British Bangers in Rio
Over the last 6-12 months I’ve come across some individuals living in Rio whose culinary activities have made me feel joyous and inspired. Joyous because they’re bringing something new and delicious to the table in Rio. Inspired because they have confirmed my growing belief that people who make great food and possess an entrepreneurial spirit can be successful here in Rio, without needing to have thousands of dollars to invest.
First there was Sei who set up Ferro e Farinha to introduce Rio to two new concepts – great Neapolitan style pizza and the Food Truck model. F&F is now doing so well that the lines of hungry customers start forming before Sei and his team even arrive!
Then there was Daniel and Luis whose Mexican food project, Fiesta Mexicana Autêntica Comida Caseira, has been drawing people from as far away as Niterói and beyond!
Last weekend I met my newest Rio food hero – Jane:
Jane is responsible for my newest piece of food happiness: British Bangers. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a ‘banger’ is British slang for a sausage (in the old days, if you weren’t careful your sausages could explode during cooking).
But you can already buy sausages in Rio can’t you? Well, there are sausages (linguiça and salsicha) then there are bangers. And while I have had some very nice Brazilian sausages, the majority have been either too salty or full of gristle. There are many different varieties of British sausage, each containing a different mix of meats, herbs, spices and other flavourings. The possibility of getting these sausages here in Rio fills me with food happiness!
Jane was kind enough to invite me over for a chat and a tasting session (I love my job!).
Jane and her husband came to Rio 10 years ago, but Jane only started making sausages seriously about a year ago. She told me that her first attempts were a bit misshapen – sausage making is not easy and it takes time to master the technique required to make delicious bangers that also look good. After perfecting her technique and her recipes, Jane tested the end result out on her friends – the positive feedback turned into outright demand overnight and as word spread, a small business was born.
Jane’s bangers are handmade with fine ingredients. The outer casings (aka castings) are made from lamb and Jane brings these over from the UK as she found the casings here in Brazil were tougher than she liked. The meat she uses in her standard sausages is a mix of 85% pork loin and 15% pork belly. She then adds all kinds of extra herbs, spices and other ingredients to infuse their flavours into the meat to make the different varieties of sausage she offers. Take it from me – the end results are delicious!
Speaking of all those varieties, take a look at the full menu, taken from the British Bangers site:
Not every variety is always available – Jane announces which varieties she will be making each week on the British Bangers Facebook page (check it on Mondays).
It was a pleasure to meet Jane and her husband and an even greater pleasure to taste all those lovely sausages! I left happy but very full after failing to show any semblance of restraint during my visit!
For anyone wondering, most of the bangers on sale cost R$3 per sausage (sold in packs of 6, fresh or frozen and lovingly packaged by hand). Lamb sausages reflect the higher price of lamb and go for R$4.50 each.
If anyone is looking for a British recipe to cook their British Bangers, then this one from Nigel Slater would be a great place to start – bangers, mashed potato and onion gravy. It might not be hugely sophisticated, but I challenge you not to love it! In fact I cooked that very recipe last night with the British Bangers I took home and Mrs Eat Rio gave it nota dez (ten out of ten).
Many thanks to Jane, not just for her excellent hospitality, but also for bringing her delicious British Bangers to Rio. I expect that before long Cariocas as well as Brits with saudade for sausage will be thanking her too!
Special thanks to Eat Rio reader, Ana, for accompanying me on this ‘research trip’! It was good to meet you Ana!
Hiya, how do I buy these british bangers? I live in itaipu, niteroi. Please send me contact info, I’m very interested to taste them ! Mmmm
Thanks dee
Hi Dee! You should get in contact with Jane (her email is listed on the British Bangers website here) to make your order. I believe she makes deliveries, but only in the Leblon/Ipanema type areas of Zona Sul, so you may need to make your order when you’ve got a trip to Zona Sul planned. You will not be disappointed! :)
Hi, i am in leblon, if you would like to place and order for next week. Check out my web site http://www.britishbangers.com.br
Thanks
Cool. You might be interested in this – teaches you how to make homemade sausages). I wonder what local ingredientes could be used to create a Brazilian banger, or Rio Banger (a sausage infused with spices pertaining to feijoada perhaps).
Hmmm, feijoada sausage eh? Now there’s an idea…! (coming soon to a blog near you!) ;)
Makes sense though Tom: if you can add to a sausage, or banger as you call it (pervert), the flavor most people associate with feijoada then I think you´ll have a winner in the Brazilian market. The challenge is to find out the recipe which produces the taste most people recognize as being feijoada flavor if you will. I would start such an inquiry by serving people black beans cooked in bay leaves to discover if that is the essence of feijoadaness.
Totally makes sense – I genuinely think it’s an excellent idea. As you say, the trick would be to give it a flavour that people identified with feijoada – I think running some black beans, finely shredded couve and just a touch of orange would do it. Man, I would buy that sausage for sure!
OMG! There’s a shout out to me! :)
I’m very glad to have had this experience. I want to start a blog, so it was neat to see an interview in action. It was a special treat to try these fancy sausages. I definitely learned a lot. And yes, Jane is a very nice individual. Her kitchen is pretty awesome.
Oh, and English mustard is something special.
Ah, it was lovely to meet you Ana. I think you’re being a little generous by calling it an interview (but I thank you for saying that!) – more of a slightly muddled conversation due to my lack of preparation! ;)
And you’re 100% right about English mustard – it is amazing (and not for the faint-hearted!).
Cool British food entrepreneurs around the world – sounds like a TV program for i hate to say it, Jaime Oliver.
Heh heh, yeah, that would be right up his street wouldn’t it?! :)