Irish cider-braised sausages with a tangy pickled twist

Hearty Irish sausages meet the crisp flavor of dry cider in this warming recipe. Paired with quick-pickled red onions, it’s a fresh take on a beloved staple that’s ideal for cozy evenings at home.

Ireland loves sausages for supper, whether that’s traditional coddle, good old bangers and mash with gravy, or this modern twist with a quick pickle and featuring one of the fantastic food-friendly dry ciders now produced on the island. We’re also blessed with excellent butchers, who make hearty dinner sausages produced from quality pork and flavoured with seasonings like fennel or red wine. The trick to this dish is to source the best sausages you can find.

Cider-braised sausages with pickled red onions recipe

Serves: 4
 
Ingredients

• 500g quality pork sausages
• 150g shallots, peeled and sliced
• 200ml dry cider
• 1 clove garlic, finely sliced
• 1–2 teaspoons plain flour
• Fresh black pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ small bunch of thyme

For the quick pickled red onions

• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 150ml cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
• ½ tablespoon sea salt
• 3 black peppercorns
• 3 coriander seeds
• 1 star anise (optional)
• 1 bay leaf

Method

To pickle the onions, rinse the onion rings in a colander with boiling water and drain.

Heat the vinegar in a pan with the sugar, salt, spices and bay leaf, and simmer for 1–2 minutes to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Add the onions, remove from the heat and allow to cool a little before transferring to a clean bowl or jar and placing in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Heat the oil in a heavy oven-proof pan over a medium heat and fry the sausages, browning them well on all sides. Transfer the browned sausages to a plate.

Set aside half the thyme sprigs, and finely chop the rest.

Add the sliced shallots to the pan and fry for 3–4 minutes to brown lightly.

Add a little flour, stirring to cook for one minute and then gradually stir in the cider.

Add the garlic and chopped thyme, season with black pepper and scatter over the sprigs of thyme.

Return to a simmer, cover with a lid or foil and transfer to the preheated oven for 45 minutes, removing the cover halfway through.

Serve with buttery mashed potato or champ (see recipe below) and the pickled red onions on the side.