Pork and Fennel Sausages; Grill Meats Beer

Pork and Fennel Sausages; Grill Meats Beer

The boys turned sixteen today. A momentous occasion, as they identified they can now get their driver’s licence and legally buy a chainsaw. I have given them the odd sneaky driving lesson down at the rugby club car park and environs, however I am not keen on them using my chainsaw.

As a whanau we went out for dinner. Using my guidance, and knowing the boys are partial to meals with lots of meat I suggested we went to Grill Meats Beer in upper Cuba St. This is a newish eatery established by Steve Logan from Logan Brown fame. It aims to serve sweet and spicy food in an open atmosphere, the grill is in the centre of the eatery. The kids and I had burgers for mains, while my wife ordered ribs. The meals were all very good.

As a starter we ordered pork and fennel sausages. Being a family that has grown up with a sausage obsessed father, it was decided that for all the family to fully sample the snarler we would need to order two.

 

These are a great meaty sausage. They are a fine to medium grind. The pork is the predominant taste. A slight fennel piquant is also present, this is strongest as a short lived after taste. I would describe these sausages as pork with a minor hint of fennel. The sausages were served with whole grain mustard and pickles, along with toasted bread. When the sausage is combined with mustard or pickle this dominates and over powers the fennel flavour. The whole family enjoyed the sausages, they thought that they were an impressive pork snarler that would appeal to the masses.

Grill Meats Beer has an open kitchen and when I paid the bill, I asked the maître de a few questions, she handed me to over the chef. He said they made the sausages from pork shoulder and back fat, they mince all the meat, add ground fennel and black pepper. The ones we ate had been made that morning as they had sold out last night.

I wondered if the flavour would have been greater if the sausages had been allowed to sit for a day or so. The fulsomeness of the fennel may have been infused into the flavour to a greater degree. I may have to go back and sample again – and of course report back. Despite this query I thought it was great meal with sausages that I would highly recommend as a starter. Cost $13.50

So happy birthday to my sons, driving lessons will follow, but the chainsaw may have to wait quite some time.

Gipps St Butcher's Pork and Fennel

Gipps St Butcher’s Pork and Fennel

I purchased these during my recent visit to the Gipps St Butchers in Karori

This is a finely ground sausage, the aroma of the cooked sausage had a pronounced fennel smell. Once you taste the sausage the fennel is not as strong as the aroma suggested. My wife who likes a pork and fennel sausage described it as nice, but says she prefers the Island Bay Butchery pork and fennel sausage. My son concurred with his mother.

 

 

The fennel taste is subdued. If you compare this with other pork and fennel sausages previously reviewed, Island Bay, see link, Harmony see link, and Harrington’s, see link, the Gipp St along with Harmony have the least pronounced fennel taste, Harrington's has a stronger flavour of fennel with Island Bay at the top end of fennel spectrum. It then comes down to an individual’s preference for the level of fennel flavour they prefer.

 

We use to live in  a house that had a steep untamed bank at the bottom of the section. This was were we ran what we called our "organic garden." If the plant was supposed to grow there it did. Once a year or so I would venture into the morass of vegetation and do a bit of a cull, keep the weeds down etc. This included fennel that could grow almost as high as I stand. I do consider fennel to be a bit of a weed.

Personally I would go for a Harmony or Island Bay sausage, but all the reviewed sausages are quality meaty sausages.

Cost per kilo: Need to add

Don's Sausage Awards 2013

Don's Sausage Awards 2013

A wide range of people who know I pen this sausage blog ask me, "What is your favourite sausage?" My response is, "That is like asking an oenophile what is their favourite wine? There are sausages for all occasions, and for all taste preferences. It is not a simple response. It all depends on what you are after.

Today a vegetarian work colleague asked me to recommend sausages for the barbie over the Christmas season. She wanted to know what to buy for her carnivorous family.

I thought I might make a few recommendations. So with a drum roll, flashing lights and rolling out the red carpet here are the Sausage Awards for 2013….

 

A plain meat sausage:

Winner: Dutch Braadworst – Park Avenue Quality Meats link

Runner Up – Harmony Wild Boar Sausage – Moore Wilsons link

A sausage with a little bit of spice and smokiness

Kabonosy – Park Avenue Quality Meats link

A sausage with more spice

Chorizo Coriollo – Park Avenue Quality Meats link

 

Hot and spicy

Sremska – Park Avenue Quality Meats link

A little bit of flavour

Pork and Fennel – Island Bay Butchery link

Chicken Sausage

Chicken Sausage – Island Bay Butchery 

I have just realised I have never reviewed this sausages. No review, but they are best chicken sausages in Wellington.
I have now added a review link

Handmade Gourmet

Butifarra – made by Mariano's Spanish Goods, sold by Moore Wilsons link

 

Pre cooked barbecue sausage

Turingia Bratwurst – Prestons Master Butchers link

Enjoy the barbies over summer. You will only know that your preference is by trying a wide variety and savouring the taste of quality sausages.

 

And for those of you still reading....

My favourite sausage in December 2013 is Chorizo Criollo.

Meri Kerihimete

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 

It is not all beer and sausages - Part Three

It is not all beer and sausages – Part Three

This weekend I was off to the highlight of the harrier season, the NZ Road Relays. This was held on the Sign of the Takahe to Akaroa route, 76km of varied terrain, run by a team of eight. This course is rightly regarded as the best relay course in NZ. Some teams turn up to win or medal. Our team sorted out our goals before the race - to have a good time and enjoy ourselves. I offered to bring sausages to feed the team.

It would be fair to say that the mighty M50 (men over 50) from Scottish Harriers would not put fear into the opposition with our running prowess. I ran the lap from hill top to Duvauchelle, which concludes with a long 5km of steep downhill. It hammers the legs and feet and I was knackered when I reached the finish. My legs and feet were sore and at the end of my stretch my team mates asked me how many toenails I had lost. I said my feet were sore and took off my shoes. In the supportive way we worked together, they said, ‘There’s no blood in your shoes, stop moaning and get into the van."

At the finish the announcer said, "Here come Scottish’s M50A team, the first finishers in the M50 grade….." What is omitted is, "from the 8.30am start." Most of the M50 teams started at 9.15am.

 We did not come last, and we were not close to the medals. However I can confidently say that we had the best selection of beer and sausages in our van. The teams had to carry a baton over the course - our team abandoned the baton supplied by the organisers and replaced it with a kabonosy.

I cooked the sausages the day before our race. Not knowing my team members preference for sausages I brought a variety - kabonosy from Park Ave Quality Meats, (See review), pork and fennel from Island bay Butchery, (see review) and Cumberland from Cameron Harrison Butchers. From left to right, kabonosy, Cumberland, Sremska and pork and fennel. 

Comments from the learned, if tired, runners in the van: these are good, a very nice flavour, smell good and not too over powering. This was the kabonosy. One team member, in a moment of madness, even offered to run another lap if I could find him another sausage to munch on.
 

The sausages were appreciated and went down well after each team member completed their lap. The Cumberland were appreciated for the meaty taste, the pork and fennel for their flavour. The consensus was the most preferred sausage of the day was the kabonosy. I shared the sremska (see review) on the way back to Christchurch, but this did not have too many takers. I gave these out in smaller morsels. It is a spicier sausage and received comments about the strong taste.

Of course a refreshing drink was needed to rehydrate and in the van a selection of beers were present, Macs Pale Ale, Tsingtao and a Bismark Brown Ale made by Hancock and Co. This is a malty, hoppy, slightly bitter brown ale, best drunk cold, rather than after being in the van for many hours. However as a post race refresher it meets the mark.

So the team had a very enjoyable jaunt from Christchurch to Akaroa. There were a lot of laughs, ribbing, jokes and irreverent comments about our respective running ability, while racing against other teams of a similar pace. There was a great spirit of camaraderie, enhanced by the snacking on sausages and beer.

We will all be back next year for what will undoubtedly be another highly unsuccessful attempt at a NZ title, but with high anticipation that the day will one an pleasurable one.

For links to other parts of this series.

Harrington's Pork and Fennel

Harrington’s Pork and Fennel

I was at New World in Thorndon this morning and thought I would make shepherd’s pie for dinner. However you do need a little aperitif so I brought a tray of Harrington’s Pork and Fennel sausages. These are made in Miramar on the other side of Wellington. They are a small chunky sausage to view, regular in diameter but shorter in length. They looked good. The package said they were made from fresh NZ pork, white wine, fennel seeds, pepper and few preservatives.

 

 

When I buy pork at the supermarket I always check to ensure that it is NZ pork. If you go to the Pork Industries website you can see that NZ imports pork from a wide number of countries. While the largest country of origin is the USA, 23% of the pork comes from Finland. I found this a little odd, pigs running around in the snow and saunas? Or more probably factory farmed? I would encourage readers to buy NZ pork, and to support the local industry and our farmers.

Anyway, back to the sausages. They were cooked in a pan while the shepherd’s pie was in the oven. They cooked nicely and were pleasant on the palate. The fennel seeds have been ground so there are not whole seeds in the sausage. On the continuum of pork and fennel sausages these have a slight hint of fennel as opposed to being strongly fennel flavoured. I have reviewed the Island Bay Butchery, link, and Harmony, link, pork and fennel sausages. I would describe these are being on par with, or maybe a bit less fennel flavour than the Harmony sausages. They are a meaty sausage that is dense and enjoyable to chew.

 

 

The kids and my wife both enjoyed the sausages and said they were nice. I enjoyed these and would buy them again.

Cost per kilo: $18.99