Southern & Thorpe - Ruskington - Chicken & Sage Sausage (aka Chicken Linconshire)

We’ve tasted sausages from this place before and we were very impressed. Last time we tried their Lincolnshire sausages as the first part of Lincolnshire Sausage Season (further reviews coming soon, by the way), and after eight tests so far they are currently top of the table. Must tell you something. If you want to read what we wrote then click on this link – SOUTHERN & THORPE LINCOLNSHIRE SAUSAGES– but do so after you finish reading this one!

The obvious question you’d ask is “Why chicken?” Their pork Lincolnshires are so good there would seem to be little point in diversifying. The answer lies in Southern & Thorpe’s desire to provide their customers with exactly what they want. There was a request for a slightly healthier version of the Lincolnshire sausage and instead of altering the recipe mix of meat,/bulking,/seasoning etc it was decided to produce something completely different. A side effect of this is that these bangers are less fatty than usual and therefore popular with customers who are watching their waistlines - but still offer high quality flavour and texture.

Where To Find Them:

Point yourself towards the large village of Ruskington in south Lincolnshire, then aim for the middle of the village. There is a babbling brook (called The Beck) running down the main street and you can park either side of that or in the Co-op car park, for free. Head towards the church and Southern & Thorpe is directly opposite – look for the shop with a conservatory on its roof! If you’re using SausNav the postcode is NG34 9DY.

But beware! These are definitely a limited edition product, produced in small batches. Very much an “under the counter” offering, available only if you know the password and roll your trouser leg up to your knee while singing Waltzing Matilda. Well, maybe not quite “that” extreme, but if you’re visiting specifically for these chicken sausages I’d strongly recommend phoning ahead to ensure you’re not disappointed.

Opening Hours:

Monday – 0800 to 1300

Tuesday – 0800 to 1700

Wednesday – 0800 t 1700

Thursday – 0800 to 1700

Friday – 0800 to 1700

Saturday – 0800 to 1300

Sunday - Closed

Stanwatch:

No Stans as before, but the lovely helpful Stanettes were there in force, delightful as always.

Flavour:

It’s finger-licking tasty! Lighter flavour than the pork version but bloody lovely nonetheless. There’s a healthy hit of sage as you’d expect backed up with nicely balanced seasoning. The pepper content is just right – you can tell it’s there but it stays in the shadows and lets the sage and chicken take centre stage. Most chicken sausages you can find are bland, mass-produced and quite flavourless – these ones are a delight.

Texture:

The chicken is crumbly but moist, how they’ve done it is beyond me. Crumbly but they stick together bravely until you get a forkful in your mouth – this disintegrates and allows the flavours to introduce themselves to your taste buds. The sausages shrink noticeably to the eye during cooking but retain a very healthy and creditable percentage of their initial weight. Good texture!

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 61 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 53 grams

Meat Content = yet again I failed to make a note. Call them and ask – 01526 834359.

Value For Money:

£3.60 for 8 sausages, weighing 484 grams. This works out as £7.44 per kg and 45p per banger.

We rate this as very good value for money. Maybe more costly than other chicken sausages you may use if you’re trying to lose weight, but oh so much better in every way.

Three Word Verdicts:

Junior Sidekick “Need more chicken”

Ruth “Different and interesting”

The "Aah, Bisto" Factor:

Little aroma during cooking, certainly not as tempting as your average pork banger. Don’t let that put you off though. There is a constant low level sizzle during cooking, even at a low temperature – what a tease!

And Finally, Esther:

Different and delicious sums it up. Buy some!

USA Review 3 - World Class International - Chicken Luganega

Yes, last time I promised a new report with sausage for Jambalaya. I had a setback buying the sausage that I wanted to use. My optimal choice was organic free-range Turkey Andouille, no casing. They were available at my local health food store a month ago, but as of last week, they had been replaced by yet more Italian sausage. This is most likely due to the Holidays. The owner was not there, so I wasn't able to ascertain when the Andouille would be back in stock. The research continues on the Andouille subject.


Meanwhile, the following sausage was bought from the regular mega-market grocery store chain.


Chicken Luganega







It took me a few tries to pronounce this sausage, because on the package it is spelled Lauganega. After consulting some recipes, it's my opinion that the proper spelling is Luganega. This kind of sausage hails from Northern Italy, however, it is normally made from pork. It is a rope of 1/2 inch diameter. One definitely needs tongs to turn this over in the pan or else it gets away from you. I had to improvise and use two spatulas because my tongs were in the dishwasher. Note to the wise, get a second pair of tongs instead of trying to wrangle it with two spatulas.


Ingredients: Chicken Breast Trimmings, Chicken Thighs, Sea Salt, Raw Sugar, Spices, Spice Extractives, Sheep casing.


What is a spice extractive as opposed to a spice? Is it a more concentrated form of spice or just a spice substitute?


Source: Distributed by World Class International Kitchens, Linden, NJ. I would like to know where the meat came from though.


Fatty Stats: 35mg cholesterol per link but it says link sizes vary, 310mg sodium, 11g fat, 3.5g saturated fat. No oil for the pan, no cooking spray, and not that much fat came out of it.


Price: $3.99 per pound, I had 12oz. so $2.99 for me. This lasted 3 meals so that would be about $1 per meal. Much tastier and healthier than anything on the dollar menu at your local fast food drive-thru. This is an important factor when trying to break the take-out/fast food habit. Although on the downside, the 2nd and 3rd meal were a bit drier and slightly less tasty.


Sniff Test (aka Bisto factor): My whole house smelled absolutely wonderful with this in the cast iron grill pan. Rich, succulent, comforting. I wish I could send the scent through your screens! I wish I knew for sure what spices were in there, the aroma was marvellous. I imagine the aroma would be even better on a charcoal grill.


Taste: Tastes excellent. Just exactly the right balance of spice, juiciness, aroma, and texture for a chicken sausage. The taste buds detected fennel, rosemary, garlic, black pepper, parsley. I would say this is more of a lunch sausage because it's a thin sausage and seems like it would be nice with a salad. It's got a lightness to it, satisfying, but not hearty in the sense of usual fatter sausages.


I would definitely eat this again if I really wanted sausage and organic alternatives were not available.

USA Review 2 - Shady Brook Farms Hot Lean Italian Turkey Sausage

Tonight's sausage dinner was made with my daughter clinging to my leg and screaming "I want more Dora! I want more Dora!" at the top of her lungs. There is no evening t.v. for the toddler in the house, so she decided to try to play chicken with touching the stove/oven in protest.


Arrrgghhh!!!!


But anyway, tonight's dinner was Shady Brook Farms Hot Italian Turkey Sausage. Shady Brook Farms sounds like a very traditional family farm name. In my opinion, it sounds more like the name of a retirement village. However, if you look closely at the package, in very small print by the UPC label, it says Cargill. Cargill is one of the giant meat monopolies (in fact, THE biggest meat monopoly), errr, conglomerate. Normally, I try to not eat mass-produced meat due to personal preference, but in the realm of sausage in the regular grocery store, it's hard to avoid. Due to this problem, I am thinking of asking Santa for an electric meat grinder with sausage making attachment this year. It sounds like a great cooking adventure, but 1) do I have space in the kitchen? (no), and 2) would it collect dust? (maybe), and 3) the microwave broke and needs replacing.

Shady Brook Farms' sausage comes in a package of 6 for $3.99. Ingredients: Turkey, Water, Salt, Spices, Sugar, Paprika, Potato Extract, Calcium Lactate, Calcium Alginate Casing. Today, I cooked it in a skillet with olive oil, onions, green peppers, and various whatnot of spices in the cupboard. I did notice for the first time that the instructions on the back do say to use non-stick cooking spray, I have always used olive oil though.

There is a large water content to this sausage, so it takes a while to brown properly. The links splatter like mad fireworks despite the splatter shield over the pan. If I'm not in a hurry, I usually brown this over high heat on the stove then throw them in the oven to cook through. In order to avoid a medical calamity with my child, today was skillet-only on my smaller back burner, and they took forever to cook through.

I believe the lack of the usual browning method led to this sausage tasting rather blah, not entirely bland, but blah, compared to usual. Mostly, it tastes like fennel, lots of fennel, everywhere. Oh look, there's even more fennel in that slice. I think it will taste better tomorrow after it has sat in the fridge with the peppers and onions overnight. As for the "hot" factor, weeellll, it's a miss. There must be some red pepper in there because it's not what I would call totally mild or flavorless, but not spicy or "hot" at all. As for texture, it's moist and spongy. Think wet-ish Spam type consistency.

I have served this sausage at my annual Holiday party before with much success, but it tasted infinitely better than how it came out tonight. I would not serve tonight's rendering to guests.

While I'm thinking about it, what exactly is Calcium Alginate? According to Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_alginate. Goo begotten from seaweed. Well if I ever get on a quiz show, I now know the answer to that one. Wouldn't it just be easier to wrap the sausage in a nori wrap like sushi hand rolls and skip the chemistry? Now that would be different.

I'm heading away from the Italian sausages for the next sausage report. It's New Jersey, where foods tend to be either Italian, Polish, or from the Indian sub-continent. Seeing as how I was raised in the South, I'm having a major hankering for Jambalaya. Does anyone else hear Hank Williams right now, or is it just me? "Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie, a file gumbo..."

USA Review - Applegate Organics - Sweet Italian Chicken & Turkey Sausage

Readers, please welcome Farah C, our brand new USA Correspondent! It seems that they do things differently over there....




Ok, first sausage report from this side of the pond. Sarah and I went to our local health food store to buy these nice nitrite-free organic sausages made right here in New Jersey. The chickens and turkeys aren't given any antibiotics, and they aren't kept in filthy windowless barns like all the other diseased meat sold in the grocery store.

Flavor - These have a very sweet mild flavor, milder than I was expecting for Italian sausages. I prefer a spicier taste. Sarah gobbled a link in no time so it was a definite hit with her. Next time I will make it as an Italian Hot Dog with all the fixings rather than just eat it plain for more oomph.

Texture - No breadcrumbs at all here, just meat. Juicy but dense. We were quite full after just 1 link each. I usually eat 2 sausages for a typical sausage meal, but with these, I was just too full after 1.

Cooking time - Very toddler-friendly cooking time. They are pre-cooked so a few minutes in the pan to heat them through. No oil needed, good news for those of us with cholesterol issues.

Price - $5.99. A bit pricey compared to regular run of the mill sausages, but excellent quality.