Taste test - sausages
Take one Weber Baby Q, 36 sausages, four independent judges, a dab of mustard and a pot of ketchup - and you have the recipe for this BBQ.co.uk taste test!
On test
There were six kinds of sausage on test, all vying to be crowned BBQ.co.uk's Best Banger!
They were (in no particular order):
Linda McCartney's Vegetarian sausages, Porkinson bangers, Organic Pork and Apple sausages, Tesco Finest Aberdeen Angus Beef sausages, Tesco Finest Pork and Leek sausages, Herta Jumbo Frankfurters.
How it worked
We cooked the sausages and served them up to our judging panel one by one.
None of the judges were made aware of which sausage they were eating so that results were unspoilt and purely on the merits of the individual banger.
 Only once each judge had marked every contender out of five (for taste, texture and appeal) were the identities of the sausages revealed.
The 'appeal' category covers the size, smell, overall visual impression and "moreishness" of the sausage.
The judges' marks were added up to give a total score out of 60. A star rating was then calculated based on this score - with no stars the lowest mark available and six the highest.
Here's how we rated our contenders...
The scores
A: Vegetarian Sausages |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Result |
Judge 1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3/6
|
Judge 2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
Judge 3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
COMMENTS: "A little salty, but decent texture and felt generally healthier to eat" |
B: Porkinson Bangers |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
WINNER
5/6 |
Judge 2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
Judge 3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
COMMENTS: "Tasty and juicy - with a look and flavour full of quality" |
C: Organic Pork and Apple |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3/6 |
Judge 2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
Judge 3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
Judge 4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
COMMENTS: "This one really split the judges - some found the taste too sweet and the texture too soft, while one judge voted it the best on test" |
D: Aberdeen Angus Beef |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4/6 |
Judge 2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
Judge 4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
COMMENTS: "Good meaty flavour with a tangible peppery taste - if a little on the small side" |
E: Tesco Pork and Leek |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3/6 |
Judge 2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Judge 3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
COMMENTS: "Looked good to most, but failed to excite in the taste department" |
F: Herta Frankfurters |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3/6 |
Judge 2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
Judge 4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
COMMENTS: "If it wasn't for texture the frankfurter could have done much better - a real distinctive flavour" |
The summary
 All sausages on test performed reasonably well, and there's really none we could say we didn't enjoy on the whole. But it was the good old traditional pork banger from Porkinson that came out on top with a fantastic score of 46 out of 60.
With the exception of the frankfurters (£2.19) all our sausages set us back £1.99. Which goes to show you don't need to break the bank to pick up a prize banger.
The Aberdeen Angus beef sausage, which finished in second place, proved a tasty and interesting change from pork sausage. We'd certainly recommend it.
Third place went to the organic pork and apple sausage, which really split opinion amongst our panel - definitely one you'll have to try yourself!
The vegetarian sausage did remarkably well against its meatier opposition, coming home in equal fourth position, with Tesco Pork and Leek and Herta Frankfurters. All of our judges enjoyed the distinctive frankfurter taste, but the rubbery texture prevented it from finishing higher.
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