This one was another of Buzz’s crazy finds. And oddly enough, the one he wanted to make (sausages baked in bananas) is perhaps the least strange choice on the page. Banana meat loaf? Bananas au gratin?
6 bananas, unpeeled
6 to 12 small link sausagesSlit each banana lengthwise from tip to tip to form a pocket, being careful not to cut through the skin on the under side. Place one or two link sausages in the opening of each banana. Arrange bananas in baking dish, slit side up, and bake in a moderate oven (375° F.) about 15 to 20 minutes or until sausages are done. Six servings.
I have a strong suspicion this is an overreach on the banana company’s part. Let’s find out.
This looks like a recipe you’d invent after a long, drunken weekend when you open the fridge and there’s nothing in it but sausages and so you decide to stuff them into bananas. It does not look like a way to “glorify the main dish.”
Slice the banana without cutting through the opposite side.
Cram sausages into the banana. (We couldn’t fit two in, but one alone looked too small — 1.5 sausages per banana worked out just right.)
Then bake your stuffed bananas.
Did you know banana skins blacken rapidly when baked? Me neither, because why would you bake a banana peel?
I couldn’t stop laughing when serving these. It’s stupider than a lot of mid-century aspics, and those are pretty stupid.
This is absurdly greasy, since the sausage fat is all held in place by the banana skin and just pools all over the banana. Even when unpeeled (which causes it all to fall apart), there’s a layer of grease all over it that is remarkably unappealing.
Well, to most of us, at least — Buzz thought this was edible. But it didn’t come together in any meaningful way. If you liked warm banana (he apparently does, nobody else did) and liked sausage, you’d be able to enjoy this. There was absolutely no point in baking them as a unified thing, though.
I guess it got them through Wednesday in the cookbook, though.
Retro Recipe Attempts 
Always trying to do weird things to bananas–these cookbooks!
By: Yinzerella on July 7, 2014
at 12:45 pm
Yikes! I know a lot of people (though not me!) like sausage and something sweet together, but this looks just crazy! I love the visual of 1.5 sausage links crammed into each split banana, though.
By: Poppy Crocker on July 7, 2014
at 3:18 pm
Combining sweetness with pork flavor is definitely a recognized thing. I don’t think anybody in our family particularly cares for it, but it’s not bad. The problem, for me, with this recipe was that the flavors did not come together at all. You might was well have alternated bites of sausage and hot, mushy banana.
By: Buzz on July 8, 2014
at 1:27 pm
I think the grease would just be the worst part — I mean, sweet and savory can go together well, just look at pineapple on pizza. But… no. Just… NO.
By: tee+d on July 7, 2014
at 4:31 pm
As an addendum to my reply to Poppy Crocker above, I should say that I actually had (totally at random) a watermelon, ham, and feta salad at lunch today. There definitely was something to combining the sweetness of the melon and the flavor of the ham. It was good, although the saltiness (from both meat and cheese) got rather heavy by the end.
By: Buzz on July 8, 2014
at 5:42 pm
I’m a fan of both sausage(s) and bananas. But in this instance, I can’t quite figure out WHICH one is being insulted, slighted, sullied or saluted!!!
By: Schteveo on July 8, 2014
at 6:03 pm
Might as well mix apple slices and hot dogs. Two other things that don’t particularly go together or meld into something fabulous.
By: anon on July 9, 2014
at 1:56 pm
Sausages in bananas ? Wow!
By: Mr Fitz on July 10, 2014
at 2:39 pm
Unbelievagable.
By: soyfig on July 14, 2014
at 12:34 pm