A good pork sausage should be flavoursome and not too fatty, containing high-quality meat, a tasty seasoning blend, and a natural casing. We tried five different sausages from major retailers to see which one to buy
Bangers are a quintessential part of British grub, perfect for brekkie butties, bangers and mash, toad in the hole drenched in gravy, or sizzling on the barbie. A top-notch pork sausage needs to be packed with flavour, not overly greasy, filled with quality meat, seasoned well, and encased naturally.
Richmond sausages are often hailed as the crème de la crème on the supermarket shelves. Keen to find out if store-brand snags can hold a candle to the famed Richmond variety, Sophie sampled five different sausages from leading supermarkets.
With a panel consisting of five family members, we embarked on a blind taste test to see how Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, M&S, and Sainsbury’s versions stacked up against Richmond’s offering.
We cooked each batch of sausages in an air fryer for 10 minutes at 200 °C, and everyone rated them from best to worst. We tallied the scores to crown our sausage champion, reports the Express.
Here’s how the sausages fared, from the duds to the delicious, in our undercover taste trial:
Richmond
Trailing at the bottom was the household name Richmond. Despite its reputation as the top dog of pork sausages, it failed to wow us with its taste or texture.
In the covert taste challenge, the Richmond sausages were slammed for having “no taste or texture,” being “very soft and salty,” and “tasteless and very rusky.”
Score: 12 out of 30
Aldi.
Nabbing the second-lowest spot, Aldi’s sausages were critiqued for their “less flavour” and “not as much taste” when pitted against the other contenders.
Despite being the most affordable option, Aldi’s six-pack of 400g sausages at £2.49.
Score: 17 out of 30
Sainsbury’s.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference pork sausages tied for third place, praised for their flavour and size but criticised for their pale appearance after cooking. Priced at £3 for six, they cost 50p per sausage.
Score: 19 out of 30.
M&S.
M&S also landed in joint third with Sainsbury’s, with their sausages standing out for better colour but let down by texture, described as “chewy,” and “quite fatty” with an “odd taste”. At £4.25 for a 400g pack, they were deemed the priciest in the taste test.
Score: 19 out of 30
Lidl.
Lidl’s pork chipolata sausages took second place, earning praise for their “good colouring” and “herby” flavour post-cooking. Despite being thinner, they impressed with flavour and texture, offering good value at £2.49 for a 375g pack of 12.
Score: 23 out of 30
Tesco
Tesco triumphed as the winner with its Finest range pork sausages, lauded as “salty, juicy and meaty”, and commended for both taste and size.
In terms of cost, they are slightly pricier at £4 for a pack of four sausages, but they also contain the most meat: weighing in at 440g in total. The sausages themselves are also generously sized and ideal for hot dogs.
Moreover, they tasted premium with a delightful mix of seasoning – not overly fatty or salty.
Score: 25 out of 30
