Where to start with this well-known, well-loved
Lincolnshire butcher. Speaking with uber-Stan Dan Mitchell I found out so much
about this business. To discover the full, fascinating history of this company click
this link and then select, obviously, the “History” section – ODLINGS
As a brief summary the firm started in 1920, so they
are busy planning some special celebrations for their centenary in a couple of
years time. Starting off selling just pots and pans, this grew into a hardware
shop with a few meat products on the side, and then blossomed into the splendid
village butcher that you can visit today. And visit you definitely must!
Where To Find Them:
Navenby is an attractive and ancient village in
Lincolnshire, dating back to the Bronze Age, around 600BC. It was also a
garrison staging point for Roman forces marching up and down Ermine Street. The
wide main street is evidence of its more recent history as a market town, with
a charter being granted by Edward the Confessor in the eleventh century. More
recently a more saucy side of the village was revealed when Lawrence of Arabia
wrote “I'm too shy to go looking
for dirt. That's why I can't go off stewing into the Lincoln or Navenby
brothels with the fellows.” He was stationed at RAF Cranwell near Sleaford at
the time.
Odling’s shop is
located on the High Street in Navenby, if you drive slowly you can’t miss it –
and as a bonus they have their own large car park just across the road, what
more could you ask for? If you’re using SausNav it’s LN5 0ET.
If you can’t travel
to Navenby the good news is that Odling’s deliver in the local area. Many years
ago they ran a fleet of seven vans but nowadays it’s just the one, with various
different routes around the area, depending on the day. Either see their
website for details or call on 01522
810228.
Opening Hours:
Monday – 0600 to 1800
Tuesday – 0600 to 1800
Wednesday – 0600 to 1800
Thursday – 0600 to 1800
Friday – 0600 to 1800
Saturday – 0600 to 1730
Sunday – 1000 to 1600
Stanwatch:
I didn’t spy any Stans during my visit, but was
pretty involved in conversation about all things meat-related with Dan
Mitchell. A very capable, articulate butcher, you could do worse than ask for
his personal assistance when you pop in. Cheers Dan!
Flavour:
Briliantly balanced seasoning sets off these lovely
sausages to a tee. The first word I wrote in the review notes was “delicious”,
which is a fair one-word summary. The flavour is deep, dark and addictive, very
faithfully Lincolnshire with a decent sage-y taste backed up with obviously
high-quality pork. No ears, snouts or tail in these bangers, it’s all killer no
filler. I asked for the recipe hoping to catch Dan off guard, but as usual it
is “ancient and secret”. Bah.
Texture:
I have to say I was not overly impressed with the
texture, but that’s because I am extremely picky. The filling is quite fine and
I prefer chunky – the bigger the better. Indeed a Lincolnshire sausage is
traditionally chunkier inside than most. The skins were not very snappy either,
which was a surprise. Blobs of filling oozed from the ends during cooking which
I absolutely love. However, don’t let my own personal preferences stop you from
trying these bangers, I think 99% of the population would bloody love ‘em!
Vital Statistics:
Average Weight Uncooked = 58 grams
Average Weight Cooked = 45 grams
Meat Content = 85 %
Odlings source their
pork from Porters, a high quality producer, also based in Navenby. If you’re
trying to reduce your food miles then you can’t get better than that. Also,
their beef is reared in the neighbouring village of Caythorpe, again excellent
green credentials. Porters also supply
some of the other producers of top quality sausages in the area.
Value For Money:
£2.88 for 8 sausages weighing 466 grams. This works
out as £6.18 per kg and 36p per banger.
We rate this as brilliant value for money, unit
price is quite a bit lower than many comparable sausages. Do yourself a favour
and buy some as soon as you can.
The "Aah, Bisto" Factor:
Superb aroma in the pan, one sniff will take you
straight back to teatime in 1977 when mum was frying your tea as you watched Blue
Peter. Or Magpie.
The Imaginatively Titled Next Day Cold Sausage Test:
There was only one survivor from the eight brave
bangers who jumped into my frying pan the night before. One survivor. And Ruth
nicked it.....
She says “The
taste was really nice, just as good as when they were hot and texture was a bit
firmer cold. Overall very nice”.
And Finally, Esther:
A tasty Lincolnshire banger which is also great
value. You’d be (Christmas) crackers not to try some.
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