There are a few rather weird names for some of the traditional British dishes Bubble and Squeak, Pigs in Blankets, Spotted Dick! So maybe Toad in the Hole isn't quite so strange compared to the others.
It's a bit uncertain on exactly how far back the dish and the name goes but its likely to have been thought up somewhere in the Industrial Revolution where poverty forced families to have to be more resourceful in stretching their meat, adding a filling batter to it made a lot of sense. One thing is certain tho in 1861 when it was included The Book of Household Management by Mrs Beeton it became immortalised as one of the great British Classics.
Ingredients.
2 x Pack of 6 Pork Sausages (800g)
140g Plain Flour
4 Large Eggs
200ml Milk
Sunflower Oil for Cooking.
First thing is to make the batter.
The trick to a really good batter is to leave time for it to rest and to chill. It needs to be really really cold when it hits the hot fat so ideally it should be made at least an hour before and then left to rest in the fridge.
Put the flour in a large bowl and break the eggs into another bowl and lightly beaten them. Slowly add the beaten eggs into the flour constantly mixing until they are fully incorporated without any lumps of flour left.
Now gradually whisk in the cold milk. Season the batter with salt and pepper and then leave in the fridge to rest.
The oven needs to be really hot to get a good crusty batter. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
To give the sausages a proper golden glow you need to cook them before adding the batter. More Recently I have started to do this by putting them in the air fryer at 180 for 7 minutes but if you prefer to stay with the old school methods you can put them in the oven for 10 minutes first.
Whilst they are in the air fryer put the oil in the oven dish you are going to use. You need at least 2 tbsp of oil so the whole of the bottom of the dish is coated. Put the dish in the oven, quite high up and wait for the oil to get so hot its almost smoking.
Once you have your partly cooked sausages ready take the oven dish out, be really careful. Then add the sausages and immediately pour over the batter mixture. If the fat was hot enough it should start to sizzle and bubble cooking the batter as you pour it in.
Put the dish back in the oven for 15 minutes or until the batter has fully risen and is golden brown.
Toad in the hole is traditionally served with gravy. Check out my onion gravy recipe which goes perfect with it (coming soon)
Comments