Where’s the pork?
Will sausages be the next horsegate scandal? This week I looked at eight sausages to find out.
Bord Bia awards a quality assurance mark when sausages have a minimum of 70% meat content and use meat from Bord Bia Quality Assured farms which must be Irish. On its website you can find a list of companies that are members of Bord Bia, but this does not guarantee adherence to these standards unless they get the quality assured mark.
One company I spoke to said the 70% meat requirement was irrelevant as the meat used in sausages is often fatty meat which melts away in the pan.
I studied lists of ingredients and the common additive is phosphates, which keep the added water in place, along with rusk which lightens the mixture. This makes them unsuitable for those with gluten intolerance.
A preservative to keep bacteria at bay is necessary to prolong shelf life and this is usually a form of sulphite which needs to be listed on packs as they are shown to cause reactions in those intolerant.
Sausages in general are a high saturated fat product so should be eaten in moderation — two at a time weighing in at 100g could contain an average 9g of saturated fats.
They are best eaten with a vegetable or fruit that helps digest fats such as traditional stewed apple or cabbage. If fried make sure sausages are drained on paper towels to absorb excess fat.
Made from meat of pigs reared on the Allshire farm in Rosscarbery, Co Cork. A lovely, full meaty flavour, with enough spices, it shows how small-farm, free-range gives depth of flavour. Sixty percent pork is lower than other samples, but these are meatier. Added water, rusk and phosphates. All tasters liked this one best. Price is worth it. Available in Cork at On the Pig’s Back, SuperValu, O’Keeffe’s St Luke’s, O’Driscoll’s Ballinlough; Avoca shops in Dublin.
Deliciously succulent and meaty, these sausages are 78% pork, which is flavoursome. The rest is water and gluten-free crumb. The water is held by the stabiliser E450 (diphosphates), and the E223 (sulphites), so watch for intolerances. The stabilisers worked: there was no shrinkage when we cooked. Ground ginger, pimentos, mace, cayenne, nutmeg and cloves give a satisfying flavour. Well-textured Irish pork. The second favourite of tasters.
This pack of 12 small sausages is made in Tallow, Co Waterford, from Irish pork. Sodium nitrate is the preservative, along with salt and flavourings, which don’t include MSG (as they did some years back). Available in the English Market, and in their new sausage grill on Winthrop Street, and in SuperValu Midleton and Glanmire. These cut well and have a slightly harsh spicing, but still very tasty.
The Irish flag on this is Aldi’s quality symbol. The sausages are made by Loughnanes, of Galway. A decent 80% pork has added pork fat with water held by wheat flour and the stabiliser, triphosphate. Sodium sulphite is the preservative, so watch intolerances. Saturated fats are average. Salt is high: two sausages have 1.78g. Nicely spiced; satisfying bite. Tasters liked this, but not the presence of monosodium glutamate.
100% Irish with Bord Bia quality assurance, 75% Irish pork is a decent amount. Water, rusk and potato starch are added. The sausages are low in meaty flavour and somewhat over-flavoured with spices, herbs and the flavour enhancer E621— monosodium glutamate (MSG). The preservative is sodium metabisulphite, so watch intolerances. Saturated fats and salt are average to high.
There is no mention of Irish pork on the label, and the sausages are made by Kerry Foods which also make Denny, who don’t guarantee Irish pork. With 50% pork, water, added pork fat, rusk and mustard powder, sodium triphosphate is the stabiliser. The flavour enhancer is monosodium glutamate (MSG), preservative is sodium sulphite so watch for intolerances. Saturated fats and salt content are average. More subtly spiced sausage than many samples, the texture is quite meaty. Liked by most tasters, who still would prefer to have no MSG in their food.
Made by Kerry foods and not Bord Bia-approved, the Denny website says their pork does not consistently come from Irish farms but from unspecified EU suppliers. 56% pork is supplemented by added pork fat and rind. Saturated fats are average. The remaining percentage is made up of water, starch and rusk, stabilised by sodium triphosphate. At 2.2%, salt is high, amounting to over 1g of salt per sausage — enough salt for a day. While the familiar, spongy, extruded texture makes for an easy bite, there is no depth of pork flavour under the spices.
52% pork is quite low added to mainly by water and rusk, emulsified by triphosphate. The flavour enhancer is E621 – monosodium glutamate (MSG), and as usual, sodium sulphite is the preservative, so watch for intolerances. There is also an anti-caking agent E551 which is silicone dioxide. At 10.7% saturated fats are high with 2% salt.
The company is Bord Bia Quality Assured, but as these sausages have less than the required amount of pork, they don’t have the quality assured mark. Flavours here are a bit harsh. Liked by tasters except for the MSG.
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