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Sausage Facts
Consistency
Our sausages are sold and marketed as premium sausages. They are traditional butcher’s style sausages giving the texture, taste, appearance and succulence associated with small hand made batches of sausages. However they made to exacting specifications using the latest generation of equipment to ensure consistency in all attributes including size/weight.
Meat
All meat used is from farms in the South of England, our minimum meat specification is 80% VL (visual lean). We only use pork skeletal muscle. Our QUID declaration on recipes refers to this being the only meat used.
Recipe Characteristics
We regularly make over 30 different recipes, but 95% of our production is for two popular recipe types:
West Country - Ideal for Main meal and BBQ, 80% Minimum meat content, definite meaty bite, and mouth filling flavour, excellent show through and appearance.
Honey Roast - A Classic Breakfast sausage, 76% Minimum meat content, "soft" eat, short taste profile, used by caterers widely in many sizes and for varied types of menus.
Why do Westaway Sausages taste better?
A word on Meat. Sausages can be, and indeed are made from most parts of the pig, modern factories can process meat to give such items as MRM - mechanically recovered meat, or rind emulsions. Sausages can incorporate by products such as Back Fat and Pork Trim from the production of bacon.
We have never used these items, and never will use them in any of our products! Westaways only buy prime cuts of the Finest British Pork from companies that know our specification and can supply a consistent quality- we are specialist sausage producers and this is vital if we are to achieve the same sausage day in and day out.
Skins
Our sausages are "traditional butchers" sausages - as such we only use natural casings, it is not appropriate for us to use synthetic, or collagen skins.
Different sizes of sausage need different casings from different animals, for Chipolatas and Cocktails we use sheep casings, for Sausages we use "Hogs" or Pig casings, and for Hog's Pudding we use Ox. The casing can influence even the shape, Ox "middles" provide straight puddings, and "runners" provide rings.
Casings are bought from specialist suppliers who buy them direct from Abattoirs, they are then cleaned, colleted into "sets", graded, "hanked" into bundles, and preserved in salt. Prior to us using them we wash them in fresh water to rinse off the salt, and then soak them to ensure they are tender.
Seasonings
This is a surprisingly complicated area, and it is vital to the overall appeal of the sausage. Seasonings provide colour and appearance when raw, and of course they give the sausage its taste. The taste will have a "profile", the longer the profile the more the taste is left in your mouth. The majority of competitors' seasonings are made with the oils distilled from herbs and spices, which are then "carried" on salt.
Instead of this we prefer to use herbs and spices that have been ground and rubbed. This is a simpler process that uses generally better (and substantially more expensive) ingredients, however it gives our sausage a far more "satisfying and mouth filling" taste, or longer "profile".
Rusk or Breadcrumb?
Cereals are used in most sausage recipes as they improve the texture and help to carry the flavours of meat and seasoning. We call sausages that do not use any cereal - "mince in a bag", they can be indigestible, and surprisingly lacking in taste. We believe that the minimum cereal used in a recipe should 10%,and the maximum 20% to give an authentic Butcher's sausage. We use a pin head rusk in our best selling Honey Roast Recipe, this is like a very fine breadcrumb, and gives the sausages a "soft" eat perfect for children, or a cooked breakfast, easily digested, with a only a subtle seasoning. Coarse Breadcrumb is used in the majority of our other recipes which gives a coarser texture, and also fuller flavours.
It goes without saying all our cereals are grown on British Farms, and certified as not Genetically Modified.
Cooked Sausages
We have been working with a number of fast food operators who are looking to improve the consistency and nutritional quality of the sausages they serve. Our pre-cooked sausages are about 20% more expensive but offer major benefits. We make them in small mince and mix batches and do not bowl chop the meat and so maintain the texture of the meat. The sausages are filled into natural casings which add to the authenticity.
Supplied as IQF (individually quick frozen), we can also supply these as sulphite and additive free. Westaway cooked sausages can be deep fat fried from frozen to give real added value to fast food. Also, with the sausages being pre-cooked, busy kitchens can avoid the risk of cross contamination between raw and cooked product, and also avoid the risk of serving undercooked food.
Consistency
Our sausages are sold and marketed as premium sausages. They are traditional butcher’s style sausages giving the texture, taste, appearance and succulence associated with small hand made batches of sausages. However they made to exacting specifications using the latest generation of equipment to ensure consistency in all attributes including size/weight.
Meat
All meat used is from farms in the South of England, our minimum meat specification is 80% VL (visual lean). We only use pork skeletal muscle. Our QUID declaration on recipes refers to this being the only meat used.
Recipe Characteristics
We regularly make over 30 different recipes, but 95% of our production is for two popular recipe types:
West Country - Ideal for Main meal and BBQ, 80% Minimum meat content, definite meaty bite, and mouth filling flavour, excellent show through and appearance.
Honey Roast - A Classic Breakfast sausage, 76% Minimum meat content, "soft" eat, short taste profile, used by caterers widely in many sizes and for varied types of menus.
Why do Westaway Sausages taste better?
A word on Meat. Sausages can be, and indeed are made from most parts of the pig, modern factories can process meat to give such items as MRM - mechanically recovered meat, or rind emulsions. Sausages can incorporate by products such as Back Fat and Pork Trim from the production of bacon.
We have never used these items, and never will use them in any of our products! Westaways only buy prime cuts of the Finest British Pork from companies that know our specification and can supply a consistent quality- we are specialist sausage producers and this is vital if we are to achieve the same sausage day in and day out.
Skins
Our sausages are "traditional butchers" sausages - as such we only use natural casings, it is not appropriate for us to use synthetic, or collagen skins.
Different sizes of sausage need different casings from different animals, for Chipolatas and Cocktails we use sheep casings, for Sausages we use "Hogs" or Pig casings, and for Hog's Pudding we use Ox. The casing can influence even the shape, Ox "middles" provide straight puddings, and "runners" provide rings.
Casings are bought from specialist suppliers who buy them direct from Abattoirs, they are then cleaned, colleted into "sets", graded, "hanked" into bundles, and preserved in salt. Prior to us using them we wash them in fresh water to rinse off the salt, and then soak them to ensure they are tender.
Seasonings
This is a surprisingly complicated area, and it is vital to the overall appeal of the sausage. Seasonings provide colour and appearance when raw, and of course they give the sausage its taste. The taste will have a "profile", the longer the profile the more the taste is left in your mouth. The majority of competitors' seasonings are made with the oils distilled from herbs and spices, which are then "carried" on salt.
Instead of this we prefer to use herbs and spices that have been ground and rubbed. This is a simpler process that uses generally better (and substantially more expensive) ingredients, however it gives our sausage a far more "satisfying and mouth filling" taste, or longer "profile".
Rusk or Breadcrumb?
Cereals are used in most sausage recipes as they improve the texture and help to carry the flavours of meat and seasoning. We call sausages that do not use any cereal - "mince in a bag", they can be indigestible, and surprisingly lacking in taste. We believe that the minimum cereal used in a recipe should 10%,and the maximum 20% to give an authentic Butcher's sausage. We use a pin head rusk in our best selling Honey Roast Recipe, this is like a very fine breadcrumb, and gives the sausages a "soft" eat perfect for children, or a cooked breakfast, easily digested, with a only a subtle seasoning. Coarse Breadcrumb is used in the majority of our other recipes which gives a coarser texture, and also fuller flavours.
It goes without saying all our cereals are grown on British Farms, and certified as not Genetically Modified.
Cooked Sausages
We have been working with a number of fast food operators who are looking to improve the consistency and nutritional quality of the sausages they serve. Our pre-cooked sausages are about 20% more expensive but offer major benefits. We make them in small mince and mix batches and do not bowl chop the meat and so maintain the texture of the meat. The sausages are filled into natural casings which add to the authenticity.
Supplied as IQF (individually quick frozen), we can also supply these as sulphite and additive free. Westaway cooked sausages can be deep fat fried from frozen to give real added value to fast food. Also, with the sausages being pre-cooked, busy kitchens can avoid the risk of cross contamination between raw and cooked product, and also avoid the risk of serving undercooked food.
