Sausage Review - we review sausages

"There's peppery" we all said, having tried Bob's Spicy sausages...you know what, that Mark Burley does make some interesting sausages!...

Bob's Family butchers has been doing their thing from the shop in Hatfield for some 35 years now, and hopefully for many more we would wish them, when they make such tasty produce.

OK the "Surprise Sausage" is an exception, well only if you don't like a mixture of mint, garlic, sultanas, chorizo, fennel and curry (and frankly whatever flavours at Bob’s is on the go at that time), all together, but randomly in sausages. You can even get the first half of a sausage with one flavour and the other half with a completely different one!  Evidently they are a favourite with customers and always sell well when he's got them on!  See the review here...

Bob’s Family Butchers is still run by Mark Burley since taking over the butchers shop from the retired Bob some years ago. Mark has kept the original name as a lot of his regulars still recognise and refer to the local butchers as “Bob’s”, so why change it? Remains a good point.  A family butchers of note though, with not only the usual traditionals but now supplying Pit Master style BBQ fayre, with full briskets, ribs, Boston "butts", picanha's and tri-tips sourced from Australia, USA and Canada, which are we're informed are second to none and are used by many BBQ teams throughout UK & Europe.

Mark’s still mad keen on sausages and using free range pork from the renowned Blythborough Pork people of Suffolk to produce high meat content sausages using only quality natural skins, you know you are going to get a product that has been made properly with care and with tip-top ingredients.  In fact I rang the shop earlier today and Mark was as chipper as normal and more than happy to talk about his produce.  I admitted to finding these in the back of the freezer but as I visited the shop a few months ago when I bought them, I asked Mark about the storage period and he said they would still be good.  He was right!

So what's these Bob's Spicy sausages like then?  Well if you like pepper you'll like these.  There's the standard pork sausage mix with the 80% plus content but this time with a secret mix of pepper seasoning to Mark's own design which he was very secretive about...hmm?  We like secret recipes...gives mystique to the product!

As you can see from the photo, they browned very well being just sizzled in the pan on a medium heat with just a dot of oil as normal, but the aroma whilst cooking was so good I had a pause to take it in.  Lovely.  Now we can confirm that the spice is well under control if you are concerned in the strength of flavour, but they are peppery so don't bother to follow up directly with a cup of tea if you make them in to a sandwich for lunch!  Cracking texture as well.  Medium we would say producing a very good bite and chew.  No residual fat/oil in the pan to speak of after cooking up the whole 6 bangers, and no splits or ruptured skins either.

We did in fact eat these in sandwiches for lunch and I will admit to wanting more they were that good, but sadly they've all gone!  With current travel restrictions because of very strange times, it's unlikely I'll be able to get over to the shop for now, so I need to get creative to obtain some supplies! 

Now please don't look at our marking on these sausages and say that "you've said great things yet these don't get top marks".  Well one of the team just doesn't like pepper, so I cannot over-rule her comments as that wouldn't be fair.  Look, we'll go by what I've said previously, "..if you like pepper you'll like these".


Bob's Family Butchers (Hatfield) - Spicy  (Apr 2020)

Here's the sample details:
120x29mm before cooking, 110x30mm after.
73g before cooking, 63g after.
That's a shrinkage of approx 5% & weight loss of approx 13%.
6 loose sausages £3.41   (£7.50/kg)

 

Bob's Family Butchers
20 High View
Hatfield
HERTS AL10 8HZ

01707 262209

www.bobsfamilybutchers.co.uk

Tues - Fri: 7.30am - 5.00pm
Sat: 7.30am - 2pm
Sun - Mon: Closed