Ancaster Butchers - Sleaford - Pork & Tomato Sausage

I popped into the Bristol Arcade in Sleaford to find some interesting bangers, and visited Ancaster Butchers’ (fairly) newly opened premises. Times must be good for this outfit to be expanding from their shop in Ancaster, which is great news. We visited them before Christmas and picked up lots of high quality meat products, including their Lincolnshire sausages which we reviewed here – ANCASTER BUTCHER LINCOLNSHIRE SAUSAGE

Bristol Arcade is a quaint fifties curiosity, a miniscule shopping mall with vaulted glass ceiling. The entrances are directly opposite the market place and also on Southgate, you can’t really miss it....Ancaster Butchers are towards the market place end. I highly recommend their beautifully thick pork chops....

Opening Hours:

Monday – 0730 to 1630

Tuesday – 0730 to 1630

Wednesday – Closed

Thursday – 0730 to 1630

Friday – 0730 to 1630

Saturday – 0730 to 1200

Sunday - Closed

Stanwatch:

It’s a satellite shop from their main base so there’s only one Stan here – helpful and informative though. 

Flavour:

In light of previous reviews of tomato sausages I was a little dubious about trying them again. I shouldn’t have worried. Although still not exactly as I fondly remember from childhood – which was a long time ago – these sausages certainly do have a lovely tomato flavour, my first written note was “YES! TOMATO!” The taste is sweet and really lovely, which you wouldn’t maybe expect when you look at the uncooked photo – they appear brooding and a little satanic. The previous tomato sausage reviews are listed at the bottom if you would like to do some additional reading.

  

Texture:

Skins are good, quite brittle, therefore snappy and first-rate. The filling is a decent mid-thickness, you can see tempting lumps of pork and fat which I like. I wonder if it’s harder to create a decent filling when one of the ingredients is so watery, as tomatoes are? They are certainly very juicy as the photos show, Ancaster Butchers have done a good job here. They cooked up nicely with no drama although there was a little opaque red seepage. 

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 57 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 55 grams

Meat Content = Sorry, I forgot to ask. But I was extremely impressed with the lack of shrinkage here,  only 2 grams lighter after cooking than before. Outstanding.

Value For Money:

£2.83 for 6 sausages weighing 341 grams. This works out as £8.30 per kg and 47p per banger.

We rate this as good value for money.

The Imaginatively Titled Next Day Cold Sausage Test:

I saved two sausages for this test but they mysteriously disappeared from the fridge overnight. Where’s Scooby Doo when you need a mystery solving?

Previous Tomato Sausage Reviews:

MERIDIAN MEATS TOMATO SAUSAGE

WALSINGHAM FARM SHOP TOMATO & BASIL SAUSAGE

OSLINC OSTRICH & TOMATO SAUSAGE

Vox Pop:

I asked people their thoughts on tomato sausages, and here are some of their replies....

• Bit like cheese with fruit in it - may be quite tasty but I don’t really see the point. Sausage with a tomato is good, this would have to be even better.
• I like tomato sausages with, say, egg and chips but not with gravy or mash. Cold in sandwiches good also. Nana at York used to like them.
• Love tomato sausages.
• They are the Devil's sausage!  

And Finally, Esther:

A good attempt at the mythical tomato sausage from my childhood – will I ever find what I’m looking for?

Wetherills - Sleaford - Plain Pork Sausage

“Local Lincolnshire pork sausages med by a yeller belly...”

Have you ever heard the phrase “No Frills” when applied to goods or businesses? It’s fairly synonymous with the words basic, rough, cheap, and other not particularly nice phrases. However, in the case of Wetherills Butchers you will find a No Frills operation that provides high quality produce.

As far as I can see this business is housed in an old stable down an innocuous looking side passage off Southgate in the south Lincolnshire market town of Sleaford. Take a look at our photo and keep your eyes peeled for the sign on the wall – it’s on the same side of the street as the Wise Owl discount store.

The Weight-loss Club Controversy:

One reason that I was interested to try these sausages was to investigate the alleged link with a major weight-loss club....we’ll call them Dieting Planet. A few years ago Wetherills sold lots and lots of sausages to members of.....Dieting Planet....and there was some confusion over whether this was an official endorsement or not. It appears that it was not, although this was no fault of the butcher, who had never claimed such a link. As soon as word escaped that their low fat sausages were suitable for the....Dieting Planet....scheme it spread like wildfire. Sadly, rather than enjoying a little free publicity, Dieting Planet came on heavy handed and threatened all kinds of consequences. Very disingenuous. For the record, Wetherills butcher makes no claim whatsoever to any kind of association with....Dieting Planet....or any other organised weight-loss organisation.

However, if you are looking to lose a few pounds then Wetherills sausages can definitely help. I watched as nearly all the fat was trimmed from the pork before mincing. Also there is less rusk in the low fat versions. Still tasty, but less on the waisty. For the record, Paul believes that each low fat sausage counts roughly one “naughty point”.

Opening Hours:

I love quirky opening hours and these are crackers...

Monday – 0730 to 1400

Tuesday – 0730 to 1300

Wednesday – 0730 to 1300

Thursday – 0730 to 1400

Friday – 0730 to 1300

Saturday – 0730 to 0830 and then 0930 to 1300

Sunday - Closed

Stanwatch:

What you see is what you get here. Paul and Tanya are the full complement of staff, and you can see everything that they’re doing. Nothing hidden away “round the back” in this shop. Flipping cold in the winter I bet.

Flavour:

Low cost but far from low quality...the nice Lincolnshire bred pork is allowed to shine through in these uncomplicated sausages. The seasoning is subtle, just sufficient to highlight the sweet porkiness, and in summary these bangers “do exactly what it says on the tin”. The butcher doesn’t add any fancy stuff at all, it’s pork, just pork, and it’s all the better for that. 

Texture:

My notes say “Initially – juicy! A very decent chewy mouthful”. And there you have it really. The cut is quite fine but the filling becomes more crumbly as it cools after cooking. Priced very similarly to retail rubbish such as Richmonds, the gulf in quality is immense; these have the feel of a proper banger as opposed to the sludge-like plop inside a mass-produced monstrosity.

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 85 grams (EIGHTY FIVE!)

Average Weight Cooked = 67 grams

Meat Content = Wetherills declare the meat content as 65% but in a recent Food Standards test the actual figure turned out to be 72%.

Value For Money:

£2.57 for 6 sausages weighing 510 grams. This works out as £5.04 per kg and 43p per banger.

We rate this as blooming marvellous value for money. As previously mentioned the pricing is very similar to, say, Richmonds or Walls, but you would be mad to buy those when you could have these! And remember, each of these weighs in at 85 grams, the Richmonds only 56. What would you rather pay for?

The "Aah, Bisto" Factor:

Frying these sausages was a painful experience – but only because I had been slicing onions to make the onion gravy and my eyes were on fire! I can’t tell you if there was a delicious aroma wafting around, I was too busy crying my eyes out.

And Finally, Esther:

I said it before and it’s worth repeating - Low cost but far from low quality. Try some as soon as you can.