Have you heard of Fifty Shades Of Grey? Maybe not the kind of thing you’d talk about in front of the vicar or your nan, but it was a global sensation. Well take a look at the photo of the two chaps behind the Redhill Farm Free Range Pork stall. On the right is Terry, co-owner and married to boss Jane. On the left is part-time rock god and expert sausage-maker Steve Shelley.
Steve is an interesting character who juggles the
butcher business with aspirations towards Hollywood – and the breaking news is
that he will be starring in the 2018 blockbuster “Fifty Shades Of Pork”. Script
and plot details are very hard to unearth, but I can confirm that it is certainly
not “Babe 3 – When The Cash Runs Out”. Oh no, this movie is going to be high
quality as shown by the choice of Steve’s co-star, Kerry Katona.
Enough of the showbiz fluff, I am not Perez Hilton
after all. Let’s press on to the real meat of this review, Steve’s lovely porky
Lincolnshire sausage. This is not the first time we have reviewed these bangers
and usually our revisits are a purely public service to confirm if a truly
dreadful product – Iceland sausages, Tesco Everyday Value sausages, etc – is still
terrible. On this occasion this was a wholly selfish visit as we’ve never had a
poor product from Terry, Jane and the team.
Where To Find Them:
This company has won more awards than Ant & Dec
so you will always be assured of great produce, whichever method you choose to
find them:
Physically – You can take a road trip to the farm
itself which is located near the village of Morton, outside Gainsborough. If
using SausNav type in DN21 3DT. There’s a farm shop there which is open from
0900 to 1700 Tuesday to Friday and 0900 to 1500 on Saturdays, Everyone deserves
a weekend right? The shop stocks a great range of indulgent, local goodies,
including:
· The Tracklement Co. Mustards
& Chutneys
· Belvoir Cordials & Presses
· Lincolnshire Poacher Cheeses
· Kitchen Garden Preserves
· Free Range Eggs - from their own
Maran Free Range Chickens
· Free Range Chickens
· Their own Fresh Lamb - Zwartble
and Charollais Breeds
· Their own Home Grown Beef
(limited supply) - British Blue
· Ownsworth's Rapeseed Oil
· Ivy House Sloe Gin
· Olives Et Al - Olives, Dressings
· Moden's Lincolnshire Plum Bread
Redhill Farm Free Range Pork are also ALL OVER the
local farmers market scene – we found them in Sleaford – and you can check if
they will be in a market place near you soon by clicking this link -
Redhill Farm at Farmers Markets
Virtually: They have
a nice website that is easy on the eye and easy to navigate: Redhill Farm Free Range Pork
Stanwatch:
As described at the start, Terry and Steve were
manning the stall with enthusiasm and knowledge.
Flavour:
FAB! Ingredients are simply the high quality pork,
sage, breadcrumbs, rusk, black pepper and salt to preserve and this all adds up
to a sweet and smooth taste with no sharp corners. The sage and pepper are well
balanced and do not overpower, and the combination is bloomin’ beautiful. Word
of warning – these are big sausages and we don’t recommend that you tackle too
many in one sitting. But don’t panic, there is as much pork and flavour in one
of these sausages as in two of most other butchers’ bangers.
Texture:
Very crumbly at the right moments, which is a good
thing. Sometimes the skins fall off which may be viewed as a negative but could
also be seen as the sausage showing itself off. The filling falls apart when
you push and then clings together like survivors in a Titanic lifeboat. The
skins are not snappy, simply functional, to keep the good stuff inside properly
contained.
Vital Statistics:
Average Weight Uncooked = 90 grams
Average Weight Cooked = 69 grams
Meat Content = 75-80 %
Value For Money:
£6.09 for 8 sausages, weighing 716 grams. This works
out as £8.51 per kg and 76p per banger.
We rate this as Fantastic value for money.
Three Word Verdicts:
Ruth “Much better sensation on the taste buds when
cold. When warm skins were non-existent”
The "Aah, Bisto" Factor:
Nice gentle aroma during cooking. We’ve pretty much
returned to frying instead of grilling, it’s the Proper Way to do your bangers.
These sausages are huge logs of meat and eight of them barely squeezed into the
pan. Several ends burst out (which we like), and one split lengthways (which we
don’t like so much – makes it look like Jack The Ripper’s been making your
breakfast).
And Finally, Esther:
Big, beautiful, bruising bangers that taste
terrific! Buy some as soon as you can. And grab some of Steve's collar bacon too!
Table so far:
1= Bycroft's, Boston
1= Southern & Thorpe, Ruskington
3 - Redhill Farm Free Range Pork
4 – Lyell's, Boston
5 – Hambleton Farms, Doddington Hall
6 – Manor Farm, Leasingham
7 – Dunham's, Boston
8 – Sainsburys,
Sleaford
