The one recipe I can never, ever get right ...

[WigWamBam]

Toad in the Hole. Dh and dd both love Toad in the Hole, but I just can't get it right. I make the batter in advance and let it stand for 30 minutes, I heat the oil in a non-stick tray until it's smoking, I put the sausages and batter in really quickly and back in the oven as quickly as I can ... and it always ends up flat, completely stuck to the pan, and the bottom is soggy with oil.

What am I doing wrong? I'm a decent enough cook; why does it never work?

I use a delia recipe

Cook sausages for 10 mins in oven at 200 then pour in batter - 3oz plain flour, one egg and 3oz milk and 2oz water ( for 2).

Cook for 25-30 mins.

Other recipes have not worked well for me but this one is fine.

Also drain off the oil before you dish it up - bottom is then nice and crunchy...yum!

Latz, that's just how I do it, except I don't cook the sausages in the oven (I did last time just to see if it made any difference ... it doesn't. Still crap). And I drain the fat off too. But it still sticks like buggery to the tray, and holds on to the oil so the bottom is soggy.

Well, i always cook my sausages in the pan for 10 mins in the oven first. The problem is in the batter - you need to have the right mix of flour, egg, milk. I always use the following:

For the batter:

3 oz (75 g) plain flour
1 large egg
3 fl oz (75 ml) semi-skimmed milk

I use this mix with 6 sausages in a 9 x 6 pan and it serves 2 of us and DD

Goes in the oven for half an hour at gas 7.
HTH

salt and freshly milled black pepper

Yep - 3oz plain flour, 1 large egg, 3oz milk. That's what I use, so I don't think it's the batter. I don't know what it is - I'm a good cook normally, it's just this that floors me!

when you mix the batter do you get enough air into it?

I use a balloon whisk and give it a really good beating, I try to get plenty of air in. I whisk the egg with the milk first, rather than breaking the egg into the bowl, and I always let the batter stand for about half an hour before I use it, since I saw it recommended by some chef or another.

Is your oven hot enough? The recipe I use is really extreme - starts at 240 for 10 mins, then down to 220 for the rest of the time.
Are your sausages hot when you put them in? If not maybe they are lowering the overall temp when you put the batter into your smoking oil.
Do you use enough oil?
Do you cook it for long enough? I generally give it at least 40 mins.

I cook them at 220 so maybe the oven's not hot enough - the oil is always smoking when I put the batter in though. The sausages may not be warm enough I guess, although I've tried putting them in for 10 minutes before the batter goes in and it hasn't made any difference. I use a good amount of oil (I use olive oil or sunflower oil) and make sure that the base and sides of the tin are coated, and generally cook 35 minutes for a small one or 45 for a large one.

conspiracy against you

I don't use much oil - just brush the sides of the pan before I put the sausages in - I also find posh proper sausages make it stick - DD only likes the Richmond ones and they are fine.

(Don't want to know what crap is in them!)

You know, conspiracy was my first thought too . I consider myself a good cook, I can do complicated recipes with one hand tied behind my back, yet I can't crack toad in the bloody hole.

Latz, dh likes good sausages too, but it's a waste of a good sausage when they turn out like mine do! I did wonder whether I was using too much oil but then again, if they stick when I use a good amount I've got no chance if I use only a little.

this is the recipe that i use

sausages - any
4oz plain flour
1/2pint milk
2 small eggs
1/2tsp salt

put flour in bowl make a weel add egg
mix in half of them milk work until smooth then add rest of milk
whisk until surface covered with tiny bubbles
leave for 30 minutes while i cook the sausages

oven at 230c

use fat from sausages plus add extra if needed to make up 4 tablespoons
heat fat until smoking pour in batter
add sausages
baked for 10 minutes then turn down to 200 and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes

do your yorkshire puds work ok? We have recently moved and had problem with new oven for a while but sussed it now. Have oven very very hot and pour in batter while keeping tin on top of oven - on gas ring in our case. So it stays very hot. Only problem is that when you open the oven you are nearly blinded by the steam/smoke. But they never stick! Toad is the same principle but I always brown the sausages off first or else they look really insipid. Spot of worcestershire sauces livens them up a bit too. also - obvious one - buy the very best non stick tin you can afford. Mermaid are great!

flapjacks they are ok but never perfect!

Is the Olive oil getting hot enough, in that does olive oil ever get truly hot ??