Alf Turner sausages - as seen on Dragon's Den
Discussion
I'll start by admitting I'm a bit of a sausage buff. I love a quality sausage, and I don't mind spending a bit of money on decent ones. Whenever I'm in a farm shop, I'll pick up whatever is in there, as they are usually produced on site, and the quality is top drawer. In a supermarket, I'll only get the best, as I can't stand stuff like Richmonds - those horrible, anaemic things that make you wonder if there is any meat in there, amongst the sawdust.
I saw these sausages on Dragon's Den a few weeks back. The premise was that the guy owned who owned the business owned a butchery, one turning over 600k per annum, and wanted some extra money from the dragons to launch his sausage range for supermarkets.
The "Alf Turner" name comes from the blokes grandfather, who was a butcher in the British army during WWII, and started the butchery which his grandsons now own. Some of the dragons thought no one would look at the packaging enough to care who Alf Turner was, others thought that in the premium sausage market, buyers do care where their sausages come from, and would catch onto the background of the product. In the end, the bloke did get the money, but had to give up a large portion of the sausage business and part of his own butchery too, which he will get back once the dragon's investment has been returned and everyone is hopefully making a profit.
When I saw these items in my local Co-op I decided to give them a go. Normally I'd go for the Co-ops Truly Irresistible range, which are excellent, but as they were selling the Alf Turner sausages at an introductory price (indicating they are probably on trial) at £2.59 for 6 I decided to give them a go. Initially the range was intended to have 3 kinds of sausage, the Best of British, a traditional herb sausage, the Hair of the Hog and the Pickled Hog, which were sausages made with local ales, but the dragon advised to cut one of them as they were too similar.
I had these tonight, cooking them in my usual fashion, ignoring the "10-12 minutes on a medium grill" instructions in favour of a low-medium grill for about 25 minutes, and with the grill tray set fairly far away from flames at the top of the chamber. Normally, this gets my sausages perfect; well browned, shiny and slightly chewy skin with firm, red hot a perfectly cooked meat in the middle. However, these Turner sausages just were not playing ball - try these on a medium heat for 10 minutes and you're guaranteed a dose of the s
ts. I've never seen such a slow, hard to cook sausage - I had them on medium heat for over 30 minutes trying to get them browned off, and in the end gave up, assuming that, as the centres were roasting hot and burned a finger to the touch, that they must be done.
The best of British sausages were a decent, but fairly average flavour for a herb sausage. The hair of the hog ale sausages had a really delicious flavour. However, both kinds were badly let down by the fact that they just didn't cook well, they were extremely tough (perhaps why they were so reluctant to cook) and despite being red hot in the middle with clear juices, the skins were not that well browned and the middles appeared a disconcerting pink. While I soldiered on an ate a few, the unease of a pink centred sausage, combined with a disappointingly tough texture made them a real chore to eat.
Sadly, as much as I wanted them to be great, these things just aren't up to much. I wanted them to be great because I thought the brand had a great history behind it, and I applauded the guy for wanting to take what he thought was a genuinely good product nationwide, but I just can't see it happening with these distinctly poor quality products.
I saw these sausages on Dragon's Den a few weeks back. The premise was that the guy owned who owned the business owned a butchery, one turning over 600k per annum, and wanted some extra money from the dragons to launch his sausage range for supermarkets.
The "Alf Turner" name comes from the blokes grandfather, who was a butcher in the British army during WWII, and started the butchery which his grandsons now own. Some of the dragons thought no one would look at the packaging enough to care who Alf Turner was, others thought that in the premium sausage market, buyers do care where their sausages come from, and would catch onto the background of the product. In the end, the bloke did get the money, but had to give up a large portion of the sausage business and part of his own butchery too, which he will get back once the dragon's investment has been returned and everyone is hopefully making a profit.
When I saw these items in my local Co-op I decided to give them a go. Normally I'd go for the Co-ops Truly Irresistible range, which are excellent, but as they were selling the Alf Turner sausages at an introductory price (indicating they are probably on trial) at £2.59 for 6 I decided to give them a go. Initially the range was intended to have 3 kinds of sausage, the Best of British, a traditional herb sausage, the Hair of the Hog and the Pickled Hog, which were sausages made with local ales, but the dragon advised to cut one of them as they were too similar.
I had these tonight, cooking them in my usual fashion, ignoring the "10-12 minutes on a medium grill" instructions in favour of a low-medium grill for about 25 minutes, and with the grill tray set fairly far away from flames at the top of the chamber. Normally, this gets my sausages perfect; well browned, shiny and slightly chewy skin with firm, red hot a perfectly cooked meat in the middle. However, these Turner sausages just were not playing ball - try these on a medium heat for 10 minutes and you're guaranteed a dose of the s
ts. I've never seen such a slow, hard to cook sausage - I had them on medium heat for over 30 minutes trying to get them browned off, and in the end gave up, assuming that, as the centres were roasting hot and burned a finger to the touch, that they must be done.The best of British sausages were a decent, but fairly average flavour for a herb sausage. The hair of the hog ale sausages had a really delicious flavour. However, both kinds were badly let down by the fact that they just didn't cook well, they were extremely tough (perhaps why they were so reluctant to cook) and despite being red hot in the middle with clear juices, the skins were not that well browned and the middles appeared a disconcerting pink. While I soldiered on an ate a few, the unease of a pink centred sausage, combined with a disappointingly tough texture made them a real chore to eat.
Sadly, as much as I wanted them to be great, these things just aren't up to much. I wanted them to be great because I thought the brand had a great history behind it, and I applauded the guy for wanting to take what he thought was a genuinely good product nationwide, but I just can't see it happening with these distinctly poor quality products.
WhereamI said:
Perhaps if you cook them in the way that they recommend and then judge them it would be better? Seems harsh to do something different and then complain.
I never cook sausages to the packet instructions - perhaps the "medium" on my grill and the medium they used in the test kitchen is different, but I'd end up with sausages that are cremated on the outside and cold in the middle - I've been there are wasted a few sausages doing that. I find that, as with so many things, low and slow works well, getting the meat up to temperature right through the sausage, then allowing the skin to darken evenly, without unwanted crisping or burning.I've never had a bad sausage with this method, and I find that not over-cooking the skin of the sausage early in the cooking process prevents strong, charcoal flavours and scents from overtaking the true flavour of the sausage.
Had I followed the instructions to the letter, I'd have only ended up with badly cooked sausages, one of which was delicious in flavour and the other average, but both having the tough texture and alarming pink colouration of a budget attempt at a premium sausage. As it is, I got the above, but properly cooked through.
The problem is not the cooking method I feel, just that what should have been a good sausage didn't shine. As I say, I really wanted them to be a success - if they were good I'd have happily paid a little more than I regularly pay, because I believed in the guy's pitch and his passion about the product. Unfortunately, that episode of Dragons Den was filmed a while back, and no doubt the dragon has had some input on costs and cost saving to help them get their investment back quickly.
Hmm, personally I cook sausages faster than that, more in line with the instructions, and don't have an issue with them burning or being raw in the middle. The reason I commented is that I find when they are cooked for longer they do end up dry and tough but obviously it will vary with the grill and your own taste.
I do find though that a lot of these sorts of sausages aren't that special, when something has been made by so many people for so long it's hard to innovate.
I do find though that a lot of these sorts of sausages aren't that special, when something has been made by so many people for so long it's hard to innovate.
blindswelledrat said:
Mastadon, am I right in thinking that you live alone?
Nope.Pothole said:
Now these look alright. I had some Naga chilli sausages from a local Northumberland company a few weeks ago and they were absolutely brilliant. Almost painfully hot, but packed with flavour.Edited by Mastodon2 on Tuesday 20th November 13:43
Mastodon2 said:
blindswelledrat said:
Mastadon, am I right in thinking that you live alone?
Nope.Pothole said:
Now these look alright. I had some Naga chilli sausages from a local Northumberland company a few weeks ago and they were absolutely brilliant. Almost painfully hot, but packed with flavour.Edited by Mastodon2 on Tuesday 20th November 13:43
Pothole said:
Mastodon2 said:
blindswelledrat said:
Mastadon, am I right in thinking that you live alone?
Nope.Pothole said:
Now these look alright. I had some Naga chilli sausages from a local Northumberland company a few weeks ago and they were absolutely brilliant. Almost painfully hot, but packed with flavour.Edited by Mastodon2 on Tuesday 20th November 13:43
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff