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American Hot Dog, German Wurst and British Bangers

Mark Dredge
  • Serves: Makes 6-8 sausages
  • Preparation: 30
  • Cooking: 60
  • Ready: 90

American, German or British – three classic sausages to suit your mood!

Ingredients

For the base

  • 140 g vital wheat gluten
  • 1 heaped tablespoon chickpea/gram flour

For the American Hot Dogs

  • 120 g smoked tofu
  • 120 ml American Lager
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or rapeseed oil
  • 3 tablespoons miso paste (barley or rice)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons American mustard (or
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard)
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¾ teaspoon white pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander

For the German Wurst

  • 120 g firm tofu (or 100 g cooked white beans)
  • 120 ml German Helles Lager
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or rapeseed oil
  • 3 tablespoons miso paste (white or barley)
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon German or Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon bouillon powder or
  • 1 crumbled bouillon (stock) cube
  • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¾ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon marjoram
  • ½ teaspoon mace (optional)

For the British Bangers

  • 80 g cooked haricot beans
  • 120 ml British Ale, such as Porter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or rapeseed oil
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons miso paste (barley or rice)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste (purée)
  • 2 tablespoons Marmite (or 2 tablespoons
  • nutritional yeast and 2 tablespoons
  • soy sauce)
  • ½ teaspoon mustard powder (or 1 teaspoon English/Dijon mustard)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ¾ teaspoon white pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon marjoram
  • ½ teaspoon mace
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • pinch of other dried herbs, such as sage or thyme (optional)

Method

Combine the vital wheat gluten and chickpea/gram flour in a large bowl. Then put all the ingredients for your chosen sausage recipe in a high-speed blender and blitz them.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together. When it becomes a scruffy dough, tip it out onto a clean surface and knead it until it comes together. Continue kneading for at least 10 minutes. You can be as rough as you like. Punch it, hammer it with your fists, do whatever, just do it for a long time – the longer you do it, the firmer and meatier the sausages will be.

Leave the dough to rest for a minute while you half-fill a large pan with boiling water. Hold it at a gentle simmer. Divide the dough into 6–8 even pieces and roll them out some more, shaping them into sausages. Tightly wrap up each sausage in aluminium, twisting at both ends of the sausage to hold it in place. Then wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap (cling film). When done, place all the sausages into the simmering water. Cook for 50 minutes, turning them occasionally.

Drain the sausages and allow to cool. Then unwrap them and refrigerate in a covered container until needed.

To cook, fry or barbecue the sausages for around 10 minutes or bake for 15 minutes at 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Serve the American hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and fried onions. Serve the German Wurst with currywurst sauce or German mustard and some fries. Serve the British banger with breakfast, in a sausage sandwich, or with mashed potato and gravy.

Additional notes

Recipe taken from Beer and Veg by Mark Dredge, published by Dog ‘n’ Bone Books (£18.99)

Photography by Stephen Conroy © Dog ‘n’ Bone Books

“I set myself the challenge of recreating three classic sausages, all using beer, and all being vegan (my personal favourite is the American hot dog, which is remarkably close to the original). They are made with vital wheat gluten and the process for making each of them is the same, with just the wet ingredients changing. While the recipes look long, all you need to do is combine all the wet ingredients, blend them, and mix them into the dry ingredients. They can be made in advance and cooked on the barbecue, and you can easily double the recipe if you want to make more.

Eat it with the beer you used in the recipe.”

Beer and Veg front cover

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