British sausages being called bangers seems to be a historical legacy, a colloquial term left over from war time when sausages sometimes exploded in the pan when you cooked them. We started calling sausages bangers sometime during the first World War, it was a slang name for a sausage at the time.
We started calling sausages bangers sometime during the first World War, it was a slang name for a sausage at the time. British sausages are sometimes called bangers because back then, sausages had a habit of bursting open while cooking.
Indeed, during World War I, when meat was scarce, the Brits had to get creative with their sausages, which is why bangers historically contain less meat than other sausages, though the name is now pretty much just a blanket term for all breakfast sausages.
British pork sausages have been mass produced since the 19th century. The Victorians, sceptical of what was actually in a sausage and suspecting the presence of rather a lot of horsemeat, nicknamed them ‘Little Bags of Mystery’ . After the outbreak of World War I, food shortages led to a dramatic reduction of meat, of any sort, in sausages.
Where do ‘bangers’ come from?
The sausage, one of the oldest types of processed food in history, can be traced back to ancient times. British pork sausages have been mass produced since the 19th century.
Bangers are the quintessential British breakfast sausage, forever immortalised by being half of the classic ‘Bangers & Mash” and they have become famous internationally as ‘ bangers’ . Bangers are not just one kind of sausage, the term bangers can refer to any British sausage and you will a variety.
Why do sausages burst in the pan when cooked?
During both world wars there was less meat available, they filled their sausages more fat and cheap fillers that expanded rapidly under heat, causing the sausages to burst open violently in the pan.