Why autumn means sausages

Slowly cooked, sticky sausages sauteed with onion, soy and perhaps a bit of Marmite … our panel even has bangers with bangs for bonfire night

What are the best, comforting sausage dinners for autumn? Rachel, by email Sausages defy the seasons, being just as at home inside buns in the summer as they are simmering in stews come autumn. “Sausages are one of the most adaptable ingredients – they go with almost anything,” says Ali Stoner, author of Scran. “Obviously, there’s the classic Scottish sausage stovies, which, for me, is one of the most comforting of dishes, but then there are stewed sausages.” For this, she starts by frying sausages until “kind of browning”, then sets aside. “Caramelise lots of onions in the fat left in the pan, then stir in a little flour, pop the sausages back in with a bit of stock, a splash of soy, maybe a squeeze of Marmite – that always freaks people out – and simmer.” That’s then good to go with a big mound of mash or rice.

If it’s a sausage-and-beans kind of night, David Gingell, co-founder of Primeur, Westerns Laundry and Jolene, all in London, colours a couple of rashers of streaky bacon and some fennel sausages in a heavy-based pan. “Take them out, and you should be left with a good amount of fat in which to sweat an obscene amount of finely diced onions with some salt and a couple of crushed garlic cloves, until sticky and delicious.” Add some chopped carrots, too, should the mood take you, but Gingell often doesn’t bother. Add a good glug of cider, white wine (or sherry), followed by some bay leaves and a couple of jars of butter beans. “Pour in chicken stock, return the sausages to the pot and get them in a medium-hot oven for 30-40 minutes, until caramelising on top.” Crucially, they’ll then need a 30-minute rest: “Chop up the fried bacon, chuck that in, too, and serve with cabbage cooked with olive oil and/or butter and onions, plus a pot of mustard.”

Another one-pan job is pigs and figs. “That’s a really lovely combination,” says Ben Tish, chef/director of the Cubitt House group of pubs in London. “Roast some sausages, then add figs and cook until they’re nice and jammy.” Go in with a bit of red wine and red-wine vinegar to deglaze the pan, “then chuck in a handful of cooked borlotti beans, a little stock and some herbs, and leave to simmer and come together”.

We’re also entering ragu time of year, so it’s also worth considering swapping mince for sausages. “Open them up, scoop out the meat and roast in a hot oven until the sausagemeat clumps up,” says Nye Smith, head chef of The Three Horseshoes in Somerset. “Braise that in a tomatoey, red wine base, or cook with white wine, fennel, dark greens [think cavolo nero] and a splash of cream.” After that, just add cooked pasta or gnocchi.

Alternatively, ring the changes with a sausage salad, Stoner says: “Mum was big on those.” Slice up cooked sausages and toss with roast root veg – “salt-baked swede is lovely” – charred cabbage or radicchio, herbs and a mustardy dressing. And if you’re heading into the garden for Bonfire Night, why not roll out the barbecue, too? “Cut sausages into pieces, thread on to nice pieces of woody rosemary and grill,” Tish suggests. “Have ready a glaze of some description, such as honey or pomegranate molasses, and brush that on towards the end of cooking.” Now that would be a right banger (sorry).

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