Video summary

James May tries a legendary sandwich from the 70s

Main summary

Key takeaways

Cooking

Presenter / Channel

  • James May (Bugout Bunker Kitchen and “Sandwiches of the 7s”)

Ingredients (with quantities / substitutions)

  • 2 sausages (pricked before cooking)
  • Sunflower oil: “a little dribble” (used for frying)
  • Council issue white bread (bread slices)
  • Lurax spreadable butter (invented in 1901; used as the spread)
  • Marmalade (spreadable, jelly-like texture; adjusted to taste)
  • Optional (tasting note): Brown sauce suggested by a taster, but rejected (“I don’t like brown sauce”)

Equipment / Setup

  • “Helicopter inspired one pot” hot pot / single-utensil cooker (Chinese device designed to cook/eat in one utensil)
    • Set to lowest setting at the start, then timed later
  • Lid/rotors for the cooker
  • Special spreading knife (used to spread the Lurax butter; described as unnecessary because the butter is already spreadable)
  • Knife for cutting sausages in half lengthwise (“spatchcock”/spreading them out for assembly)
  • Chronograph wristwatch used to time the sausages
  • Special chef’s cloth (described as already heating/sizzling)

Method (key timings / technique cues)

  1. Start the cooker

    • Turn the one-pot “hot pot” device to lowest/small setting.
    • Add a little dribble of sunflower oil.

  2. Cook the sausages

    • Prick the sausages (noted as “not really necessary,” but done anyway).
    • Place 2 sausages into the cooker.
    • Put the lid on (“rotors”) while cooking.
    • Time with the chronograph:
      • An initial cook is followed by another 8 minutes (and “15 minutes” is mentioned as a cook estimate in the discussion).

  3. Prepare the bread

    • Retrieve white bread (“magic fridge”).
    • Spread Lurax spreadable butter on the bread.

  4. Assemble with marmalade + sausages

    • James decides marmalade placement is important; he ends up with marmalade on the “wrong” piece but continues.
    • Cut sausages in half lengthwise to spread them out as filling (“spatchcock them”).
    • If needed, cut the sandwich further (chopping into four is discussed).
    • Assemble the sandwich; the marmalade ends up described as prominent due to the ratio.

  5. Serve + taste

    • Guests try it; tasting notes emphasize:
      • Marmalade overpowering (more marmalade than sausage).
      • Still described as not offensive and quite tasty by one taster.
      • Another taster says they can mainly taste marmalade, with the sausage harder to detect.

Tips / Cautions / Common Mistakes Noted

  • Avoid undercooked sausages:
    • The chef warns sausages can be like “barbecue”—cooked outside but raw inside—and could cause “galloping diarrhea.”
  • Ratio matters:
    • The outcome is judged as having a lot of marmalade and not a lot of sausage.
  • Marmalade texture:
    • Described as more jelly-like than other jams.
  • Tool/handling note:
    • Mentions the knife being “blunt,” plus concern about which tool is used for spreading/prep (not framed as a serious food safety mistake—more an execution detail).

Plating / Serving Suggestions

  • Served as a “sausage and marmalade sandwich” on buttered council white bread.
  • Cut into bite-size portions (between sausages and across sausages) to make sampling easier; one guest takes a half portion, then the sandwich is cut into four.

Referenced Sources / Credits (as mentioned)

  • Mentions “That’s Life” by Esther Ranson as a possible TV reference for the spoof “Seavoy Hotel” sausage-and-marmalade sandwich myth.
  • No other external cooking sources are cited beyond these pop-culture references.

Original video