Hubbards - Bury St Edmunds - Satan's Pork Sausage

A third visit to this super family set-up from Bury St Edmunds, this time to try out a little number that was laid down a few months ago, on the advice of the proprietor David Hubbard, to mature.  “They improve with age,” was the unusual mantra, allegedly the chillies (sp?) that are included gain heat while the bangers are incarcerated in the freezer.  David should know what he’s talking about, as I described in the RMS review of Hubbards’ Old English bangers LINK he is passionate about sausage-making and loves the history of the product as much as he enjoys the creating and making of them. 

Spiced up sausages seem to be a particular passion, as David explained his annual routine for making them – the spicier sausages come to the fore in the warmer summer months when barbecue season (all two days of it!) is in full flow.  These Satans pork sausages are hot, but David says he does make hotter, including some devilish sounding Pepperami-inspired “Beer Sticks”.  Perfect for taking down the over-loud “I can eat anything, no matter how hot” boaster found at any family gathering a peg or two, these are, apparently, nuclear-hot.  I want to try them.....

Flavour:

Spicy?  Yes, obv.  Not as much as I had hoped/feared though, but plenty sizzling enough to confound many taste buds.  When you chew this sausage the initial flavour is of juicy porkiness with no hint of the warmth that is just around the corner.  Then the pizzazz begins, and just like on It’s A Knockout, “Here Come The Belgians!” With an unstoppable flavoursome gallop the heat clobbers the back of the throat and your tongue.  Hotter than Dawn French wearing a naughty vicar outfit and smothered in Marmite.  Don’t buy these if you’re a rugby union-loving namby-pamby, hardcore football fans only need apply.  The curious, but brilliant, thing is that the heat doesn’t linger and dominate the meal, so you can enjoy the sizzling tsunami over and over with each mouthful.

Meat Content:

85-90%.  The chillies are a big distraction here but take a peek behind the warmth and the pork is pluckily holding its own like Big Daddy in a Knobbly Knees contest.  This is good quality meat, good cuts of pork have been used and you can tell.  With this sausage fanatic in charge of the mincing machine I wouldn’t expect anything less!

Texture:

The cracky snap tells that the skins are natural, and they are taut and tasty.  The filling is the trademark Hubbards style, solidly firm with ne’er a cubic millimetre left unplugged.  It’s a good “solidly firm” but not Rate My Sausage’s ideal – but you know that already as I’ve mentioned it over and over again.  However, just because this sausage doesn’t meet our exact preferences doesn’t mean it’s no good, far from it, it’s rather decent.  You certainly have to cut to get through these well made and well-bound hot logs of hot pork.

Shrinkage: 

Average weight uncooked - 58g

Average weight cooked - 50g

Shrinkage - 14%

Jolly good, well done chaps!  A good figure for the Satans, not quite as excellent as their Traditional Pork (11%), but better than the Old English (20%). 

Value For Money:

£1.76 for four sausages, weighing 233g - this works out as a price of £7.55 per kg, or 44p per snorker.  If you like spicy food, AND sausages, these represent fabulous value for money.  If not, steer clear.

The Bisto Factor:

As expected the aroma was zingy and appetising, and rather maddening.  Not only did they smell great, they also looked good too; as I noted (for some reason) at the time “naughty boys!”

Through A Child’s Eyes:

No comment, these sausages would cause Junior Sidekick’s internal organs to implode.  And I ain’t scraping THAT lot out of his undercrackers.

Opening Hours:

Monday: Closed

Tuesday: 0900 - 1700

Wednesday: 0900 - 1700

Thursday: 0900 - 1700

Friday: 0900 - 1700

Saturday: 0900 - 1500

Sunday: Closed

And Finally, Esther:

These are a spicy beast, challenging to the average sausage-lovers palate I would think.  Personally I’d like David Hubbard to cook up something even more mouth-melting and infernal!  I really enjoyed these sausages, and I commend them to you all.