In Britain, the economy took many years to recover after the war, and folks still had to scrimp, and save, and ‘make do’. The sausage recipe from that era likely reflected that ‘austerity’. I remember reading about Expo 58 in Brussels where at a British pavilion (showcasing the typical English Pub) the local officials would not let them serve bangers because according to Belgian food standards, it was less than 50% meat. Sausage making had sunk to such a level with all the additives, that one music hall comedian once quipped ‘what do I put on this, mustard or marmalade?’ British pride stung, sausage makers swore reform. Lawmakers got involved, and one minister, after months of investigation and research admitted in Parliament that “The sausage issue is far more complex than I had ever imagined...some very deep feelings have been aroused across the country about this...”. I think it’s splendid that you make these recipes and give us a Frank but loving appraisal...an edible history lesson.
I made sausages as an apprentice butcher in the UK 50 yrs ago. The meat is processed a lot more than twice ground. The meat is run in a buffalo chopper until its smooth. Without rusk the beef is rubbery and crumbles. Rusk makes it tender like a panade in french pate, same thing actually.
Hallelujah. A beef sausage video. I’m nearly fifty,and have always wanted to revisit and taste the beef sausages from our local butcher,from way back in childhood. They don’t make them like they used to,that’s a cert 👍
Customer "There's a lot of rusk in these sausages." Butcher " Yes madam, I'm having trouble to make both ends meat." Ta-da. Rationing caused a lot of improvisation, my mum was a dab hand at it. Great video 👍
When I were but a wee lad, in Sheffield. We had a Beef butcher, Pork Butcher and a Lamb & Game butcher. The Beef butcher made beautiful beef & tomatoe sausages 1950’s all the sausages were in natural casings. Great 👍🏻 Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻
Well done again Scott, please make the saveloy recipe from the same era, 40's to 50's. They were delicious but can't find those original recipes. Keep up the good work.
Question for you Scott: I know you're an English butcher, but what are the odds of you doing a few German sausage recipes? I'd really like to see Landjäger, Bratwurst, Knackwurst and Weisswurst since they're my favorites since childhood. From the Canadian guy with German roots watching videos of an English butcher on an American website using a Korean phone that was probably made in China.
your true to form mate my dad was an apprentice butcher in late forties and meat was still on ration but sausages were not so the had to make them go far keep it up Scott his boss was off sick and another master butcher took his place and added red dye to the sausages he said they were sold out in no time lol
Being an eldest child and born in 1950: from the age of 5 years I was regularly sent to the Local Butchers with my three year old sister in tow and an order wrapped around money. The two things I can very much remember was to do with sausages and liver. On each errand my father said tell him it's from Alec, slice the liver thinly, and for the sausages a general gripe, at home was that sausages had still too much Rusk but were nowhere near as bad as after the war. A strong memory was seeing the sausages in the pan reduce in size dramatically. Having to have a 'think it through mentality' from an early age, comments, such as 'they are all rusk' went over my head, I assumed that they must be shrinking because they were cooking too quickly. Love your, 'matter-of-fact' style in the videos;
If your grandparents for the mustard people you did not learn too much. It is COLMAN's Mustard not Coleman's Mustard. 'nuf sed. plamuk aka travellingchef.
People have never done without. You have to make it go farther and still fill you up. I have been there. We are not rich now but we do alright. We have appreciation for what we have. That is what is missing today. Appreciation and thankfulness.
A lot of people forget, these recipes are pre, during, and Post War in England and Brittan, France, need I go on?? Tried your black puddin recipe. 🤪🤪🤪 Crazy good!!!!
Very cool. Interesting to see the old school. And please throw a couple more of those old ones that at us. Thanks for sharing.= ) Edit; I'm definitely trying this one but I'm going to take your advice and half the Rusk and add more seasoning. = )
If you half the rusk, you may not need extra seasoning. It's always difficult to tell. That said, I trust Scott's judgement, so that would be a good starting point. Or try more seasoning but with less salt.
Phew! For one minute I thought you had forgotten the mutard! Another gud un Scott. Keep them coming pal. Trying to get the govenor to sanction a workshop like yours in my BBQ pit area outside, however, its an uphill struggle. Looks like I am going to have to resort to bribery.
Absolutely beautiful! This historic recipe, and it is historic, is something that everyone should remember, and make! If you forget your history, you are only doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. This recipe was a product of rationing; we here in the States also have quite the same recipes, where shortcuts had to be taken, from 1929-30, the beginnings of The Great Depression, then to the rationing during World War II, we had the same things, the same deprivation and "making do" with the paucity of foodstuffs and raw ingredients that we had. Even after the war for a couple years, anyway, there still was a recovery period. England, all the UK, and Europe endured longer, obviously, because that was the beautiful theater that the ugliness and horrors of the War was performed, for the most part. Wonderful history lessons here, wonderful and painful memories recalled, but they need to be recalled. Thank you as always, Scott, for your thoughtful presentations.
Hey Scott! Loving your work old chap. Any chance you could have a crack at doing Lorne square sausage sometime? Would love to see your take on Scotland's other national dish. :-)
I think you're pretty close on the future alternate version of this recipe Scott, I remember back in the 80's me and my late father used to buy beef sausages from the butcher's shop next to the abattoir in Aberdeen N.S.W. Australia that were very much like this recipe except having about half as much rusk. They were made with local Aberdeen Angus beef straight from the abattoir and the dripping that rendered out of them was such a bright yellow colour it almost looked like margarine when it set.
Quite surprised you didn’t fry those bad boy’s off in a dollop of beef dripping Scott,hey ho,the times they are a changing!. I am however,after watching all your videos,very tempted to buy me some kit and get sausage making,nice one👍
Chef Scott, your food looks amazing and your techniques are very unique and original. I enjoy watching all the delicious meals you cook. Keep up the amazing work. I personally enjoy seeing you cook rabbit, and deer! The entire process from start to finish, from the field, to the table. Delicious.
I am a 1950 baby boomer, so I grew up on this sort of nosh. Well, I'm still alive, and now I have learned why they're called bangers - thanks for the education! We lived in Wimbledon and my mum shopped at a grocer called Alans on Dundonald Road. His finger nails were so dirty that he'd be closed down in the blink of an eye today. All ham and bacon was sliced on the same machine by the main man. However, natural immunity ruled.... Yours, a retired grey and wrinkly biomedical microbiologist. [I am firmly of the belief that increased food intolerance and asthma are (at least in part) caused by excessive hygiene - inadequate challenge = inadequate immunity]. P.S. Great channel, looking forward to the next episodes.
Regarding the weight of rusk written (4oz) and spoken (8oz). Scott states towards the end of the video that next time he would reduce the rusk by half and increase the seasoning to make the sausage more tasty. For those asking about rusk - Scotts video for how to make at home - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IGdgOwHVNUg.html
Reminds me of some of my grandparents 'Great Depression' era cooking - foundation was solid, but because everyone was so broke they used what was plentiful and could afford, and eventually just preferred it that way (Beef Stew was always light on beef, heavy on potatoes). Great video!
Great video Scott, I just recently got into sausage making with some venison Texas style “hot links” and can’t wait to try some of your recipes. Keep up the great work, I truly enjoy watching and learning from your videos.
Definitely like your beef sausage recipe like to know if you would do a summer sausage beef if possible I’d like to know a recipe for beef summer sausage and actually how to do it from start to finish including cooking it the correct way thank you for your hard work I appreciate it you are the best
I like the German style sausage with no rusk at all but also do British sausages with rusk in and both are good even if they are different. I do, however, never use more than max 10% (of weight of meat) rusk and often make do with just 5-6%, which seems to do the job without being noticeable in the final product. If my meat is a bit on the lean side I may go up to 10% rusk but if I get a good fat distribution of around 20-25% I find that 5% rusk is plenty to keep the sausage succulent and juicy.
I went to a sausage making class before Christmas, it was hosted by a professional chef. He said on a butchery course they , the chefs, thought they knew better than the butchers and tried to make cooking style sausages without rusk or a filler and the results were poor, they cooked up too hard. You need the rusk to hold the fat so they remain succulent and add lightness, because the salt causes the proteins in the meat to become very sticky, so they cook hard and squeeze out all the fat. It’s the same rule for meat balls., you need a filler or they become like rubber balls. The word banger, came about during one of the world wars, apparently, to describe sausages with too much rusk, which had the tendency to explode.
I don't think I have eaten Beef Sausages but I saw them in the Butchers Window in that same era. But I also remember Tomato Sausage that I also have not eaten. When you were mentioning colouring in the video I thought you were going to mention that. You didn't so I am wondering about what the base was and if I have missed something. I'm 76 yrs btw.
I remember when I was a kid beef sausages hung up in the butcher's window next to pork sausages and tomato sausages, pork was pink beef slightly red and of course tomato red and that's not to mention the black pudding also hanging in the window. I'm 69 now oh such memories.
just FOUND your channel, -- I DONT use pork of any kind but I LOVE sausages. good to know how and indeed CAN make good sausages without the swine, THANX !!!-SUBBED.----now going to look and sea what RUSK is and how to make it.
Nothing wrong with a filler, brother. Hell, look around the world. Most of the world lives off of rice with small bits of flavor added here and there. The only time filler is bad is when you're trying to pull one over on customers. I'd have no problem paying fair price for those beauties knowing what's in them. They look great.
I feel like I just opened a Birthday Present in receiving a Scott Rea upload, and Happy Birthday to others that feel that way, Thanks Scott. Recently ran-off much sausage [venison & black bear] with pork butt mix. Have somewhat of a sausage club, neighbors all involved, all fiddle-farting in back yard, cool weather perfect, hot BBQ coals and cold beer is key, Rolling Stones [Hot Rocks] CD work music.
I was wondering where the Coleman’s mustard was the whole time, until you brought it out! Great video Scott Rea!!!! How much rusk did the recipe call for? How much will you be adding in next time?
The thing about using the old recipies is that it was other times. If we say 1946-47 there was still rationing? Anyway Britain had just come out of WW2. As for the food situation for ordinary people it was a question of getting the most out of everything. So you probably used more rusk and still had to make et paletable. You get an inkling of what it was all about in the film with Anthony Hopkins: 84 Charing Cross Road. In the film the american woman gives a gift of tinned Danish meat products. One of the ways Denmark came through the war was the unspoken threat, that if we did not get coal and the Germans didn't behave our pigs might catch some unmentionable diseases. In fact: The chrismas tree on the town hall square in Copenhagen is a perpetual gift from Norway due to the food aid - oats for soup to Norway after the war - people were really starving.
Yes, rationing went on into the 1950's. In fact my mother (born in 1935) said that rationing was worse just after the war finished than during the war. She was also child evacuee from London (google that up to get an idea of what it was like) The idea of adding rusk not only pads the meat out but adds a texture that is rather unique. Being English I find that continental sausage is too meaty and frankly not that nice having grown up eating English 'butchers sausages'. English sausage is the way to go in my book.
