Sausage Review - we review sausages

We've sampled these excellent chipolatas a few times before and we like to go back to our reviews every now and then so here we go...

Jason Drage at the Churchgate Sausage Company makes some very good sausages and these chipolatas are just such a well made product.  The consistency of flavour and texture is a winner as far as we are concerned and maintaining this consistency is key.  It's the confidence in this that we buy these for our family Christmas lunch to accompany the traditional turkey each year...and use them to make our own "pigs in blankets".

Just like their big brothers the Classic Pork these are made from free range outdoor reared pork still obtained from a single respected supplier in Essex. Properly made and presented 80%+ quality pork mixed with traditional flavouring ingredients loaded into proper NATURAL skins. These do contain wheat, so are not gluten free.

Now these chipolatas cook up really well and let's face it, what we say is NATURAL skins are way better than those un-natural collagen or plant based ones! Come on, we know you and other manufacturers and producers tend to agree. They nicely brown, they don't split so often and make for "snappy" bite, just like it should be as far as we're concerned. Just our honest opinion, OK?

Texture-wise these are still a bit smoother than the regular or classic porker from Churchgate, which Jason says is best in a smaller casing.  The taste is just how it should be too, meaty and slightly herby but with a hint of "sweetness".  Minimum shrinkage and weight loss.

The pre-cook diameter and weight loss / shrinkage is consistent with those sampled in 2013, May 2015 and 2017 and that's what real consistency is.  This fact certainly of course doesn't affect the taste, but once again they are all in all a very good chipolata sausage that we'd buy again and again.  Yes OK, £16.99 / Kg may be for some beyond the reach to be frank, but we are talking premium quality here. Making them with cheaper ingredients perhaps and un-natural skins would make them lower in price no doubt, but what's the point. Quality stands out.

Now I know there's a lot of peeps out there that consider chipolatas to be "kids food"...dispel the myth please!  Chipolatas are great in a sandwich for grown-ups so take our word for it. 

Consider this...they cook up a tad quicker if you're hungry and there's nothing quite like munching a snappy skinned one straight from the pan! 

Mind you eaten cold later...Oooo lovely, tell your mum!


Churchgate (Old Harlow, Essex) - Chipolatas      (Feb 2013 / May 2015 / Jan 2017 / Nov 2025)

Here's the sample details:
100x20mm before cooking, 95x20mm after.
32g before cooking, 31g after.
That's a shrinkage of 3% & weight loss of approx 5%.
12 loose (approx 400g) £6.80  (£16.99/kg)


 






 

Jan 2017 2017

 
May 2015     May 2015    May 2015

Feb 2013  Feb 2013
                                                           

www.churchgatesausage.co.uk