Oh, Heck.

[thirdcrank]

It's claimed by some that Heck sausages are the most popular brand in the land. A couple of weeks ago I linked to a streetview of the old A1 near Bedale, which is now the route for prohibited traffic. Just past the derelict transport café in my streetview is the home of Heck sausages. They were going to build a visitor centre
Heck's 'Sausage World' attraction given go-ahead
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-y ... e-47211691
But now only five days later, they may not be
Heck's 'Sausage World' on hold after EU funding blow
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-y ... ting-story

[gaz]

Sausage World is no longer going to be a thing . I think that you may finally have found the Brexit dividend .

[Paulatic]

Never heard of them.

Read the article and I do know the Keeble family involved. My OH worked for them over 45 yrs ago.

[661-Pete]

Well, I at first thought, the loss of a sausage-making concern would be the least of my Brex**it woes, until I read the article more closely:

"Heck now produces vegetarian and vegan products as well as meat"

Good for them! May not be to everyone's liking, but at least they're moving with the changing times.

Or would be, if they were given the chance....

Incidentally, we do have veggie sausages now and again (not seen Heck though). They're not that bad! Some we make ourselves.

[pwa]

Once you've seen a commercial sausage made you will never eat one again.

[661-Pete]

Once you've seen a commercial sausage made you will never eat one again.

"Every part of the pig except the squeak", eh?!

[thirdcrank]

There was a BBC programme about this place last summer and if the filming was honest, the sausage making seemed wholesome (from a meat eater's POV) It's hard to imagine how they might have changed their processes just for the programme. It was one of a series "Inside the Factory" with Greg Wallace. Several of the other episodes are on youtube but not this one.

I didn't intend this to be yet another brexit thread but this is from the Radio Times

Russian is the most-spoken language and the workforce are a cheery bunch who all break for a proper factory lunch (of sausages, if they wish) at the same time every day.

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme ... -sausages/

[661-Pete]

There was a BBC programme about this place last summer and if the filming was honest, the sausage making seemed wholesome (from a meat eater's POV)

That's fair enough. After all, most meat-eaters know, to some extent, what goes on in an abattoir, but they still eat meat. And I wasn't having a dig at what appears to be an 'artisan' company like Heck. My beef (is that an appropriate word?), and presumably PWA's, would be more to do with the cheapo supermarket-type sausage made from god-only-knows what....

Plus of course the ongoing mantra that everyone should be cutting down...

[Tangled Metal]

I only eat Westmoreland or Cumberland sausages bought from Booths supermarket. Very high meat content and from their respective parts of Cumbria. Well that's if I buy them. If I eat out then generally it's local pubs which also serve those types of sausages which also means cumbrian made. You get what you pay for I'm afraid with sausages.

BTW I know family that buys a well known sausage company's skinless sausages. I've tried one and I have never tasted sausages that are so bad. I am not even sure it had meat in it. Well not meat that I could recognise through taste.

I have eaten veggie sausages, quite a bit as a kid too, and my memory of them is dry or very greasy. Very high in fat I believe. Perhaps they're better but if you fry them the ones I've eaten seemed to soak up the oil. If you grill they ended up dry.

Are there any good ones I should look out for? I'm not adverse to vegetarian meals and if we had some quick to make ones it'll help us cut out a bit of meat in our diet. I'm sick of courgettes, mushrooms and tomato sauce. It's not really a balanced meal IMHO, I'm always hungry the next day.

BTW get yourself to Booths if you live near one. Best sausages for meat eaters. Bacon good too. They sell a fair amount of Waberthwaite produce and Richard Woodall's stuff.

[pwa]

I have eaten veggie sausages, quite a bit as a kid too, and my memory of them is dry or very greasy. Very high in fat I believe. Perhaps they're better but if you fry them the ones I've eaten seemed to soak up the oil. If you grill they ended up dry.

Are there any good ones I should look out for? I'm not adverse to vegetarian meals and if we had some quick to make ones it'll help us cut out a bit of meat in our diet. I'm sick of courgettes, mushrooms and tomato sauce. It's not really a balanced meal IMHO, I'm always hungry the next day.

If you like your real meat sausages and that is what you want, the veggie ones will not fill that gap. They are a different thing. But I quite like them. And unlike the highly fatty "real" sausages they tend to be low fat. The Tesco branded ones in our freezer have about 7% fat, and we always grill them. I hate oily food so frying is out of the question. After grilling I sometimes drop them in a pan of a gravy-like sauce with vegetables such as onion and diced carrot in there along with herbs such as rosemary, and pepper. Then serve with a mountain of mash and some greens (peas, broccoli, spring greens etc). The sausages don't come out dry if you do it like that.

[mercalia]

I would be more worried about what goes into haggis. There used to be a family butcher in south Lowestoft owned by The Warton brothers their sausages were the best, I used to take back to London 5 or so lbs when I visited there. Sadly they long since dead and their recipe lost as the new owners sausages crap

[Cunobelin]

I love Cumberland sausages, so some years ago when we did the Cumbria cycle way, I made a point of eating local variations at each opportunity and the Walberthwaite was my favourite

Down here we have O'Hagan and his variations... All of which are superb

[Tangled Metal]

Cunobelin, I think going direct to the manufacturer you can get them sent to you but don't rely on my memory. If you like their sausages contact them they might deliver.

I'm not completely a meat eater. Veggie sausages are probably right up my street for a change. Would be good to find a good brand. I'm never convinced by tesco own brand but I'll give them a try.

If you're in Ambleside. Get to zeffirellis restaurant. It's one veggie only restaurant meat eaters are very happy to eat at. Food that good doesn't need meat! The also have a sister restaurant the other side of Ambleside too. They also have cinemas linked to both restaurants and another cinema down the road. A meal and film deal is good value if you're up there a while.

I'm definitely a fan of restaurants who serve good, honest and fulfilling veggie meals. Most places serve a few veggie meals and they're always the smallest serving of all the meals they serve. I've rarely left a restaurant or pub after eating a veggie meal without feeling hungry as I am leaving. Zeffirellis is possibly the only one.

[Mick F]

Once you've seen a commercial sausage made you will never eat one again.

One of our local butchers came to Gunnislake Primary School with his equipment and ingredients and showed the children how to make sausages. They all had a turn and they took their own sausages home.

Excellent bit of education.

[Cunobelin]

Cunobelin, I think going direct to the manufacturer you can get them sent to you but don't rely on my memory. If you like their sausages contact them they might deliver.

I'm not completely a meat eater. Veggie sausages are probably right up my street for a change. Would be good to find a good brand. I'm never convinced by tesco own brand but I'll give them a try.

If you're in Ambleside. Get to zeffirellis restaurant. It's one veggie only restaurant meat eaters are very happy to eat at. Food that good doesn't need meat! The also have a sister restaurant the other side of Ambleside too. They also have cinemas linked to both restaurants and another cinema down the road. A meal and film deal is good value if you're up there a while.

I'm definitely a fan of restaurants who serve good, honest and fulfilling veggie meals. Most places serve a few veggie meals and they're always the smallest serving of all the meals they serve. I've rarely left a restaurant or pub after eating a veggie meal without feeling hungry as I am leaving. Zeffirellis is possibly the only one.

Allegedly the Queen Mum used to have an order flown to her so they were fresh!!!!