BAKE: How to Make British Toad in the Hole

Easy Caramelized Onion Gravy

To make your toad in the hole a richer meal, whip up a quick pot of onion gravy while your casserole is baking. The ingredients are simple and easy to keep on hand in your pantry.

• Start by sauteing a cup or so of diced or thinly sliced onions in a few tablespoons of butter until they’re beginning to brown and caramelize.
• Add an ounce or two of blonde roux (or make a quick roux by toasting a tablespoon or three of all purpose flour in the pan with the onions), or use a cornstarch and water slurry after adding the liquid.
• Pour in a pint and a half of meat or vegetable stock or broth, and bring it to a simmer.
• Season to taste (see below for suggestions).
• If it’s too thick, add more broth, and if it’s too thin, add a teaspoon or two of cornstarch dissolved in a tablespoon of cold water, and bring to a simmer along with the seasonings.

For flavor and depth, add a healthy dash of Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce in a pinch), a teaspoon of thyme, marjoram, or savory, and a healthy grating of fresh black pepper. I usually add a spoonful or two of Dijon or spicy whole grain mustard, a squeeze of lemon, or some white wine for acidity.

Simmer until lightly thickened, and you’ll have a savory topping that’s terrific on your baked toad in the hole, or also on a side of mashed potatoes, a savory pie, or various meat entrees. Try it over a seared or broiled chicken breast or thigh, a lightly-seasoned pan-fried or broiled pork or lamb chop, or even with steak.

Classic Toad in the Hole Ingredients

Sausages:

Traditionally, toad in a hole is made with bangers, or another mildly spiced British sausage. These tend to be hard to find here, so feel free to substitute your favorites. A sweet Italian sausage or bratwurst can work nicely, or even kielbasa… almost any cased link sausage will do in a pinch.

You could make a brunch version with maple or sage breakfast sausage links, though the smaller sausages may sink in the batter and be harder to see in the finished dish. Try this variation drizzled with a bit of real maple syrup for a sweet and savory brunch or hearty breakfast treat!

Flour:

Use all purpose unbleached flour, or a blend of all purpose and whole wheat flour in your pudding batter. The latter will make a denser pudding that isn’t quite as lofty or airy, but it’s still substantial and delicious.

Milk:

Fresh or slightly sour (not spoiled) whole milk is best, though you can use 2%. This is a simple batter though, so the richness of whole milk helps give structure and flavor to the baked pudding. Use good ingredients as you will taste the difference!

Eggs:

Use large fresh eggs, at room temperature. If you take them straight out of the fridge, you can run them under warm or hot water to take the chill off. I use two large eggs, or three small to medium eggs in my pudding batter.

Fat:

Traditionally, a cook would use the rendered fat from a roasted joint of meat (usually mutton, lamb, or roast beef) to bake a Yorkshire pudding. This would add richness and flavor to the pudding as it soaked up all the rich flavors from the roast. Most people nowadays use butter, though if you have good quality rendered fat in your fridge by all means, try replacing some or all of the butter with fat. Tallow, golden yellow shmaltz, or good-flavored freshly rendered lard can be really nice too, or even olive oil.

Since the sausages are fairly fatty on their own, you can reduce the amount of butter or fat listed in the recipe a bit if you are trying to trim calories or make this (a bit) healthier, but don’t reduce it by more than half or your toad in the hole will be dry and won’t get a nice crispy golden top.

Salt:

Any salt that you prefer can work here. I usually use flaky kosher salt, or sometimes Himalayan pink salt or sea salt. Use a little less of a finer salt like sea salt, Himalayan, or regular table salt, since the kosher salt takes up more volume in the measuring spoon.