We can’t get enough of a good sausage
UK Sausage Week is back again in 2019, on the 28th October, and our butchers, sausage manufacturers, retailers and trade associations will be shouting the wonders of this great British staple from the rafters. Every day Brits eat 3.7 million meals containing sausages – that’s 1.35 billion sausage-based meals a year. These range from the hearty and warming bangers and mash and toad in the hole to the great breakfast sausage and sausage roll. They’re warm, they’re comforting, and they’re quick and easy too.
Past winners of the accolade of best bangers, from independent butchers around the country vary between the traditional pork and country specials to sprout and stilton and the Mrs Christmas Festive Sausage.
Where did sausages come from?
Traditional sausage recipes are often a close guarded secret, and it almost feels like sausages are part of our heritage. The Cumberland sausage is such a treasure of the British sausage producing industry that it was awarded Protected Geographical Identity status in 2011, protecting its authenticity from fake sausages.
However, it seems like our sausages might not be as British as we thought. It’s believed that we actually have the Italians to thank as the Romans brought the food to Britain some time before 400 AD.
How to get a perfect barbecued banger
Burgers seem to have taken over in popularity from the great British sausage on our barbecues but there’s nothing that quite beats the smell and taste of a banger in a bun with some gorgeous golden onions and a squirt of sauce.
But, to please our guests at the barbecue, we should really try to avoid a burst banger which has lost its lovely juices and maybe some of its flavour. Cooking sausages on the direct heat of the grill can cause the flames to cook the meat too quickly, bringing the juices of the sausage past boiling point and causing the sausage to split. Juices running onto the flames can also cause flare ups and burning of the food.
When you have to serve a lot of people fast then poaching sausages is a quick first step. This ensures fatter style sausages cook evenly and remain moist when you barbecue them.
- Place the uncooked sausages in a pan and fill with cold water to just cover.
- Bring to the boil and reduce to a gentle simmer.
- Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove sausages and dry them off.
- Your sausages are then ready to brown and finish on the barbecue.
So, make sure you get your sausages sizzling perfectly and we wish you all the best of British Sausage Week.
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