The Sunday Roast · England-wide

Toad in the Hole

Name: Toad in the Hole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 8 good pork sausages; 3 tbsp dripping or sunflower oil; 140g plain flour; 4 eggs; 200ml milk; Pinch of salt; Onion gravy: 2 sliced onions, 25g butter, 1 tbsp flour, 400ml beef stock, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Butcher’s sausages sunk into a smoking-hot Yorkshire batter that rises in golden crags around them — served only ever with a lake of onion gravy.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Difficulty: Easy
Era: Victorian

Ingredients

8 good pork sausages
3 tbsp dripping or sunflower oil
140g plain flour
4 eggs
200ml milk
Pinch of salt
Onion gravy: 2 sliced onions, 25g butter, 1 tbsp flour, 400ml beef stock, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method

Oven220°C425°FFan 200°CGas 7

Whisk the flour, eggs, milk and salt to a smooth batter and rest for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F (fan 200°C, gas 7). Put the dripping and sausages in a roasting tin and heat for 10 minutes until the fat is smoking.
Pour the batter around the sausages and return to the oven immediately. Bake 25–30 minutes — do not open the door early.
Meanwhile soften the onions in butter for 15 minutes until golden. Stir in the flour, then the stock and vinegar; simmer 5 minutes until thickened.
The toad is ready when the batter is puffed, deep golden and crisp. Serve at once with onion gravy and peas.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.