Sausage Club : The Pickled Ginger

The first rule about Sausage Club…. is that there must be sausages. Lots of them.

And given it was held at Splendid Sausage, unsurprisingly, there were lots of sausages.

Given we’ve had Meat Club and Cake Club, Sausage Club was bound to happen, and this now to be regular event kicked off in fine style with a sausage and wine pairing evening. Of course, as a lover of the sausage in all it’s forms, it would have been a crime had I not been there. So I was. Front row and centre, right in the midst of the sausage action.

And don’t think we’re done with innuendo. The whole evening was filled with it, with added wine shaped lubrication and sausage handling on the agenda, yes it will get worse (so if you’re of a sensitive nature, please just ogle the pictures).

A bright sunny Wednesday evening saw a bunch of sausage enthusiasts descend on Splendid Sausage for the first round. After an introduction from our host, Si ‘The Butcher’ Chapman of Prestbury Farm Shop took over, with a full sausage making demonstration, talking us through the contents of good sausage, seasonings, flavours, history and what makes a bad sausage.

And the latter…? Shudder

Trust me people, always go to your butcher.

But we were barely getting started.

After mincing, mixing, filling, linking and showing off some deliciously fat sausages, Si stepped to one side and let his meat do the talking as three of his sausages were paired with wines by Nic Rezzouk of Reserve Wines.

I am, of course, always happy to put a pork product in my mouth, but the excuse to have a sip of wine at the same time was irresistible – especially as Nic knows his stuff.

Most of us are used to having sausages with beer – Oktoberfest anyone? – but wine can be an equally good partner, as Nic was about to prove. First up was the classic pork sausage, your all round everyday sausage, as good for breakfast as it is for teatime. Favourite of butties, chips and mash.

This was paired with a white wine, the Homme de Pays 2013 (I’ll leave you all to make the hipster comparisons). The wine alone was lovely, deep citrus, a little salinity, but rounded not too sharp at all. I could have happily drunk a glass or two. The sausage benefited from the citrus, as it cut through the natural fattiness of the sausage, but didn’t affect the flavour too much.

Our second sauage, was a personal favourite, the Lincolnshire. I love the herbal flavour and the gentle heat of pepper at the back of the throat, they’re always great in a casserole or just with my personal favourite, chips and gravy. Yes, there are times you can tell I’m a northern lady.

These sausages were paired with another French wine, this time the Vin de Pays Vaucluse E.A.R.L. BVRLE – a lovely red that in the glass smelt of Ribena, with a hint at the tannins in it. When paired with the sausages, the fruitness of the wine was lifted even further, the match was perfect, each working with the other to enhance their flavour.

Finally we had a curious combination of chocolate and chilli. These sausages were darker in colour than their counterparts, but still the cause of some consternation amongst the group. Once reassured, these didn’t contain Dairy Milk, but rather a dark, high cocoa solid chocolate, worries were assuaged a little.

The wine that Nic had selected, was an appropriately Argentinian red, heavier than the French wine we’d had earlier and necessarily so, given the flavour of the sausages.

The sausages, surprisingly, kept their pork flavour, despite the chocolate and chilli. The chilli was a gentle tickle at the back of the throat, the chocolate added a richness to the meat and the wine when paired, added an strong umami hit, making the combination downright delicious.

Before we settled down to a break and the sausage challenge could begin, Charlie Lawson (whose partner runs the Prestbury Farm Shop) wanted to add a little word or two.

You see, earlier in the sausage making process, there was mention of seasonings, and preservatives. The kind of things that in the age of media scares and (dare I say it) the Daily Mail’s regular ‘xxxxxxx causes cancer’ scaremongering, make everyone’s ears prick up and minds worry.

In truth, when it comes to it, salt and pepper are seasonings – in fact salt is a preservative. And the only added extras in these sausages are enough to keep them on the shelves in your fridge for 5-7 days as opposed to 2-3. Nothing scary, nothing untoward, harmful, or unnecessary.

Feeling reassured, the real fun could begin. Three members of the audience would make their own sausages. One was that well known chap Mark Garner of Manchester Confidential, another would be a volunteer from the audience and finally, stepping into the far higher heels of Dianne Bourne (who preferred to judge) was, well, me.

Each contender minced the meat, added flavours (sage, onion garlic, chilli, pepper etc), rusk and water and then stuffed their sausages.

I am admittedly, no novice sausage maker, having had a go at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival last year, under the expert tutelage of Bobby’s Bangers. Plus I seem to be lacking the squeamish gene that some of my friends have. I have no problem skinning a rabbit, or gutting a fish. So filling a pig/sheep intestine with minced meat is, well, not a problem.

Linking the damn things, is a whole other matter. It’s witchcraft. Or crochet. Or something. It’s not normal. Though I didn’t completely give in like I did previously. Si persevered and I managed it a bit. Kind of.

Enough for me to make sausages anyway.

I had to use that photo, Cheryl who snapped it, has be best comic sausage timing it seems.

Finally, to the taste test. Who had added an incredible amount of garlic – so much so as it make them inedible? Who had underdone the seasoning in response to that overdosing? And who had calmly added a bit of everything and won?

Well, sadly, not me. I was option two. In response to an entire tub of garlic being added, I’d underdone everything seasoning wise and my sausage was too bland. Truth be told, had I done this at home, I’d have done as Mark mentioned at the beginning and fried off a small piece to taste. Additionally, none of the sausages, least of all mine, had had any rest time and flavour would develop over time. Something to bear in mind if you fancy having a go yourself.