This sausage hotpot is ultra comforting and so simple to make!
Comfort food really doesn’t get more comfy than this. Follow me…
Sausage Hotpot Filling
The filling is essentially sausages in gravy. The aim is to get a nice thick, rich gravy and here’s how we’re going to do it:
Key components
- Bacon – This adds loads of flavour. I use smoked bacon lardons but you could use any thick-cut bacon.
- Sausages – I use Cumberland pork sausages but you could use any pork sausage.
- Veg – Onion, carrot and garlic pair beautifully with the sausages.
- Gravy – This is made with butter, flour and beef stock.
- Flavour enhancers – To really take the gravy to the next level we’ve got some Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, dried herbs, black pepper and an Oxo/Bouillon cube.
Recycling the excess fat
You actually don’t need any oil to make this at all. You’ll start by rendering out the fat in the back in a dry pan. You can then use that to fry the sausages and can then use the excess fat to further fry the veg.
Process shots: fry bacon (photo 1), fry sausages (photo 2), fry onion, carrot & garlic (photo 3), melt butter then stir in flour (photo 4), stir in stock then stir in flavour enhancers (photo 5), stir in sausages and bacon (photo 6)
Sausage Hotpot
Once you’ve created the gravy you shouldn’t need to simmer it to thicken. Just pour it into the baking dish and let it cool for 15 minutes. This will allow a skin to form across the top, which makes it much easier to top with the potatoes without them sinking in.
I prefer to use baby potatoes on top, but you could use smaller regular potatoes if you’d prefer. Either way, just make sure they’re overlapped and cover as much of the filling as possible. From there, just brush with melted butter, generously season then bake.
We’ll be baking the hotpot twice – once with foil then once without. Cooking with foil is important to trap the steam and begin cooking the potatoes without the filling drying out. Cooking without is important to crisp up the potatoes.
Process shots: cool filling (photo 7), top with potatoes then coat in butter and seasoning (photo 8), bake with foil (photo 9), remove foil and bake again (photo 10).
Serving Sausage Hotpot
I like to grill/broil the top at the end to crisp up the potatoes. I recommend letting the hotpot sit for 5 or so minutes before diving in. This will let the filling chill out and reform shape a little. Plus it will be aggressively bubbling and you’ll lose the roof of your mouth eating it!
From there I love finishing with some fresh chives, just for a final pop of colour and flavour. I typically don’t serve with any Side Dishes, but you can if you’re stretching it to 5 people.
For more delicious hotpots check out my Halloumi Hotpot and Chilli Hotpot!
For more delicious sausage recipes check out my Sausage and Mash Pie and Classic Bangers and Mash!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this sausage hotpot shall we?!
How to make a Sausage Hotpot (Full Recipe & Video)
Sausage Hotpot
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Jug (for stock)
- 25cm x 17cm / 10" x 6.5" Baking Dish (or similar size)
- Aluminium Foil
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
- 125g / 4.5oz diced Smoked Bacon Lardons (see notes)
- 6 Pork Sausages (see notes)
- 1 large White Onion, diced
- 2 medium Carrots, diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 3 tbsp / 45g Butter
- 3 tbsp Plain Flour
- 480ml / 2 cups Beef Stock
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp EACH: Dried Rosemary, Dried Thyme, Black Pepper
- 1x Beef Oxo/Bouillon Cube, crumbled
- 400g / 14oz Baby Potatoes, or as needed to cover the top
- 1 tbsp Butter, melted
- finely diced Chives, to garnish
- Salt, as needed
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a large pan over medium heat until crisp with the fat rendered. Remove and place to one side, leaving the fat behind. Raise the heat slightly then fry the sausages until browned (don't focus on cooking them through, they continue cooking later). Remove the sausages and place to one side, leaving any excess fat behind. Slice into 5 pieces just before needed.
- Lower the heat back to medium then add the carrot and onion and fry until soft and lightly coloured. If the pan dries out just add in some of the butter. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds or so, then melt the butter. Stir in the flour to create a roux then gradually add in the stock, stirring as you go to avoid lumps. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, herbs, pepper, Oxo and Dijon then stir in the bacon and chopped sausages (with any resting juices). Pour into the baking dish and leave for 15 minutes or until a skin forms over the top.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Slice the baby potatoes to around 1/4" thick then lay the slices over the filling, working from the outside in, overlapping as you go (see video for reference). Brush with melted butter then generously season with salt.
- Cover in foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil then increase the temp to 200C/400F and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. I recommend flicking on the grill/broiler to crisp up the potatoes at the end.
- Rest for 5 or so mins to let the filling calm down, then sprinkle with chives and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
Looks delicious
Thanks Heather! C.