A sausage casserole can be made tastier by adding one simple ingredient: bacon. According to Chris, an award-winning food blogger behind the recipe website Don't Go Bacon My Heart, bacon is the key to a casserole that is “full to the brim with flavour” and that “you’ll make time and time again”.
Why bacon works
Chris said: “Bacon pumps heaps of gorgeous, smoky flavour into the sauce and pairs beautifully with the sausages.” Some cooks also use smoked lardons for extra flavour, though unsmoked bacon can be used if preferred, with the caveat that the flavour might get a little lost.
Alongside the bacon, chunky sausages are recommended so they hold their own in the casserole. Chris said: “I recommend some ‘neutral’ flavoured sausages, just because there’s so much surrounding flavour; you don’t want too many distractions within the sausage.”
Recipe for sausage casserole
The recipe serves four and calls for 12 pork sausages, four slices of back bacon (diced), three carrots (finely diced), one large onion (sliced), two cloves of garlic (finely diced), two tablespoons of tomato puree, 120ml of red wine, 720ml of beef stock, one 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, two small bay leaves, one large sprig of rosemary, two to three sprigs of fresh thyme, 400g of baby potatoes (halved), two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
To make it, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large, deep casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and fry until deep golden and lightly charred, then remove and set aside. There is no need to cook them through at this point; just brown the outside.
Add the bacon to the leftover oil and fry until it begins to brown. Add the carrots and onion and fry for a further three to four minutes until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato puree and fry for one to two minutes, then pour in the red wine and simmer for two minutes until it reduces slightly.
Pour in the stock, then add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and sausages. Stir well, scraping any flavour from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat down to low, cover with the lid, and leave to bubble gently for one hour and 30 minutes. Remove the lid, stir, and simmer for a further 20 to 30 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Take out the rosemary and thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. Check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper if needed.
