Sausage Week: Celebrate with Local Flavours in Northumberland and Scottish Borders

UK Sausage Week

Running from 29th October till 4th November, UK Sausage Week promotes the great British Banger. Across the country butchers, manufacturers, retailers and trade associations will be hosting sausages events, promotions, new products and tastings to celebrate.

Sausage Week started over 20 years ago with an agenda to promote meat straight from the farm. It raised awareness for a better quality sausage to be developed.

Since the Second World War, sausages were filled with water, hence why they were called bangers and filled with unused parts of the pig including its guts and organs. Even today you can still find low-quality sausages in supermarkets, some as low as 32% pork. Although sausage week has changed hands many times over the past 20 years, the aim is still to promote better quality meat products for the consumer, as well as more variety.

On the Foodful blog, we aim to showcase local butchers who create a variety of tastier, healthier alternatives which should be the standard we are accustomed too.

A Sausage Saga

Sausages are consistently a favourite at mealtimes around the UK. Around 3.7 million sausages are eaten daily in the UK[1]. Most people are aware of the origin of the ‘banger’ nickname during WWII but did you know these facts?

• Sausages go back over 5,000 years ago believed to be invented by the Sumerians[2].
• The name sausage comes from the Latin salsicius which means ‘prepared by salting’.
• The sausage was seen at many banquets and was that beloved that a Greek playwright called Epicharmus wrote a play called ‘The Orya’, which translates as ‘The Sausage’, in 500 B.C[3]. Epicharmus was one of the first comic playwrights and is believed to have started sausage jokes. I don’t think I need to say any more.
• Romans mixed pork with other ingredients such as nuts, spices such as cumin and herbs like thyme and bay leaves[4].
• In 320 AD, sausage consumption was banned by the Catholic Church because they were associated with a Roman fertility ritual[3].
• Sausages have been part of our culture since around 400 AD[4]. Most counties have their own regional flavours such as Lincolnshire uses fresh sage, Cheshire uses Caraway and Coriander.
• 85% of households buy sausages spending an estimated £31.20 a year[2].
• The most popular place to eat sausage is at home, followed by the pub[1].
• The traditional pork sausage is the nation’s favourite.

They are so delicious and so easy to prepare. When I come to London there is always one thing on my mind – a plateful of bangers and mash
Elizabeth Taylor

5 Fat Sausages Sizzling in the Pan One Went Pop and The Others Went Bang!

Rothbury Family Butchers

Rothbury Family Butchers have 2 shops in Northumberland, one in Rothbury and the other in Morpeth. On Monday, at the Sausage Awards in London, the team at Rothbury Family Butchers won Best Traditional Pork Sausage in the North this year,  for the 3rd consecutive year. The winning sausage is the Roman Sausage which is Pork, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme showcasing the taste legacy left behind by the Romans.

Other popular sausages include The Cragside Cracker (Pork, Rosemary and Red Onion), which was also a winner at the Sausage Awards a few years ago, and the Simonside Sizzler (Pork with Garlic, Chilli and Coriander). Morris Adamson, the owner of Rothbury Family Butchers, recommends oven baking the sausages for best results. The Cragside Cracker is delicious in a casserole and served with boiled rice. The Simonside Sizzler would be great in a spicy sausage ragu and the Roman Sausage could be accompanied with a variety of steamed green vegetables and bread.

Peelham Farm

The sausages from Peelham are made straight from the field to the onsite butchery. They offer an array of organically produced sausages and can provide gluten-free and pork-free alternatives. The sausages are all hand-made and are made with their own mixes.

The range includes:

• Organic Beef Sausage
• Organic and Gluten-Free Berwickshire Sausages (pork, nutmeg & sage)
• Organic Boerewors Sausage
• Organic Italienne Sausage
• Organic Lamb Merguez Sausages
• Organic Veal Italienne

Also available is sausage meat.

You can also try Peelham Farm‘s award-winning, organic charcuterie including European sausage styles Chorizo, Droewors, Smoked Nduja and a variety of Salami flavours. All charcuterie is gluten and lactose-free.

R Carter & Son

Situated on the main street in Bamburgh is R Carter & Son: Butcher, Baker and Sausage Roll Maker. The business has been in the family since 1887; over 130 years! All meat is sourced locally and has the certificate of Farm Assurance.

Sausages include the eponymous Bamburgh Banger which has been endorsed by Rick Stein as a Food Hero. Other flavours include:

• Northumbrian Pork and Chive
• Black Pudding Sausage
• Oak-smoked Sausage

A must try are the sausage rolls made with the famous Bamburgh Bangers!

A. J. Learmonth

A J Learmonth butchers on the High Street in Jedburgh has been a popular stop in the Scottish Borders for over 12 years. Recently winning several awards this year including holding on to the title as champion in south-east Scotland for his flat sausage in the Traditional Sliced Sausage Awards, Learmonth’s also won 4 gold awards in the speciality sausage categories:

• Beef & Stilton,
• Pork & Chestnut,
• Chinese-style Piri-Piri Beef
• Bombay Beef

Great alternative sausages for those wanting something a little more than the traditional pork sausage.

R G Foreman & Son

R G Foreman & Son has been in the family for 5 generations since 1840. With an aim to provide the local area with good-quality meat products, Foreman’s sources meat from local farms where possible,which has been the case for several generations.

The sausages from Foreman’s are made in their Norham shop. The meat is filled into natural sheep casings and contains no artificial preservatives.

Flavours include:

• Wild Boar Sausage
• Venison Sausage
• Pork & Leek Sausage
• Cumberland Sausage
• Northumbrian Sausage
• Traditional Foreman’s Pork Sausage and Chipolata Sausage

You can buy Foreman’s sausages from their shop in Norham.

Feeling Scranny?

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