I've been reading Keith (Keef) Richards autobiography and have been savoring every page. As a reader, I feel part of his adventure and, truthfully, I don't want it to end! I was pleasantly suprised that towards the end of the book he puts down his recipe for bangers and mash, a traditional British dish known for being "pub grub" or traditional fair in working class homes. What a treasure! Somehow this recipe seems far more personal than all the scandels that hit tabloids throughout his life.

I love this dish because of it's simplicity and because it can feed a crowd on a budget. Its perfect on cold nights when you want to nourish your family and friends with a meal that will stick to their ribs. Serve with your favortie beer and you've got a party! 

The term "bangers", according to Wiki, is attributed to the fact that hotdogs and sausages, particularly the kind made during World War II under rationing, tended to explode under high heat if not cooked carefully. Thankfully, our modern sausages do not have this attribute!

Keef Richards Bangers and Mash Recipe

I’ve been cooking bangers all my life and I only just found out from this lady on TV that you have to put bangers in a cold pan. No preheating. Preheating agitates them, that’s why they’re called bangers. Very slowly start them off cold. And then just be prepared to have a drink and wait.  And it works.  It doesn’t shrivel them up; they’re plump. It’s just a matter of patience. Cooking is a matter of patience. When I was cooking Goat’s Head Soup, I did it very slowly.

1.  First off, find a butcher who makes his sausages fresh.

2.  Fry up a mixture of onions and bacon and seasoning

3.  Get the spuds on to boil with a dash of vinegar, some chopped onions and salt (seasoned to taste). Chuck in some peas with the spuds. (Throw in some chopped carrots too, if you like.) Now we’re talking.

4.  Now, you have a choice of grilling or broiling your bangers or frying. Throw them on low heat with the simmering bacon and onions (or in the cold pan, as the TV lady said, and add the onions and bacon in a bit) and let the fuckers rock gently, turning every few minutes.

5.  Mash your spuds and whatever.

6.  Bangers are now fat free (as possible!)

7.  Gravy if desired.

8.  HP sauce, every man to his own.

*HP sauce = hot pepper