What’s in a Sausage? – A Taste Cheshire, Taste Test #Blog

Stephen Wundke
11th July 2017

Regular visitors to Chester’s annual Food Drink and Lifestyle Festival will know that one of the highlights of the weekend is the Grand Final of the Sausage competition in which 3 flavoured and 3 plain pork sausages are blind tasted by 40 members of the public on a first come, first served basis.  Entries are voted on appearance, texture and flavour and marked out of 10.  The forms are then collected, votes counted and the winners announced during the awards presentation at the Gala Dinner.  This year, Cottom Foods of Widnes won the flavoured sausage category with their Old English pork sausage and so when they phoned Taste Cheshire and asked if we would like to sample some of their other sausages, there was only one answer – yes please!

A day later we took delivery of packs of three different sausages, Cumberland ring, Traditional Pork and Chicken with Garlic & Herbs.  We then set about creating a recipe in which all three could be cooked together, whilst retaining their individual flavours and textures.  The recipe we came up with was extremely easy, flavoursome and inexpensive and works with any sausage, just use your favourite!  We particularly liked the meaty, herby, peppery Cumberland, but were very pleasantly surprised by the chicken and garlic which unlike some we’ve tasted in the past was robust in both flavour and texture and stood its ground against the more familiar pork and Cumberland.  Whether or not you decide to try the recipe, one thing is an absolute must, take a trip out to Widnes and treat yourself to some really delicious, well-made sausages, courtesy of our current flavoured sausage Champion, Cottom Foods! There is no doubting, with two Festival awards to their name they are Sausage Masters and this receipe highlighted their humble bangers in the best possible way. Enjoy.

Check out the recipe.