavier. In the video, he beats the oil into the potatoes over the heat and says to “look how fluffy they are.”
In GBPF, the opposite approach uses 75g butter, 150ml cream and 75ml milk for a richer, denser mustard mash. That version takes longer because the cream needs warming separately. His sweet potato mash uses butter, so this is the one time he deliberately skips it.
Why prick the sausages?
In the video, Ramsay pricks them with a cocktail stick and says it “stops the skins from bursting.” The small holes release steam without losing too much juice.
GBPF says the opposite: “don’t pierce the skins or you’ll lose some of the juices.” The 10-minute method uses higher heat where skins burst without pricking, while the GBPF method fries gently for 15-20 minutes where bursting is less likely.
Why use red onion for the gravy?
Ramsay says red onion is “so much more sweeter, less acidic than the white onion” and “gets really nice and dark in terms of the caramelisation.” The natural sugars in red onion mean you need less added sugar to build the glaze.
The triple glaze technique is what makes his gravy special: sugar for caramelisation, balsamic vinegar for acidity, then Worcestershire sauce for depth. His red wine jus uses wine for a similar layered reduction.
What sausages should you use?
In GBPF, Ramsay uses Gloucester Old Spot sausages and says their flavour comes from the pigs grazing on fallen apples. Any high-quality pork sausage with a high meat content works, but avoid cheap ones packed with filler.
The ALL-NEW book also has a full homemade sausage recipe using equal parts belly and shoulder pork with breadcrumbs, lemon zest and sage. For a heartier plate, his Yorkshire puddings work brilliantly with the same onion gravy poured over.
What did Ramsay say about other chefs’ mash recipes?
After his daughter tastes the mash and says “that’s good,” Ramsay names three books with the best mash recipes. Marco Pierre White’s White Heat page 66, Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef page 21, and Delia Smith’s Learn to Cook page 80.
It is rare for Ramsay to recommend other chefs’ recipes by name and page number. His fondant potatoes take a completely different approach, cooking in chicken stock and butter instead of mashing.
