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?

Coming soon...

 We're nearly back...

Coming soon:

Sausage reviews aplenty...

Doncaster Market series

Fosse Meadows Farm pannage pork sausages

A trio from Richard's Quality Meats in beautiful downtown Newark

Back where we belong!

Musks - Marmite - Part 3

 By our Cumbria correspondent Jon Fell (@jonfellchef)

Now then brethren, before we begin on this culinary eisteddfod I suppose I'd better explain a little bit about why I'm doing this at all, Basically you see, I was approached by a man, I know, Who'd have thought? From a Website called "Rate My Sausage" ,The World's Second Best Sausage Website, Hello I thought, I know times have been hard for the catering industry over the past 12 months, but I didn't think I was going to to stoop quite as low as this After all I had seen an episode of Naked Attraction, and I wasn't convinced that my numbers would quite stack up! If you get my drift?!!

But, apparently I'd got my wires crossed and this was legitimate, and, was in fact a Website for rating sausages!! Some People have far too much time on their hands!

I was informed that sausages would be dispatched to me, and my job was pure and simply, to cook, taste, critique, write and get the hell out!!

Would I accept the role?

Well I thought if I ermmmed and arrrrred long enough that someone might mention MONEY!! The lips were tightly pursed my fine people, as was his wallet, But as I'd hardly been able to afford to buy sausages for the last 12 months, because someone had eaten something, that was probably alive at the time, that they shouldn't have, in a country I'm never likely to visit, and I'd been forced into some kind of seclusion because of it, I accepted.

So, the day arrived, my package arrived by courier, I eagerly opened the package, thinking that even in a worse case scenario, how bad could it be, at least I'd get to eat!!

I was wrong, It could and did get worse, I should have known really, because for 4 days prior to this, the sun had been shining, the birds were tweeting, life was good, However, today, the heavens had opened, there was a force 9 gale blowing and I'd been sent sausages that contained MARMITE!!

Now, It is my considered opinion, that Marmite was and is the work of the devil, It most certainly is on my list of the worst things I've ever had in my mouth, definitely compares to the cold whelk I had in a restaurant in Manchester years ago which, I'm convinced, I'd still be chewing now if I hadn't spat it out into flower vase on the table!!

So how in gods name was I going to get out of this? I could deny that they had arrived, but Dave the courier man had handed them over, so he was a witness.

I could hire a space capsule and fire them straight at the surface of the sun, after all, charcoal makes everything taste better right??!!

I could fake my own death, but that would mean living up in the attic for the rest of my life, and the WiFi in Cumbria is abysmal at the best of times.

But I'd noticed on the packaging this...The Crest, By Appointment to Her Maj - I know, I thought, I've met HRH Prince Charles, I'll pull a few strings, after all, I'd packed him off with Scotch Eggs, Dundee Cake and a Thank You For Visiting Cumbria Mug, He owed me one right??!!!!

But after it was pointed out to me that I was just ever so slightly going over the top I went in, and this is what I genuinely thought...

Firstly, let's be frank, anyone who has held a Royal Warrant since 1907 probably isn't going to be using the sweepings from the floor in their sausage making factory, So on opening the pack, they look great, firm, meaty, and more surprisingly actually smell good.

Secondly, what's in them? We want a good meat content, 70% pork, British pork, Well, I wouldn't have expected anything else. It doesn't say if the pork is outside reared, the packaging states prime pork, animal welfare is a must, OK, I'm happy with that, anything less and I'd have been asking questions. There's some spices, marmite obviously, vegetable juice concentrate, all the information you would expect, but without giving anything away. I guess I understand that, you don't want to give too much away to competitors. Natural casings used, which I'm a big fan of, rather than the synthetic rubbish.

So far so good. Cooking instructions? I like the fact they have put Wash hands and utensils on the pack, As the legend that is Gary Rhodes once said, “The secret is not to prick them!” I'm not a fan of grilling, nor, shallow frying, and anyone who throws a sausage into a deep fat fryer should be slapped until they are purple. Believe me when I say people do this, and they know who they are!!!

So I will always vouch for the oven, 195c for 25 minutes, bang on.

I must add, that at the time of cooking, the smell was fantastic, almost like a deep soy sauce smell, I was, dare I say, beginning to come around!

So to the taste and texture...

Well firstly the texture, good honest and meaty, not overly coarse, which I think is OK, I don't mind my sausages with big textures, but I'm aware this is a personal choice, Nice that the natural casings eat really well, unlike the synthetic nonsense you get on cheaper sausages.

Just a point on cost, I'm not sure what these retail at because, as I've said, these were sent to me, but, I'd be happy to pay £3 for a pack of 6 really good quality sausages.

Now for the crucial bit, The Taste Test

As I've said, I'm not a fan of Marmite. Given a choice, I'd rather hammer 6 inches of Covid-19 infected rusty nails into my John Thomas than spread Marmite on anything and eat it!! But, and here's the but, these sausages work! I mean like, really work, they are really tasty. Fantastic tasting pork with an umami, yeasty, salty but not overly, some spicing in there which helps the whole thing along.

So would I recommend them?

Yes without a doubt, definitely, give them a whirl, you won't be disappointed.

Would I buy them myself?

Yes, I actually really enjoyed them.

Will I be buying a jar of Marmite?

Not as long as my arse looks south!!

Am I a convert?

In these sausages, the marmite really does work, it adds a great flavour, a real depth of flavour, so as an enhancer? Yes! On my toast? NO!

So to summarize.

" Love It Or Hate It "

Musk's have created a fantastic tasting sausage using the infamous Marmite.

A thank you, I suppose must go to Justus Liebig who invented , by accident, the ridiculous concoction in 1902.

Basically an Absolute Banger Of A Bang On Banging Banger.

Musks - Marmite - Part 2

By our Essex correspondent Steve (@Essexbeano)

First impressions were of a solid heavyweight sausage , they look big and meaty as soon as the cone out of the box. The marmite is not really apparent until they start warming up in the pan and the skin takes on a sticky texture as the marmite starts oozing through . Then the aroma hits you and it’s unmistakably marmite , at the end of cooking there was very little fat in the pan , good meat content. 

Flavour was as you’d expect .. marmite.. quite strong but not overpowering, very nice and kind of tangy, like a quality beef sausage.

Texture was non greasy, almost crumbly with a sticky residue of marmite , quite unique and luxurious. 

Overall it was a taste sensation, my 15 year old daughter also gave it the thumbs up. I would like it more as a dinner sausage than breakfast, it would be superb in a mixed grill with a couple of chops , grilled tomato and peas, maybe a drop of Tiptree brown sauce on the side.