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Snake In The Cake (Thanks Grace!)

To most folks, its known as Toad In The Hole. Its an old school, tradition British dish made with sausage and Yorkshire Pudding batter. Served best with a nice brown, onion gravy. Thanks to my friend Grace, it will now forever be called Snake In The Cake.

If you know me, you know I love to cook...possibly even more than I like to eat. Contrary to popular belief, I like trying different stuff. When I first went to the UK, I couldn't wait to try the different, authentic, traditional dishes. Some I was not going to try. I have no desire to eat kidney. I'm not big on organ meat, as a general rule. I'd had a taste of heart, brain, intestine, etc. growing up. Some things aren't made for a repeat performance.

Yorkshire Puddings
One thing I fell in culinary love with in the UK is Yorkshire Pudding. Americans think of 'pudding' as a sweet, gooey, dessert mess. Chocolate pudding, tapioca, banana, etc. Yorkshire Pudding is nothing like that. Its somewhere between biscuit and pancake batter, baked at a high temperature with oil, drippings, lard, etc. Served with beef and gravy, its out of this world. And cheap and easy to make!

Toad In The Hole is another, generally inexpensive dish. Sausage (oh how the Brits love their sausages!) cooked in Yorkshire Pudding batter...its cheap, delicious and filling! You'll want a nap afterwards.

If you're of an adventurous mind, here's my recipe for what we'll now call Snake In The Cake:

1 package 5-6 sausages (bratwurst is my go-to for this)
1 large sweet onion
2 cups beef broth
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
salt, pepper, Coleman's Mustard powder
butter

Preheat the oven to 425F

Might as well make the Yorkshire batter first. Mix 1 cup flour (self rising works best) with 3 eggs, 1 cup of milk and a large pinch of salt, pepper, and Coleman's to taste. I use maybe about 1-2 tbsp. I also add a little bit of butter, once everything is mixed. Stir til thick and smooth. Set this to the side.

I use a glass baking tray, about a 9x13. I coat the bottom and sides with butter. Stick it in the oven to get it hot.

Brown the sausages in a skillet but don't cook them all the way through. They just need some color. They'll finish cooking in the oven.

Take the hot baking tray out of the over and arrange your sausages however you want. Make sure there's space between them. Pour the batter over them, filling the entire bottom of the tray. Put in the oven for about a half hour.

While this is cooking, you can make the onion gravy. In a saucepan, add a little oil, get it hot. Chop
Brown onion gravy
your onions however you like. If you like big chunks, little chunks, whatever. Lower the heat to the sauce pan and add the onion. You'll want to caramelize these but not too dark. You'll want them soft but not burnt. When at the desired level, add a tsp of flour and mix it in. Add the beef broth. Stir it all in. Bring to a quick boil then reduce to a simmer. Season with some black pepper, maybe some fresh herbs, garlic, whatever floats your boat. Keep a small cup of water/flour on hand in case you need to thicken it up.

Remove the baking tray from the oven. Let it sit for a minute, slice it how you want, dish it up and serve. Pour the onion gravy on top. Peas, fries, even baked beans, are nice side dishes.

Dig in!

Snake In The Cake!

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