Toad in the Hole Onion Gravy

Toad in the hole needs a gravy with grip. Too thin and it soaks straight through the batter and turns it to sponge, too sweet and it fights the sausages. This one uses the fat and browned bits from the sausage tin, cooks the onions properly dark and finishes with mustard and a little beer.

Ingredients

Makes about 450ml, enough for four hungry plates

• 2 tbsp fat and browned bits from the sausage tin top up with beef dripping if needed
• 3 onions, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp (30g) plain flour
• 150ml (5fl oz) brown ale
• 450ml (16fl oz) hot beef stock
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Heavy frying pan
• Wooden spoon
• Whisk

Method

1. Brown the sausages in a tin before the batter goes in, then lift them out and pour off all but two tablespoons of the fat into a frying pan, taking the browned bits with it. This is the trick, since once the batter is in the tin there is nothing left to deglaze.

2. Cook the onions in that fat over a medium low heat for twenty minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add the sugar after ten minutes to help them along. You want them limp, brown and almost jammy.

3. Turn the heat up briefly and let the onions catch on the base until there is a proper brown film, then scrape it up. Do that two or three times, since each round of scraping adds colour to the finished gravy.

4. Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes, mixing it through the onions until there is no dry flour visible.

5. Pour in the ale and stir hard. It will thicken almost immediately and go glossy. Let it bubble for three minutes so the beer loses its raw edge and any bitterness softens.

6. Add the hot stock in two additions, whisking between each. Bring to a simmer and cook for twelve to fifteen minutes until it is properly thick, thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a trail for a second.

7. Stir in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce, then simmer for two more minutes and taste. It should be savoury and slightly sharp, not sweet.

8. Do not strain it. The soft onions are half the point, and they give the gravy the body it needs to sit on top of a Yorkshire batter rather than sink through it.

Tips worth knowing

• Get the sausage fat out of the tin before you pour in the batter. Once the batter is in, that flavour is locked into the pudding rather than the gravy.
• Thicker than usual is correct here. If you can pour it in a thin stream it is probably too thin for toad in the hole.
• A dark ale gives colour as well as flavour. A pale lager will not do the same job and can leave a sour note.
• Make the gravy while the toad is baking. It needs the full half hour anyway and the timings line up perfectly.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes for three months. It sets very thick, so reheat over a low heat with a good splash of stock and stir until it loosens.

Questions people ask