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The English have some interesting foods! Toad in the hole is one of them. The name is even odd. In my opinion, English food doesn’t have a fair reputation. Many feel it’s not good quality. But, the food is good! I’ve been to England twice and enjoyed my meals of traditional English foods. My husbands’ family is also from England so I had the opportunity to try a few dishes that way too! English food is comfort food!
Doesn’t this Toad in the Hole look good?
I used Jack Link’s Wild Side Sausages. They have some really bold flavors. And, for the recipe below, that’s perfect! Picked them up at Walmart. There are three flavors that you can try. Original, Jalepeno and Cheddar. For this recipe, I used original. However, if use whatever flavor suits your family the most. That’s why it’s nice to have flavor options!
You can find these sausages in the refrigerated sausage section at Walmart.
And, you can see the price is $3.48. That’s rollback pricing from now to Memorial Day!
I’ll be honest here. There are cheaper sausages. BUT, I really feel it’s a case of you get what you pay for. If you look at the ingredient list, there are no fillers, no MSG added, they are gluten free, and there are no artificial flavors or colors in the Jack Link’s sausages. These Wild Side sausages are made with premium cuts of beef and pork. Personally, if I’m going to make a recipe from scratch, I want to start with quality ingredients!
There are three great flavor options: Original, jalapeño and cheddar.
Let me share a fun recipe. It’s actually not hard, but there are a few key steps that you need to be careful to follow. And, don’t skimp on the oil in the pan. No non stick spray for this recipe!
Ingredients for 12 Toad in the Hole (Yorkshire puddings with sausage)
6 Jack Links Wild Side Sausages, cut in half (I used Original – there are 4 sausages per package)
Vegetable oil (about 1 teaspoon per muffin tin well)
3 eggs – beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt.
**You will want gravy to serve with this. Prepare your favorite gravy ahead of time. If you don’t have a quick and easy recipe, I’ll tell you how to make it below the Toad in the Hole recipe.**
1. Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Have the rack you will use about 6 inches or so from the top.
2. Beat three eggs and add 1 1/2 cups of milk. Beat together. I just use a wire whisk. You want to let these ingredients sit for at least 20 minutes to get to room temperature. This is important! Usually, it’s just a few minutes longer than the time to preheat the oven.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, mix/beat it into the egg mixture.
4. Add the 2 tablespoons of veggie oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix in.
Whisk to make sure everything is well mixed. This is a fairly runny/watery dough. Kind of like pancake batter. And, if there is the odd lump (or three), that’s ok. You don’t want to overbeat this recipe.
5. Find your Yorkshire pudding pan. Don’t have one? Neither do I! I’m perfectly fine with my muffin tins! Put about 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in each muffin tin. It’s probably way more than what you use to bake with. That’s ok. Don’t use less!! I grab a sandwich bag, put my hand in it, and use it to spread the oil all around each muffin cup. Make sure the whole muffin cup is well greased. Don’t skimp here or you will regret it later!
6. Take your muffin tin (or popover pan) and put it into your preheated oven. Yes, empty, with only the oil in it. Leave it for about 3-4 minutes so the oil gets nice and hot.
7. Carefully take the hot muffin tin out. Take your cut sausages and place them in the muffin wells. You are going to cook them in the oven. Four minutes one side, pull them out and using tongs, turn them around. Another 4 minutes and they are cooked.
8. Carefully open the oven, pull out the rack with the muffin tins on it and CAREFULLY pour your batter. You kind of want to pour around the sausage, not on it. Did you notice I use a large (4 cup) measuring cup. Or use a bowl with a pouring spout. It makes the pouring much easier.
You need to fill each muffin well 2/3 full. I start at the back and work towards me. Be careful not to burn yourself and not to spill.
There normally is a little batter left over. It’s ok to not use it!
9. Close the oven door. Set the timer for about 24 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. You can turn on the light and look at them rise through the window. If you open the door while the Yorkshire puddings are rising, they may collapse. That’s not fun!! I repeat, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR!
10. At 24 minutes, open the door slowly and peek in. Are they nice and puffed up? A beautiful golden brown color? Pull the rack out and take a skewer (or other similar poking object) and quickly poke each one to release steam.
Turn off the oven. Put back into the oven and bake for another 2-3 minutes.
All done!
Toad in the Hole is served as the main part of the meal. The bold flavor of Jack Link’s The Wild Side sausages really adds to this dish! My husband and I had two each with a little gravy and a salad. I’m sure in England they serve it with mushy peas (not my favorite).
I also like just making some scrambled eggs and serving them with my Toad in the Hole recipe. And, serving this as breakfast for dinner. It does seem like a breakfast type meal. Don’t forget, sausages are high in protein. They are a great meat option for a change of pace.
Oh, because I promised, I will share a super quick and easy gravy recipe.
In a pan, on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or veggie oil). Add two cups of beef broth. Cook until it is simmering. Add 2 TBSP corn starch to 1/4 cup cold water. Mix the cornstarch and cold water well. (Important, you need to mix the cornstarch into a cold liquid first – not into the hot). Add the cornstarch and water mixture into the hot broth liquid. Stir while simmering for a minute or two. It will start to thicken. Taste and then add more salt and/or pepper to your taste.
Want more info. about Jack Link’s Wild Side Sausages? Look here.
Do you make any interesting sausage recipes? Something that you make but it isn’t served by others you know? Please share! My whole family likes sausages so I’m on the lookout for these types of recipes!
I’m going to try this with scrambled eggs but I think I will add a little fruity green salad kind of thing like you did as well. I am drooling as I get dressed for WalMart and their sausages, ha ha.