Devilled Sausages

Devilled sausages are essentially a quick sausage casserole in a sweet, spicy and slightly sticky sauce. They're often cooked in one pan in a rich tomatoey/beefy sauce and served with fruit such as apples, pears or currants. By the time this dish is ready, the sausages will be incredibly tender, and the sauce will be loaded with flavour. You can easily adjust these flavours by tinkering with the cayenne pepper and brown sugar. Only taking 10 minutes to prepare and no hands-on cooking time, this recipe is the ultimate weeknight winter warmer.

8-12 pork sausages
extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 apples, cored, peeled, cut into thick slices
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup beef or chicken stock (250 mL)
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 (14.1 oz) can diced tomatoes (400 g)
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. soy or tamari sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. English or Dijon mustard
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

STOVE-TOP METHOD: Fry sausages in a dash of oil over medium heat until browned on the outside and cooked through the centre. Remove from pan and place to one side.

Fry onions in the leftover sausage fat until they begin to soften, then add in apple. Continue frying until both begin turning golden, then add in garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes more.

In a measuring cup, combine beef stock and cornstarch until lump free. Pour in the pan with tomatoes and stir until smooth and evenly combined. Add in smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and mustard. Check for seasoning/spice and adjust accordingly.

Add sausages back to the pan (with any juices in the bowl) and simmer until the sauce has thickened and the sausages are piping hot all the way through.

SLOW COOKER METHOD: Add the sliced onion, apple, and sausages to a 6 qt (5.5 L) slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients until well combined. Pour the liquid mixture over the sausages. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover with a lid. Set the slow cooker to LOW for 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 hours.

OVEN METHOD: Add all ingredients to a large Dutch oven or casserole dish, stir together well, cover and cook at 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4) for 2-2½ hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

INSTANT POT: Turn on the multi cooker/instant pot and select "brown/sauté". Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in the bottom and brown the sausages (about 5 minutes).

Add all remaining ingredients to the pot, close the lid, ensure the valve is in the sealed position and select "pressure cook/manual" set time for 30 minutes on high pressure and press start.

Once finished cooking, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before releasing the valve and serving with mashed potatoes.

Makes 4 servings.