Bonfire Night is one of the best food occasions of the British year. It's cold, it's dark by half past four, and everyone wants something hot they can hold in one hand while the other hand holds a sparkler. The trouble is that most of the classic food is either fiddly or needs a lot of attention, and attention is the one thing you don't have when you're trying to get a group of excited people into coats and out into the garden.
The good news is that you can do nearly all of it with two pieces of kit: a ridged griddle pan for the hob and a crisper oven tray for the oven. Between them you can cook the main event and the sides at the same time, and keep the washing up to something you can face the next morning.
Plan the food around the clock
A good Bonfire Night menu works backwards from the fireworks. Cold food goes down badly, so aim to serve hot, finish cooking just before everyone heads out, and keep anything that needs last-minute work to a minimum.
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Before dark: get the oven food going and make the pudding or soup.
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Just before you go out: cook the griddle food, which takes minutes rather than an hour.
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After the fireworks: have something sweet and warm waiting inside.
Sausages and hot dogs
No one is surprised to see sausages on this list, and they are the easiest crowd-pleaser going. Cooking them on a ridged griddle pan gives you the browned, slightly charred look you'd get from a barbecue, without standing outside in November with a pair of tongs.
The ridges also earn their place here. Sausages release fat as they cook, and on a ridged surface that fat runs into the channels rather than sitting around the sausage. You end up with a firmer, less greasy skin.
A few tips for getting them right:
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Start on a medium heat rather than a hot one. A pan that is too hot will colour the outside before the middle is cooked.
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Turn them every couple of minutes so they brown evenly.
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Allow around 12 to 15 minutes for standard pork sausages, and check there is no pink in the middle before serving.
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Toast the rolls on the griddle for the last minute, cut side down.
Put out a few toppings and let people build their own: fried onions, mustard, ketchup, and some pickled red cabbage for anyone who likes a bit of sharpness.
Jacket potatoes with crisp skins
A jacket potato is probably the most traditional Bonfire Night food of all, and the usual problem is the skin. Wrapped in foil, it goes soft and damp. Baked directly on the shelf, it can catch on the bars and dry out unevenly.
Baking them on the crisper oven tray solves a lot of this. The textured surface lifts the potato slightly so hot air can move underneath, which helps the skin dry and crisp on all sides rather than just on top.
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Pick large baking potatoes. Maris Piper or King Edward both work well.
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Prick them a few times with a fork, rub with a little oil and a good pinch of salt.
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Bake at 200°C (180°C fan) or gas mark 6 for 60 to 75 minutes, depending on size.
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They are done when the skin feels crisp and the middle gives easily when squeezed.
Fillings that suit a cold night include chilli, baked beans with grated cheese, or a simple one of butter and a good sprinkle of cheddar. If you are cooking for a crowd, a pot of chilli made earlier in the day and kept warm saves a lot of stress.
Chunky wedges and chips
If you want something to go alongside the sausages, wedges are easier to eat outdoors than a full plate of chips, and they cook happily on the same crisper tray.
Cut potatoes into wedges, rinse off the surface starch, and dry them thoroughly. Wet potatoes steam rather than crisp, and this is the step most people rush. Toss them in a tablespoon or so of oil, spread them out in a single layer with a little space between each wedge, and roast at 220°C (200°C fan) for around 30 to 40 minutes, turning them halfway. Add salt once they are out of the oven.
If you would like a version that feels a bit more special, toss them with smoked paprika and garlic granules before they go in.
Halloumi for the vegetarians
Bonfire Night food leans heavily on sausages, which can leave vegetarian guests with a bread roll and a sad look. Halloumi fixes that, and it cooks well on a ridged griddle because the moisture it releases runs off into the channels instead of pooling under the cheese.
Slice it to about 1cm thick, pat it dry, and cook on a medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes a side until it has golden ridge marks. Serve it in a toasted roll with a spoonful of chilli jam or sliced roasted peppers. Cook it last, because it firms up quickly once it comes off the heat.
Burgers and griddled onions
If you would rather feed people burgers, a griddle pan handles that as well. Press the patties fairly thin so they cook through quickly, and let any fat drain into the ridges. A pile of sliced onions cooked alongside them, until soft and a bit charred at the edges, adds a lot for very little effort.
Something warm to drink and eat afterwards
Once everyone is back inside with cold hands and ringing ears, a hot drink and something sweet goes down well. A few traditional ideas that need almost no work on the night:
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Parkin: the sticky ginger and oat cake traditional in the north of England. It improves if baked a day or two ahead and wrapped, so it is ideal for making early.
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Toffee apples: best made earlier in the week if you are confident with hot sugar, otherwise worth buying.
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Baked apples: stuffed with sultanas and a little brown sugar and butter, then baked until soft. They need almost no attention.
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Hot chocolate or mulled apple juice: keep a pan warm on the hob so people can help themselves.
A few practical points
Keep things warm without drying them out. A low oven at around 100°C will hold sausages, wedges and jackets for 20 minutes or so while you round everyone up. Cover the sausages loosely with foil.
Prepare what you can in advance. Chilli, soup and parkin can all be made a day ahead. The jackets can go in the oven first thing in the evening, and the sausages and halloumi only need a few minutes at the end.
Think about the garden. If you are eating outside, food that can be held in one hand with a napkin is much easier than anything needing a knife and fork. Wrap hot dogs in a square of baking paper to stop the toppings escaping.
Mind the heat. Griddle pans and oven trays stay hot for a while after cooking. Keep children and over-excited guests clear of the hob until everything has cooled.
Cleaning up
Everyone will be tired by the end of the night, so it helps if the cooking kit is easy to deal with. Wipe the griddle pan with kitchen paper while it is still warm to lift off the fat in the ridges, then wash it in warm soapy water with a soft sponge once it has cooled. The crisper tray usually only needs a wash, because the textured surface keeps most food from sticking in the first place. Avoid scourers on either, as they can wear down a non-stick surface.
Get the timing right, keep the menu simple, and Bonfire Night food turns out to be one of the more relaxed evenings of cooking you will do all year.
Check out the Pep Crisping Oven Tray or Griddle Pan on our website.