Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole

Recipes with Lincolnshire Sausage

Lincolnshire sausages baked inside a Yorkshire pudding batter until puffed, golden, and crispy. The batter rises around the sausages like a savory soufflé, crackled at the edges and custardy in the center. Served with onion gravy. The name has no satisfying explanation; nobody knows why it is called that.

Prep Time

10 min (plus 30 min batter rest)

Cook Time

30 min

Servings

4

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

  • 6 Lincolnshire sausages
  • 140g plain flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 200ml milk
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil or dripping
  • Salt and pepper
  • Onion gravy for serving

Steps

1

Make the batter: whisk flour, eggs, milk, and a pinch of salt until smooth with no lumps. Rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This rest is not optional.

2

Preheat oven to 220°C. Brown the sausages in a pan for 5 minutes (they do not need to cook through). Place in a large roasting tin with 2 tbsp oil or dripping.

3

Put the tin in the hot oven for 5 minutes until the oil is smoking. Remove carefully and immediately pour the batter around the sausages. Do not open the oven again for 25 minutes.

4

Bake 25-30 minutes until the batter is puffed, golden, and crisp. The center should still have some give. Serve immediately with onion gravy. It deflates quickly.

Tips

Three things will ruin toad in the hole: cold batter (rest it at room temperature, not in the fridge), not-hot-enough oil (it must be smoking when the batter hits it), and opening the oven door during baking (the cold air collapses the rise). Get those three right and it works every time.