the holy cumberland grail

[BriCan]

Jim the biggest problem I see iz ow the heck can they put a PGI status on such a thing if there are so meany loop hole in the regulation ~~ each and every time I read it their are more and more loop holes that one could/can drive a British Routemaster frew them (http://www.routemaster.org.uk/) It's bad enough that the application to register is 'Traditional Cumberland Sausage' az it lets our Phil make Cumberland sausage and flog if he so likes and theirs nowt they can do about it az all he's doing is making 'Cumberland sausage'

By the way Phil; yours looks better than mine your texture looks great and I see the pepper in there

[captain wassname]

I suspect that the traditional tag was the best they could get.Its a marketing thing they are mostly supplied to hotels and posh markets.
Ill have a wander round a few decent butchers in my travels and see how things are labelled.
Anyone who visits Kendal or Windermere or Keswick should pop into Booths supermarket to have a look at the butchery,cheese and mostly the beer.Just opened one in Penrith as well.

Jim.

[wheels]

By the way Phil; yours looks better than mine your texture looks great and I see the pepper in there

Thank you: would that the taste was better. I did two trial batches based on your, and sausagemaker's, formulations. The meat was ground once through a #6 plate. One has BP, nutmeg, mace and coriander, and the other, PGI compliant with BP, nutmeg, mace, cayenne, and a very small amount of sage. We preferred the second option, but it was too hot/spicy; it was made with commercially ground spice. For this larger trial, I ground the spice by hand in a pestle and mortar; the same amount of spices isn't spicy enough now! Doh!

We BBQ'd (US - grilled) it, but the BBQ did nothing for the taste - I didn't like it at all done that way.

A few more tweaks and it should be there.

Jim - If Booths is as good as when I last visited, it's got to be the best supermarket chain in the UK.

Phil

[quietwatersfarm]

Phil, maybe a silly devils advocate type question, but does anyone know what a real Cumberland should taste like? (kinda tricky when there isnt even any firm grip on the recipe!) or are we all just looking for a nice tasting sausage that falls within the flexible limits of the PGI?

[wheels]

Mine's just a purely selfish self-set challenge, to create the type of Cumberlands I remember having years ago. The ones that didn't taste of sage! Yes, I'd like to do it within the 'bounds' of the PGI, but it's not essential. I want one that tastes like the ones Mum bought from their butchers when she lived in Troutbeck Bridge in the 40's and 50's.

So the answer to your question is Yes, we do know what a real Cumberland should taste like. It's what Phil's Mum says is right! (It's a bit like the "JohnFB's Mother-in-law" test for Irish white pudding!)

Phil

[captain wassname]

Went to Keswick market today and someone was selling 3 lots of Cumberland sausage 2 labled traditional and one marked Keswick thin.
Of the Traditional one was Penrith and the other Mungrisedale. The Mungrisedale was a bit darker than the Penrith and both were noticeably darker than Phils whch looks darker than BriCans. No sign of sage in any.
Ill go back if it stops raining one day and maybe have a chat.Never had the camera.There still are plenty of butchers in Penrith but I doubt there was ever a butchers in Mungrisedale so that recipe probably came off a farm.
Jim

[wheels]

Thanks Jim.

Phil