Celebrate with a banger

Organiser BPEX recommends simple ways to encourage extra footfall, such as adding a special sausage menu, holding an event and promoting dishes via posters, chalkboards, websites and newsletters. Tasting menus, competitions, quiz nights and sausage-making masterclasses could also be the way to go.

“Sausages are one of the best loved foods when eating out of home,” says Tony Goodger, BPEX foodservice trade manager. “Be it as part of a cooked breakfast, in a baguette for lunch or served up with mash and gravy for an evening meal.” So publicans need to show their appreciation for sausages, and encourage their customers to do the same.

Sausage and ale festival​

This is not a new idea, but remains a staunch favourite as sausages and ale never go out of fashion. The Driftwood Spars in Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes, Cornwall, teams up with four local butchers to throw a sausage and ale festival once a year. The pub has its own microbrewery on site, which provides the ale for making the sausages. Pork sausages with Red Mission ale went down a storm recently and 10p was donated to the local Air Ambulance Trust for every sausage dish sold. There are different kinds of sausage on offer, including venison and lamb.

The four-day festival, now in its fourth year, is always held over the May Day bank holiday and draws in up to 500 people each time. The pub always has seven ales on in the bar and brings in another 40-odd for the festival, usually selling out. It also gets through around 500kg of sausages over the weekend. Four types of sausages are on offer on a tasting platter for £3 with salad and chutney. Other dishes include sausage salads, baguettes and bangers & mash.

“We make a good GP on them,” says manager Louise Treseder. “People pay £5 for a pint glass and get the first pint free. It gets more popular each year and attracts locals and tourists. It coincides with events in the village, which causes more people to drop by.”
The pub provides special glassware and programmes for the event with advertising in the local press, radio and through the Campaign for Real Ale, as well as social networking and the pub website.

Mix and match ​

Sausages lend themselves to a huge number of variations. Capitalising on this is the Cock at Hemingford Grey in Cambridgeshire, which makes around 70 types in house. Four are on offer at all times, along with four mashes and a choice of sauces. There are four sausages in each £10 portion with mash options including mustard & horseradish, spring onion, garlic and plain. Sauces include red wine, onion and mushroom.

“We have so many sausages they change quite regularly,” says assistant manager Barry Greenshields. “All the flavours seem to go down quite well and we make a 67% GP — better than the rest of the menu.” The mix-and-match deal is available all day every day. Over an average weekday lunch the pub serves 65 meals, around 13 of which would be sausages. For every portion sold 20p is donated to charity.

There are four restaurants in the area under company name Cambscuisine, all of which are freeholds.

Versatile recipes​

Sausages can be made with a variety of meats, with pub operators trying out chicken, lamb and beef versions as well as the traditional pork. People do love a sizzling sausage and by offering different types, customers will be in-trigued to give them a go.

The Sausage Tree in High Wycombe, Bucks, is famed for its sausages and has an extensive list of flavours split into exotic, house, gluten-free pork, chicken, lamb and traditional categories. Flavours include kangaroo, ostrich, steak & pepper, beef peri peri, pork & banana & honey, pork & black pudding, chicken & blue cheese, Welsh rarebit and lamb & mint.

The whole range comprises 47 varieties. The sausages are available to eat in or takeaway in small or medium portions from £9.99 to £11.99.

Sausages made with ale​

Pubs are very much on board with the idea of a steak and bespoke ale pie — but what about a sausage made with a specially-made ale?

Lancashire brewer Thwaites has joined with Althams Catering Butchers to create Bomber bangers and burgers. The new meat products will be made using the brewer’s distinctive Lancaster Bomber beer along with quality beef and pork.

“Sausages, burgers and beer complement each other perfectly when enjoyed together, which is why we thought they would be great combined,” says food development manager Judi Houghton.

“Thwaites’ Bomber beer, with its full-bodied flavour, works extremely well with the finest quality meat, delivering a mouth-watering and satisfying dish.”

The sausages and burgers are available from selected Thwaites pubs and offer a point of difference during British Sausage Week.

King of sizzle​

Rock legend and ex-Slade frontman Noddy Holder is the face of this year’s British Sausage Week. He will travel the UK awarding

the best British bangers with a 2011 British Sausage Week Gold Disc.

“The great British banger is a genuine legend, with incredible stories about recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation,” he says. “I can’t wait to get on the road and judge the best of the best bangers out there and find out what makes those humble sausages we eat week in, week out, so special.”

Promotional material and recipe ideas will be available through BPEX at www.porkforcaterers.bpex.org.uk and www.lovepork.co.uk.