Sunday 30 October 2011

'British Sausage Week' article for Great British Chefs

http://greatbritishchefs.tumblr.com/post/12148374909/girl-butcher-thoughts-british-sausage-week


It was while I was legging it down the street brandishing a clear bag of beef and mustard sausages screaming ‘excuse me madam’ when I realised I love butchery. 
I was working for a smart butchery in the North East of England and this lovely elderly lady would come into the shop and purchase this particular denomination of sausage (pursing her lips and tutting if we had sold out..) and I knew if I didn’t run after her I would be put down in the appropriate ex-school teacher ‘Sorry Sir’ sort of fashion. While the sweat was beading on my forehead, my steel-toe boots very heavy and especially inelegant and all the passers-by finding this hysterical, that it occurred to me how much love our nation has for the sausage. 
The sausage is one of the few culinary creations totally formed from the butchery in its entirety. It isn’t a ‘jus’ or a ‘terrine’ it is meat, seasoning, etc. in a case. Natural if possible. It is appropriate for any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner; and is favoured by children and adults alike. It can embody pork, lamb, beef or indeed chicken or game. It is a miracle as it utilises all ‘spare’ meat. 
 Every butcher loves a well made sausage. It is one of the first skills an apprentice learns and savours with relish. I have loved learning the craft of perfecting the seasonings, ensuring the meat is minced in the correct fashion and of course linking them skillfully.
For British Sausage Week in O’Shea’s we will be doing our usual range of Toulouse, Pork and Leek, Spicy Italian, Smokey Beef, Old English, Pork and Stilton, Lamb Merguez, Chilli Beef, Irish Breakfast and many more.

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