Wilkinson's – Doncaster Market – Thick Traditional Sausage

 It’s part two of our Doncaster Market series and this time we’re at the stall of Wilkinson's Butchers. You can’t miss this one, it’s straight in front of you when you enter the indoor market.

The first thing you may notice is the exceptionally warm and friendly welcome from these guys, absolutely lovely. While I was deciding which bangers to buy a family approached the stall. The couple’s child clearly had a learning disability and the staff made a proper fuss of them all, involving all three family members in their sausage-buying choices. I work in mental health so I know that this kind of treatment is sadly not as common as it should be, so well done Wilkinson’s! Customer service done the right way.

One exceptional thing about these meat-mongers is their posting of POV videos on their Facebook page. These cover lots of aspects of butchers and butchering, so check them out for some entertainment and information. Another thing to note is that on a Friday and Saturday Wilkinson’s deploy their full range of 22 different varieties – so if you’re going to pay a special visit it may be that a Friday or Saturday is your best option…

Where To Find Them:

In the market hall in beautiful downtown Doncaster of course! Stall 25 to be precise. If you’re using SausNav it’s DN1 1LP.

Opening Hours:

Monday - Closed

Tuesday – 0800 to 1530

Wednesday - Closed

Thursday - Closed

Friday – 0700 to 1530

Saturday - 0700 to 1530

Sunday - Closed

Correct as at 8 May 25.

Stanwatch:

Three people were beavering away when I visited, who I later discovered were top man Daniel Wilkinson, son Brennan, and Aunty Karen.

Flavour:

Oh yes. A lovely nostalgic flavour here. Remember the tea-times of your youth, only allowed two sausages because there wasn’t much money around, thin gravy with little fat bobbles, why was there always cabbage? The flavour of Wilkinson’s Traditionals will instantly take you back to that Tuesday night, just after John Craven’s Newsround. And that can’t be a bad thing? Nowt fancy going on here, just a tasty, meaty, satisfying flavour that I really like.

Texture:

There’s nowt wrong with what’s inside these sausage skins. The RMS preference is a chunky chopped porkiness but if we can't have that then please, please make the filling firm, full, and fab, and not like wallpaper paste (Richmonds style). These bangers resist the fork just nicely. We approve.

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 65 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 53 grams

Shrinkage = 18 %

Meat Content = 80 %

Value For Money:

£5.04 for 6 sausages weighing 388 grams. This works out as £12.99 per kg and 84p per banger.

We rate this as very good value for money.

And Finally, Esther:

Second Donny market sausage, and another high quality producer offering high quality bangers. These sausages are good, with a capital G – so much so that I’m planning a return visit soon, to investigate some of those 22 varieties…wonder if they do a tomato sausage or a pork and leek?

Taylors - Bottesford – Traditional Sausage

Rate My Sausage was created in Norfolk, moved westwards to Lincolnshire, and now finds itself in Nottinghamshire. We've rated a few sausages from Newark butchers but there's a whole new, big county for us to explore. The starting point for this new chapter was the small village of Bottesford.

But hold on. Is Bottesford really in Notts? Well, after some time looking into this I have no idea. It might be. Or it could be Leicestershire. Politically it's Rutland. And local government is South Kesteven. Beyond my brain power to work it out so if you have the answer please let me know.

We visited Taylor's butchers to start exploring the bangers of this new area.

Where To Find Them:

You'll find Taylor's the butcher at 1 Grantham Road, also known as The Cross. It's really rather a pretty location and there is room to park on the side of the road nearby. There is no bold brassy signage here just a couple of blackboards listing special offers, but you can't miss it. Check the ceiling in this shop, old butchery items make it look like Frank Bough's basement. If you're using SausNav type in NG13 0DF.

Opening Hours:

Monday – Closed

Tuesday – 0700 to 1700

Wednesday – 0700 to 1700

Thursday – 0800 to 1700

Friday – 0700 to 1700

Saturday – 0700 to 1700

Sunday - Closed

Flavour:

Notes say “Wow, it's a powerful Lincolnshire”. Which for RMS is absolutely marvellous, bring on the bite. These bangers are almost, but not quite, over-powering. Taylor's have started to supply a local cafe, and the cafe bods have asked if they can be made less grabby and more herby. I don't get that myself, but I suppose they have to offer to a wide variety of customers, not just sausage maniacs like us. I love the flavour here, well done chaps.

Texture:

Real hog casings used, which bodes well. Inside coarse and crumbly, just how we like them. They squish OK too, get through the fork but boldly maintain structure. The skins held up perfectly in the pan and manfully held little pools of molten fat inside – a good thing as it makes them not too dry and not too juicy. Is there even such a thing as too juicy? Once cooked some skins proved to be just a little bit too chewy but that could have been down to my cooking I guess.

Vital Statistics:

Average Weight Uncooked = 41 grams

Average Weight Cooked = 30 grams

Meat Content = forgot to find out, sorry...

Value For Money:

£1.70 for 6 sausages weighing 245 grams. This works out as £6.94 per kg and 28p per banger.

We rate this as very good value for money.

And Finally, Esther:

This is usually a short, snappy (ha!) summary, but I can't do that this time. The flavours and the lovely coarse texture are wonderful. But the physical dimensions left me feeling a little short-changed. I want Taylor's to reproduce these bangers as they are but double the size. Triple! Lads, does your sausage machine need a bigger nozzle? I'll crowdfund you. Just please, please make these scoffable sausages more sizeable! When you've done that I am coming back for another review.