80-year-old bangers are best

Paul R Taylor
20/ 2/2008

A SECRET 80-year-old recipe and decades of butchery know-how have combined to produce the finest pork sausage in the region.

Bolton butcher brothers Chris and Geoff Unsworth - who run Andrews Continental Delicacies in Salford - won the pork sausage of the year award from North West Fine Foods.

The sausages, which are sold everywhere from Harvey Nicks to farmers' markets, are made from Cheshire-fed pigs, spiced and smoked to a recipe Chris inherited from his first boss.

Chris, 42, has been working in the trade since he was 12, starting as a `Saturday lad' before becoming a slaughterer a year later.

He established the business with 21 years ago, manufacturing continental sausages and speciality cooked meats. But he only started producing traditional English pork sausages just three years ago.

Dad-of-four Chris said: "We're over the moon with the award, absolutely chuffed.

"Our frankfurters, kabanos and other sausages and meats have won awards before, locally and in Europe, but the Fine Foods is a special one.

"They're judged on taste, texture, meat content, size, the way it's filled out, but ultimately it's the taste.

"We don't compromise. We only use the finest ingredients, we only use Cheshire-fed pork sourced from Manchester abattoir. "It's only the last three years we've been making English sausages. I dug out my old recipes that I'd had for years. I inherited this one from my old boss - it's at least 80 years old.

"The key to a good sausage is start off with good lean meat, and you won't go far wrong. Then I add the secret spice, but I can't tell you the recipe."

Brother Geoff, 40, joined last year after selling his shop in Bolton.

The small business, based on Muslin Street, Salford, beat hundreds of other sausage producers from across the region to land the award.

It could now become North West Fine Foods overall producer of the year, at the finals in March, run by the non-profit making organisation that promotes the region's fine food producers.
Visit the Andrews website qualitysausages.co.uk .

Taste test
You can't beat the smell of a pork sausage cooking under a grill or in a frying pan.
It stirs the taste buds but often the first mouthful can be a huge disappointment.

One tooth-jarring clamp down on gristle, or too much fatty meat, can ruin the whole eating experience. But there's none of that with these award winning sausages.

They're filled with succulent meat, slightly spicy, tangy and above all they taste natural rather than mass produced.

Locally-sourced ingredients generally help produce quality products. Coupled with the pride and know-how of Chris and Geoff - who munch away throughout the interview - you won't find better in the north west.