OFF THE SHELF
Taking that banger to breakfast and beyond

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Bangers — British-style sausages of pork, breadcrumbs and onions — are mild and easy to cook. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

I've never seen boudin in Hawai'i, alas, but bangers are available here in supermarkets and some restaurants (Zippy's offers grilled bangers at breakfast). Bangers as they're sold here are fully cooked and vacuum-packed; they are a fresh sausage, as opposed to those that are smoked, cured or dried.

Like most sausages, bangers aren't diet food: one link of the Saag's brand of British bangers, the most common one here, has 18 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat) and 50 milligrams of cholesterol. For those concerned about salt in the diet, one sausage contains 600 milligrams of sodium.

In an essay, "A Banger with Your Beer," food iconoclast John Thorne writes that British sausages once were all meat, but bread crumbs crept in during the 19th century (and became the better part of the sausage during World War II). He offers an interesting cooking note: "There, rather than skillet-fried, sausages are baked in a low-to-moderate oven for about 45 minutes . . . This method produces sausages that are perfectly crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The classic dish is 'bangers and mash' — bangers baked in a hot oven, then served over hot mashed potatoes."