Lincolnshire Sausage Season #13 of 13 - Hargraves - Pinchbeck - Old Style Lincolnshire Sausages

Pinchbeck can be found two miles north of Spalding. On Knight Street, just around the corner from the thousand year-old church, past the football ground, and on the other side of the road you will find Hargraves the Butchers. Marvellously they have their own private customer car park beside the shop so parking up while you buy your meaty goodies is simple. If you want to use SausNav the postcode is PE11 3RA. Also I would recommend visiting on a Wednesday if you’re a sausage fan (and if you’re not, why are you reading this?) as that’s the day that Hargraves put several different and interesting varieties of snorker on sale – but beware, they sell out quickly and when they’re gone, they’re gone....

Under gloomy and leaden skies, but with a passion for excellent meat products lighting up my heart, I found myself in Hargraves car park in Pinchbeck. As well as being a nice village, the word pinchbeck is the name of an alloy invented by watch-maker Christopher Pinchbeck in the eighteenth century, composed of 89% copper and 11% zinc, and developed so that less wealthy customers could own “gold effect” watches and jewellery. So what would a historic village steeped in agriculture have to offer to us sausage lovers? Read on....

Stanwatch:

Two cheery Stanettes were waiting behind the counter when I arrived, bundled up in many layers of thermal clothing – this shop always keeps its doors open to give a friendly and inviting welcome to customers. I felt a little sorry for them actually, apparently it can be “blooming  parky” when the wind whips over the flat fenland countryside and straight in through the door. Good service was provided though.

Opening Hours:

Monday – 0730 to 1730

Tuesday – 0730 to 1730

Wednesday – 0730 to 1730

Thursday – 0730 to 1730

Friday – 0700 to 1930

Saturday – 0630 to 1700

Sunday - Closed

Flavour:

Warm, homely and old-fashioned (as you would hope, judging by the name of the sausage), these are very tasty bangers. The very local  pork is light and moist and a million miles from any terrible “sausage” you may find in a supermarket. To my mind there is marginally too much pepper for the genuine Lincolnshire flavour but that is a very minor quibble – make no mistake, these sausages taste delicious.

Texture:

In a word – “Superb!” These are known as Old Style Lincolnshires as the filling is chopped coarser than their standard version. There’s a juicy, chunky feel in the mouth and the sausages are really pleasant to chew. Very solidly bonded bangers. Lumpy, clumpy and there’s even the occasional meaty squeak as you eat. Skins are natural and make this a top quality sausage - I am a fan already.  They are also very hearty, I wanted to eat more but was just too full.

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 64 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 60 grams

Rest assured, these are solid logs of sausages, and what’s even better is the tiny amount of weight lost during the frying process, meaning that you do end up eating what you paid for.

Value For Money:

£2.74 for 8 sausages weighing 511 grams. This works out as £5.36 per kg and 34p per banger.

We rate this as ruddy brilliant value for money, you’d be crackers not to try some as soon as possible.

Three Word Verdicts:

Junior Sidekick was not present.

Ruth “Delicious, snappy, peppery”

JP was away.

The Imaginatively Titled Next Day Cold Sausage Test:

We lined up the survivors against four options – Branston pickle, English mustard, horseradish sauce and “Rib Tickler BBQ Sauce” by The Chilli Jam Man. All would make an acceptable companion for a cold sausage butty but the favourite in this case was the Branston pickle, closely followed by the mustard. The Rib Tickler sauce is absolutely delicious but not quite the right partner for a sausage, and the horseradish didn’t work particularly pleasingly.

And Finally, Esther:

These are lovely sausages at a very tempting price – you really can’t afford to ignore them!