Angus – Doncaster Market – Thick Pork Sausage

In the words of Daniel O’Donnell “It’s been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time.” Or was that Engelbert Humperdinck? Either way it’s true, but Rate My Sausage is back with a first review in…yonks.

On a cold but sunny Tuesday we visited Doncaster to pop into the market in search of sausages – according to the internet there are quite a few butchers there. Internet was right, there are! It seems the meat-mongers are doing somewhat better than many other traders as there are so many empty stalls in the market hall, lending it a rather melancholy atmosphere with echoes of glory days long gone. Sadly that is a very familiar tale in markets across the country, people find it easier and cheaper to pick up lower-quality, cheaper meat from supermarkets. Come on readers, pop down to a market close to you soon, they need your five pound notes.

The first Donny market bangers we’re rating are Angus Butcher’s Thick Pork offerings.

Where To Find Them:

In the food hall at Doncaster Market, obvs. To be more specific we’ll let them tell you themselves. “We are located in the main food hall which is adjacent to the Corn Exchange. You can easily find us by looking for our Angus Butchers sign and cow head logo which are both illuminated. You will find us in the corner of the market nearest to the Markets Car Park which is handy when carrying heavy groceries.” Heavy groceries – this means you need to buy half a pig, half a sheep, and an assortment of various lumps of cow before you leave. If you’re using SausNav the car park is at DN1 1LP.

There's a website: Angus Butchers Doncaster

Opening Hours:

Monday – Closed (Preparing for market)

Tuesday – 0700 to 1600

Wednesday – Closed (Preparing for market)

Thursday – 0700 to 1500

Friday – 0700 to 1600

Saturday – 0700 to 1600

Sunday – Closed

Note: Times correct as at 20 Apr 25.

Stanwatch:

There were three chaps bustling about behind the counter which was nice to see. All were kept busy with a steady flow of customers, which was even nicer to see.

If you’re new to our reviews you may be wondering what Stanwatch means? Well, when RMS was born in 2010 the first visit was to Bowers butchers in King’s Lynn (top quality sausages btw), where I spoke to main man Dickie and his colleague Stan. Ever since then we’ve grown to appreciate all the Stans who beaver away in the background chopping, slicing, wrapping, dicing, and swearing, they’re all ace. Every time I visited Bowers, if Stan served me I’d always let out a cheery “Thanks Stan” on my way out, and I could never understand why he always seemed to throw me a slightly annoyed glance as I did so. Many, many years later I was told that Stan’s name is actually Terry. Sorry Stan.

Flavour:

Sweet, juicy, a light flavour that makes these snorkers perfect for a place on your fried breakfast. There’s no faffing about here, the pork is the star of the show flavour-wise, and it tastes delicious. I’m a bit unsure about the “thick pork” name, as the sausages seem to be sized between “standard” and chipolata to me. But then, what do I know?

Texture:

These are dense sausages. If you’re wondering how dense, think Gemma Collins on Mastermind dense. Chunky, solid logs of porky goodness. The filling is not as rough-cut as we prefer, but equally is a million times more rustic and resistant to your knife than the cheap supermarket abominations. Be careful with these skins though, they went from nowhere near done to nearly over-caramelised in the blink of an eye, so keep your eye on them while frying.

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 63 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 45 grams

Shrinkage = 28% This is not excessive – all sausages shrink when you cook them properly. This stat has been reintroduced just for added interest – if you want zero shrinkage then you’re living in cloud cuckoo land frankly.

Meat Content = “about” 80% I was reliably informed. Kudos to me for actually remembering to ask the question, I usually forget.

Value For Money:

£3.00 for 6 sausages weighing 375 grams. This works out as £8.00 per kg and 50p per banger.

We rate this as really good value for money.

The "Aah, Bisto" Factor:

Sweet and appetising but not overpowering. You won’t need to deploy the Febreze after cooking.

And Finally, Esther:

Decent bangers. And their website states “We purchase the whole animal before carefully preparing our cuts ready for the shop counter. Purchasing the whole animal and butchering the meat ourselves rather than buying it already cut makes all of our meat is fully traceable. If you would like details of the farm your meat came from please just ask us.” Just how it should be, great work Angus chaps.

Fifty pence for a proper butcher’s banger, what’s not to like?

F Doncaster - Claypole - Red Onion & Sage Sausage

Do you remember Rentaghost? A children's teatime favourite from back in the seventies, usually shown between Animal Magic and Blue Peter. Which character do you recall best? I'll bet it's the mischievous jester, Timothy Claypole. This has nothing to do with sausages of course, but we found a great proper butcher in the pretty Nottinghamshire village of Claypole – I wonder if the Rentaghost script writer knew the place?

F Doncaster is the name of the butcher, and they first came to our attention when we taste-tested pigs in blankets just before Christmas NEWARK PIGS IN BLANKETS 2020. For the record my testing panel voted them into the bronze medal place which was a good result, but my own personal scoring put Doncaster's in top spot. At the time I promised myself that I would return to test the sausages.

There is a good selection of flavours on offer here, they generally offer four or five different ones each week. The recipes for the more traditional varieties are 100 years old, having been created when Mister Doncaster started the business in 1920. When I visited, the weekly “specials” included a Black Pepper & Truffle Mustard sausage, and due to the proximity of Burns Night, a haggis variety – these were absolutely delicious. All Doncaster sausages are made on the premises – except the Lincolnshires, which are made in a different location for some reason.

Where To Find Them:

Claypole, obviously. If you're going to use SausNav the postcode is NG23 5BE. But they also have a shop in the attractive minster town of Southwell (NG25 0AA). They have a decent website too if you want to have a look: F DONCASTER WEBSITE  There's parking right outside the shop, or if that's full the village hall car park is just across the road.

Opening Hours:

Due to COVID the opening hours are different from the norm – see the photo. We'd really advise you to call the shop to check if they are open before setting out from home – their number is 01636 626272.

Stanwatch:

Really helpful staff on serving duties, and you could see a couple of Stans beavering away in the rear part of the building. A good picture.

Flavour:

Sweet, sagey, splendid. I wondered if the red onion would dominate as the aroma was very intense, but that was not the case. There mut be a good amount of sage included to balance out that onion, and when combined with the sweet and succulent locally-produced pork, Doncasters have created a flipping flavoursome treat. Good work chaps.

Texture:

The filling is firm, knobbly, but fine. We're fans of a coarser cut but this is a good offering. It's a solid sausage and stands up well to your fork, unlike most of the supermarket abominations. The casings are collagen though, and this rather lets down an otherwise cracking banger. Some started disappearing during cooking which is never a good look, and you're missing out on that fantastic “snap” that you enjoy when cutting into natural skins.

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 55 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 46 grams

Meat Content = 72 %

Value For Money:

£2.62 for 6 sausages weighing 329 grams. This works out as £7.98 per kg and 44p per banger.

We rate this as very good value for money.

The "Aah, Bisto" Factor:

My notes say “Nice onion-ey waft from the packet when opened, and this intensified in the pan”. One of those that you can hardly wait to finish cooking.

And Finally, Esther:

Fab flavoured filling, skins could be better. Buy some and judge for yourself!