Toad-in-the-hole: don’t judge a dish by its name

Crisp batter and browned sausages are the key to this childhood classic.

• 4 December 2020, 1:02pm
• From Spectator Life

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Alexander Larman

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Using a combination of milk and beer hits the sweet spot of flavour and lift. Leaving the batter to rest – as you should with yorkshires or pancakes – lets the gluten relax and the starch grains a chance to swell, both of which should result in a lighter, fluffier pudding. You can roast the sausages while the batter is resting, should you wish, but equally the batter will sit quite happily in the fridge for 24 hours before you use it.

I’m fairly old school, so I like to use lard as the hot fat into which I pour my batter – lard should yield a very crisp batter that, once cooked, comes away from the side of the dish easily, making it easy to portion, but if you are lard averse, you can simply use oil with a high smoking point (rapeseed or sunflower). The key is to ensure that whichever fat you choose to use, you heat it until it’s screamingly hot before adding the batter.

Toad-in-the-Hole with Onion Gravy

Makes: Enough for four

Takes: 10 minutes, plus resting

Bakes: 1 hour

For the toad-in-the-hole

8 sausages

2 eggs

100g plain flour

125ml milk

125ml beer

1 tablespoon english mustard

½ teaspoon salt

25g lard (or 2 tablespoons sunflower oil)

For the onion gravy

1 small red onion, sliced

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 tablespoon plain flour

500ml beef stock

1. First, beat the eggs with a whisk until they are noticeably thicker and paler than before. Add the flour, followed by the milk and beer whisking gently to incorporate until there are no lumps. Stir in the mustard and salt. Cover and leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
2. Preheat your oven to 200°C and place the sausages in a small baking tray. Roast the sausages for 30 minutes, shuffling them half way through to help them brown evenly.
3. Once cooked, set the sausages to one side and turn the oven up to 220°C. Put the lard (or oil) into a baking dish just a little larger than the sausages lined up together, and put that baking dish in the oven. Heat until the fat is very hot: the lard will have melted and will likely be sizzling and smoking a little.
4. Carefully pour the batter into the heated baking dish – the hot oil can spit if you’re too enthusiastic. Gently put the sausages into the batter, spacing them roughly evenly. Put the whole thing in the oven for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the onion gravy: heat the oil in a pan over a low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until soft, but not browned. Add the flour and stir it into the onions, cooking for a couple of minutes until the flour sizzles. Pour in the stock a little at a time, stirring to incorporate the flour and beat out any lumps. Once all the stock is incorporated, leave the gravy to bubble until it is thick and glossy, stirring occasionally.
6. Once the batter has had its 30 minutes, the toad-in-the-hole should be inflated and golden, encasing the mahogany sausages.