New research1 from Direct Line for Business, who provide tradesman and van insurance, has revealed Britons’ favourite ingredients to create the perfect sausage sandwich.

The winning recipe calls for a grilled Cumberland sausage in a buttered plain white bap with ketchup and fried onions.

A speciality of the Cumbrian region for over 500 years, the Cumberland sausage, was voted the favourite banger for almost one in five (19 per cent) people.

Top Chef Tom Aikens, the Michelin Star winning proprietor of Tom’s Kitchen, also backs the Cumberland in his ultimate sausage sandwich recipe, though the nation doesn’t agree with his preferred suggestion of using milk bread or unsweetened brioche.

The Cumberland beats off stiff competition from the generic pork sausage (16 per cent) and Lincolnshire (9 per cent) variety. Interestingly for one in twelve (8 per cent) people, a vegetarian banger is their taste of choice. Frankfurters, the traditional filling for a hot dog, only secured just 3 per cent of the vote.  

When it comes to cooking up the perfect banger the preferred method by far was grilling (43 per cent), followed by fried (23 per cent) and oven baked (18 per cent).  An unusual 2 per cent like their sausage microwaved, while an unhealthy 4 per cent like their banger deep fried.

Sausage sandwich fans like to keep it simple and traditional with their choice of bread with 18 per cent choosing a white bap to surround their sausage, followed by sliced white bread (15 per cent), farmhouse white loaf (10 per cent) and baguette (10 per cent). Healthier options such as brown farmhouse loafs (7 per cent), brown bread (6 per cent) and brown baps (5 per cent) fared poorly. When it comes to preparing their bread people also like to keep it simple, voting to keep it plain (53 per cent), compared to warm (29 per cent) or toasted (18 per cent).

Ketchup is the condiment king outranking all the other contenders by far.

Almost half (46 per cent) think nothing accompanies a sausage sarnie like ketchup, though one in five (20 per cent) opted for HP sauce and English mustard (18 per cent).

Only 9 per cent wouldn’t use any condiment on their banger sandwich. The perfect accompaniment, as voted by the nation, was fried onions, with a third (32 per cent) adding them to the perfect sausage sandwich.

Matt Boatright, Head of Direct Line for Business commented: “The public have voted and we finally have the nation’s definitive recipe for the perfect sausage sandwich. 

"In an age of deconstructed small plates and gimmicky unicorn flavoured drinks, Brits highlighted their love of traditional hearty fare, preferring a classic sausage sandwich recipe with a white bap and ketchup.

"Millions of Brits rely on a sausage sandwich to fuel them through the day, from tradies to van drivers, this is the breakfast of choice.” 

While one in six (17 per cent) wouldn’t put anything other than a sausage in the perfect butty, others love some weird and wacky combinations. 

One in twenty (5 per cent) would put baked beans in their sarnie and 6 per cent would add raw onions. Other peculiar additions included pease pudding, homemade rhubarb chutney and pickle. Creating a mighty meat feast also proved popular, with a fifth (21 per cent) adding bacon to the perfect butty, while 6 per cent would add also add black pudding.   

The research also looked at the perfect sausage sandwich to fuel Britain’s construction workers; brickies, plasterers and electricians. When asked for their take on the perfect sausage sandwich, tradies said their version would feature a grilled (32 per cent) Cumberland sausage (16 per cent) on warmed (39 per cent) buttered (49 per cent) slices of farmhouse white loaf (16 per cent) with ketchup (29 per cent), egg (32 per cent) and bacon (29 per cent).

There were also some regional statistics which shows that people in Manchester like: Buttered (50%) white bap (26%) grilled (51%) generic pork sausage (20%)/ Cumberland (20%) ketchup (46%) and fried onions (25%)/ bacon (25%)

How do you like yours....