An Irish Sausage is NOT a Banger
In all my years in Kansas City I’ve always been puzzled by how local businesses describe Irish sausages.
They say things like “Full Irish breakfast with rashers and bangers”, and “the Irish sausage - the banger”, or just the plain old “bangers are what Irish people call sausages”.
Enough of this rubbish.
If you told somebody in Ireland they were having a breakfast that included rashers and bangers, they would be expecting small fireworks next to the bacon.
While “the Irish sausage - the banger” does include nice use of the definite article, double use no less, Irish sausages are “sausages”. That’s what we call them. Sausages, not bangers, sausages.
Bangers are not what people in Ireland call sausages, they are what some people in Britain, in some circumstances only - notably in the dish “Bangers & Mash” - call sausages.
People in Ireland only refer to sausages as bangers when they are referring to English people talking about sausages.
I’ve no idea how this started, except that people in a desperate attempt to understand all things Irish, blur what is Ireland into what is Scotland, England and Wales as if there are no differences. There is much in common between our countries and maybe Irish people are hypocritical and convenient at times about the similarities, but that doesn’t mean the differences that exist should be ignored.
Sometimes people just try too hard. It rarely works.
The next time a waiter or waitress in KC tells me what we in Ireland call sausages, I’m going to correct them; I’m going to tell them we call them Roman Candles.
Don’t take my word for this - research it. Nothing says your food isn’t Irish like telling Irish people they call it something they don’t.
If this seems like an unreasonable rant - just imagine how I felt last week in a restaurant in KC as I, a native of Dublin, heard a personal favourite, the classic Dublin dish of coddle, introduced to me as “a broccoli soup”. It made my blood boil - which I think is how you make an authentic Irish black pudding.
Another day. Another day.
More on Misunderstandings and Differences:
• Eating Turkey in America and Ireland
• Chicken Sandwich Imperialism
• Irish Woman Struggles With Tea in Lawrence, KS
• The Corned Beef Irish Thing
• Is Ireland Really Green, Potato-Eating, and Red-Haired ?
• Craic, or should that be Crack
• Tír na nÓg and the Missing Fadas
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
Do you have a coddle recipe? I’ve been using one off the FoodIreland site. I must admit, however, that i use American sausage, because there are no Irish ones available in the wilds of Arkansas, and I object to paying more for shipping than I do dor the article which is shipped. Note: the recipe I use has no brocolli.
Broccoli? Soup might be an acceptable description, if you’ve made a mess of it. Brocolli?
Potatoes, onion, sausage, bacon, salt and pepper, maybe parsley, maybe chicken stock as a base?
No, no brocolli there, methinks.
“I’m going to tell them we call them Roman Candles” Funny!
So tell me, Mr. gan Fhéile. (in my best TV interviewer voice) What’s been your biggest misconception about America? (We obviously have oodles about Ireland) Was it a disappointing discovery or were you pleasantly surprised?
Safe flying. (although it’s looking pretty dim temperature-wise)
Martha - Gragoir pretty much gave you the answer word for word that I was going to give you. Except for how he spelled broccoli.
Greagoir - have you just used the word broccoli 3 times with a casual approach to its spelling? Who are you - George Bush senior?
Sugar - Oh there was a lot, but unfortunately I can’t remember most of them anymore. When I came over first the plan was to document my thoughts so that my ignorance in later years would be quite funny at least to me, and I was doing that. But after the first 6 months the laptop I was using had its hard drive wiped before I could salvage anything - and the pain I feel upon losing documentation, well anything really (I’m a hoarder), seems to have wiped out most of my ability to recall.
I do remember having preconceived notions about how the 4th of July would be celebrated and being very wrong about that. And yes I was pleasantly surprised.
What bothers me about bangers and the like though isn’t people just being mistaken about something - it’s that businesses are proclaiming things as truth, writing them on menus and posters and websites, and getting their staff to spread the nonsense. Ordinary folk are supposed to make mistakes - it’s what makes us ordinary. Businesses and Organizations on the other hand should really do a little work before they start spreading something they haven’t even checked out as to whether it has any truth.
If I ever remember all my own misconceptions, I’ll be sure to broadcast them. Maybe when Irish people in Ireland spout nonsense about America and Americans to me it’ll spark memories.
[…] I’ve recently ranted, “Bangers” is a term for sausages in England, not Ireland, (and even then only by some English people in some circumstances). I’m not picking on […]
Very much enjoyed your column. Agree with you fully. My twin sister married a boy from Oxford England. I did not. Definate differences there. It’s so Obvious the influence here and overseas. Ignorance is not always bliss. Btw… Having Irish sausage for breakfast. Made with cracker meal. “:0)
So true! A banger is what we Irish in Derry do to the British.We eat sausages at home then plant bangers…lol…Seriously,I was at a Irish festival in Central New York State and they had bangers…????I thought ,what the bloody hell are these people on about? They thought bangers were the right term..I set them straight.They took the sign down and called them Irish sausages.But….they weren’t Dennys sausages unfortunately…Guess you can’t have everything!Slan
[…] settled on Bangers and Mash, a favorite in Irish pubs in the United States. And then I saw this: “An Irish Sausage is not a Banger.” According to this Irishman, sausages are called bangers in England, but not in Ireland (though I […]
Yaaay! I’m in KC also and this year have been hunting for sausages. I called a few places and they are all selling some brand of bangers that I have never heard of, that are made in Chicago as Irish Sausages!!! Give me Galtee or Dennys or even Clonakilty Sausages - but don’t call em Bangers and don’t tell me they are Irish!
In the US English and Irish sausages are labeled as bangers commercially because the USDA says sausages must contain at least 94% meat. Irish, like English sausage is 75 to 85% and would not have the correct texture or taste otherwise.
Totally agreed! Bangers is an English term. I believe came from WWII when sausages had a lot of water in them (which often caused them to burst or explode in the pan)! So sausages went “Bang”.
However, the term “Bangers and Mash” is something that is understood in Ireland (I’m Irish and lived there for over 40 years), guess we borrowed that from the Brits.
Years ago in Ireland, we really did keep things fairly straight forward as far as sausages are concerned. If someone mentioned Sausages, there was no ambiguity, there was only a question of brand. Breakfast Sausage or “white sausage” meant nothing. Other things had variety like our varieties of Bread were Brown bread or white bread. Both we’re in a slice pan! Cheese also came in a wide variety of “Red” or “White” cheddar! That was it.