Oelerich
OHG is a traditional German butcher which has been producing quality sausages
since 1799 and they are relatives of the founder of HansWurst. That might not
make us impartial, but we simply like the sausages they make and how they are
made. They use only the best quality
meat in their first class butchery and have an excellent local reputation. In
addition their passion for food and their good business ethics convinced us to
have made the right choice to bring their product to the UK. Oelerich
sausages consistently taste good, they offer a good range of sausages and other
products and they provide excellent service by using state of the art
production methods and just by being lovely approachable individuals.
2.How can you spot a good sausage?
The
main concern when choosing a sausage should in our opinion be the taste,
texture and fat content. We cook them simply by slow frying (only use a little
clarified butter to stop them from sticking to the pan) and you can eat them hot
or cold. One should try cold sausages. Many people believe you can assess the
texture and fat content of a sausage much better when they are cold, but we
like to eat them either way.
3. What's in a sausage?
"Laws
are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." Otto Von Bismarck 1815 – 1898
Sausages
in Britain
can contain as little as 30% meat to be called a sausage and as little as 42%
meat content to be called a pork sausage. This is the legal minimum, but most
producers have a higher meat content in their sausages. Pork can contain up to
30% fat and 25% connective tissue and still be described as meat. How does this
compare to the HansWurst sausage? Our Bratwurst, as an example, contains a
total of 27.1 grams of fat per 100g which comes mainly from the pork lardons
(bacon bits), which are added to the minimum of 80% lean pork to get the
fantastic flavour.
These
figures are a good indication of the poor quality and value of some of the
'economy' products and highlights that people need to be aware of what they are
buying.
The
ingredients in a low quality sausage can consist of 30% pork fat, 20% recovered
meat (mechanical processed meat brushed of the bones left over from other
production processes), 30% soya and rusk, 15% water and additives.
Our sausages are
different. Do you still want to eat an economy sausage?
4. What’s the asking
price for good sausages?
The
price of a HansWurst sausage is good value for your money. Some premium sausage
producer have an asking price of almost 4£ per pound, whereas standard sausages
can be found in the 2£ per pound to 3£ per pound region. Prices do vary however
as the price of pork or other raw materials fluctuates. Please enquire about
our wholesale prices. 5. What is a cheap and what
is an expensive sausage?
The
extremely artificial looking pink economy sausages can cost as little a 0.50
pence per pound but mainly contain fat and hardly any meat.
A
quality sausage contains natural sausages skins, quality lean meat and superior
quality seasonings and spices.
The
pork used in HansWurst sausages comes from pigs just under one year old. This
guarantees that the meat has developed enough lean structure, which makes it
less fatty and very tasty. In addition all ingredients in our sausages are
completely traceable. The EV Certification of our producers guarantees that a
quality management system is in place to make the production and the origin of
the product transparent.
6. What is the
supermarket range of sausages like?
Supermarkets
do have a good range of sausages these days, but try to avoid the pink economy
things and head for the standard or premium range. Do check the ingredients and
trust the flavour. If it ain’t tasting good, it probably isn’t good for you.
You
can generally trust a butcher or farm shop to produce a decent sausage. Just
ask about the content and production method if you are unsure.
7. How long can I store
sausages?
Sausage can be stored up to six months in the freezer and if raw 2-3 days in
the fridge. Our sausages are produced, steamed and are then
shock frozen. This method prevents any harmful bacteria developing to a
critical level. Our sausages are vacuum packed and some ascorbic acid is added
to the packaging. The ascorbic acid does not alter the true meaty flavour, but
makes the product even safer for consumption and storage. Due to freezing the
product and the vacuum packaging, you can store our sausages once defrosted up
to a week unopened in the fridge and up to six months in the freezer. Make sure
the sausages are properly defrosted and dry before cooking them. Placing the
frozen sausages in HACCP cold storage boxes a couple of days in advance to
gently defrost them works brilliantly for us.
A microbiological
analysis can be provided on request.
8. How do I cook a
decent sausage?
The
basic methods are fry, grill or bake. Traditionally Bratwurst is slow fried in
a large pan or on a griddle with a little clarified butter to stop them
sticking to the pan. Whichever method you use, try to cook the sausages slowly on
a low heat and never prick a good sausage. The natural skin might split lightly
but the minced meat inside should stay in shape if the meat content is high
enough. Slow cooking reduces the risk of bursting and leads to the development
of flavours to get a tasty golden sausage. You can also grill the sausage on
charcoal, but you need to make sure the coal has turned white and distributes
an even heat to prevent the sausage from burning. HansWurst uses the slow pan
frying method to get the tasty juices in the sausage going and to prevent the
casing from burning, which can alter the real flavour of the sausage.
9. Shall I prick the
sausage before cooking it?
We
do not recommend to prick a quality sausage! They have natural sausage skins
and your holes will let all moisture and taste out. It can happen that a
natural skin might split slightly during the cooking process, but due to the
high meat content it will stay in shape and not open up completely.
10. What are sausage
skins made of?
The casings used for our sausages are natural skins made of the intestines of
pigs. The natural skins are semi permeable and allow the sausage to 'breath'
during cooking - letting some fat out and keeping the juices in. Many sausage
producers in Britain
use artificial skins, which are made from collagen which is artificially
manufactured from cow skin, these tend to be used by the poorer quality sausages.
Premium sausages however mainly use natural skins made of the intestines of
pigs, sheep or cows.
11. What does 'gluten
free' mean?
It
means that the product does not contain any wheat products such as breadcrumbs
or rusk. Gluten free sausages are suitable for coeliacs. They are often made
with 100% meat with no filler, as such are often excellent sausages. Some of
the spices used in our sausages do contain traces of hydrolised vegetable
protein (HVP), however the protein is not on a wheat but on a soya basis, which
makes our product gluten free.
12.
Are sausages healthy?
Due
to the high lean meat content the HansWurst sausage contains less fat than your
average type of sausage. Traditionally served in a crusty bun with mustard is
also a much healthier way of eating them than serving them with fatty chips
covered in salt.
13.
How many calories are there in the typical sausage?
Our
120g Bratwurst is very filling (so you don’t need to eat two) has 301 calories
per 100g. The calorie content is about average for premium sausages
14.
Are German sausages better than British sausages?
No
– they are different but not better. Britain
and Germany
have very high food standards and both countries take production standards and
quality of ingredients very seriously. The recipes and production methods can
vary and are different in different countries, making the taste and sausage
experience a more diverse one. 15.
How shall I best serve HansWurst sausages?
We
simply fry our sausages and serve them in a crusty roll with a selection of
German mustards or tomato sauce. For
a “Currywurst” we slice our Bratwurst, place it on a tray, top it with our
delicious homemade Currysauce and sprinkle some Currypowder on top. If you
can’t get hold of our delicious Currysauce, heating up tomato sauce and
sprinkling it with medium hot currypowder will also do as a topping, but will
taste slightly different.
Currywurst
is delicious when served with chips covered in tomato sauce, mayonnaise and
some chopped onions. A little salad as garnish will clean the pallet in between
bites and also adds to the look on the plate.