The “Wrisdale Special” is an unusual name for a
sausage so I asked about its origin. The amenable Andrew Wright of Lakings
replied thus “It’s a sausage made by one of the butchers
who has his own secret recipe, and if he is not at work we don’t have them
available. Nigel Wrisdale, used to own Jacksons Butchers in the town several
years ago before he retired. He came out of retirement a couple of years ago
and came to work back with us, as this is where he started his butchery career.
He started making his sausages again as we have customers that used to shop
with him at Jacksons and wanted him to make them again.”
So there you have it – these sausages
are a rare commodity so I suggest you stock up with plenty when you next visit
this shop.
Where To Find Them:
Louth is a splendid market town situated in the
beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds. The town is located beside a glacial gorge formed
during the last ice age, and hand axes have been found which may date back around
400,000 years. The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having 124
households. I love Louth as it remains defiantly anti-chain brands, and 70% of
the shops here are independently owned. This makes it a haven if you love your
properly produced foods, you could easily spend a fortune in the many tempting
artisan food shops. Visit this super little town soon!
You will find Lakings
butchers at 33 Eastgate, the shop front is smart and welcoming. If you want to
use SausNav the postcode is LN11 9NB. They have a lovely website, which you can
access here: LAKINGS WEBSITE
Environmental Excellence:
One lovely fringe benefit of shopping at Lakings is
the packaging for their meat products. It’s made from felting and sealing pure
wool which is environmentally benign and can be re-used several times. This
demonstrates a clear commitment to the environment, and Lakings should be proud
of their initiative.
Opening Hours:
Monday – 0830 to 1700
Tuesday – 0830 to 1700
Wednesday – 0830 to 1700
Thursday – 0830 to 1700
Friday – 0830 to 1700
Saturday – 0830 to 1700
Sunday - Closed
Stanwatch:
We visited on a Saturday morning and the shop, as
with the rest of the town, was a maelstrom of busy-ness. They say that you can
tell if a restaurant is any good judging by the number of diners – if you apply
this logic to Lakings it must be good, as there is a constant flow of
customers. These customers are served by a veritable army of staff, extremely
smartly turned out and friendly and efficient with it.
Flavour:
Super, savoury, delicious! This tastes like a very
good Lincolnshire sausage, the maker (Nigel, remember?) obviously knows what he’s
doing. If I tasted these without knowing then I would declare that they were
quality Lincolnshires. It’s a dark and brooding flavour which starts off mild
but grabs your throat in a bomb burst of peppery loveliness. Ace!
Texture:
Very impressed, there are really good sized lumps of
lovely pork here. Just look at that picture with the fork! I don’t know what setting Lakings use on their
mincing machine but I think they may have taken a hint from Spinal Tap and gone
for eleven. Great big bobbles of meat, crumbly, very very good texture. Can’t
wait to try their Farmhouse variety.
Vital Statistics:
Average Weight Uncooked = 58 grams
Average Weight Cooked = 45 grams
Meat Content = 82 %
Value For Money:
£2.64 for 6 sausages weighing 346 grams. This works
out as £7.63 per kg and 44p per banger.
We rate this as very good value for money.
And Finally, Esther:
This is a cracking sausage. I’ll be heading back to
Louth soon to pick up some of Lakings’ famed Farmhouse bangers.
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