Glamorgan Sausage

Glamorgan Sausage

When is a sausage not a sausage? That’s a good question as some people view the Glamorgan sausage as fake because there’s no meat, but please don’t knock it until you’ve tried them.

You’ll find the Glamorgan sausage written about in the Victorian travelogue, Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery but possibly this recipe could go as far back as the 12^th Century and then had a huge rise in popularity when meat rationing came into force. As a butcher’s daughter I love my meat but I’m also partial to the Glamorgan sausage as I’ve not tasted a veggie sausage that’s any better than the Glamorgan with its cheese and leek filling.

Glamorgan Sausage Recipe

You’ll need:

25g butter

115g leeks, trimmed, finely sliced (prepared weight)

175g fresh white breadcrumbs

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

150g Caerphilly cheese

2 free-range eggs, separated

1 tsp English mustard

½ tsp flaked sea salt

5 tbsp sunflower oil

freshly ground black pepper

What next?

1. In a large bowl, mix the cheese, breadcrumbs, shallot and herbs and season with salt and pepper. In a jug, beat together the egg, milk and mustard. Pour the egg mixture over the cheesy breadcrumbs and mash together until you get a dough.
2. On a lightly floured worktop, roll out the mix into long sausages roughly 2cm thick and then cut the sausages into 8cm lengths – you should get about eight.
3. Beat the egg and milk together in a shallow dish. Spread out the flour in another dish and season with the paprika.a
4. Roll the sausages in the egg mixture and then in the seasoned flour. Leave on a tray in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.
5. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and gently fry the sausages over a medium heat for about 4–5 minutes, turning, until brown all over. Drain well on kitchen paper. Serve with apple sauce or apple chutney.

What About The Cheese?

Traditionally the Glamorgan sausage would have been made using local crumbly white variety cheese. Most recipes now suggest Caerphilly cheese which is similar in texture and taste and very creamy

Breadcrumbs are the thrifty way of bulking out the sausage. Some people prefer just white breadcrumbs others a mix of brown and white as brown bread does have more flavour.  Egg is the best way to bring the mixture together; some recipes use the yolks as binding and keep the whites for the coating. Others use the whole egg mixed with mustard with some adding milk as well.

Then the only proper way to serve Glamorgan sausages is with creamed potatoes or chips – enjoy.

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More about Glamorgan Sausage on Wikipedia.