Warrendale Wagyu Has Launched Gourmet Wagyu Sausages Into Waitrose. Nick fires up the grill
Actually I fired up the Ninja 10-1 Rapid Cooker. People hear me evangelising over this piece of kit and assume I am being paid by them, I’m not, it’s just genuinely awesome.
Anyway, Wagyu sausages. These total bangers from Warrendale are available in Original and Horseradish and made of 90% and 86% premium British Wagyu Beef. They are both gluten and dairy free.
You can only get them from Waitrose and Warrendale for now, either in store or by post.
There is a misconception that Wagyu is a breed of cattle, it’s not. Wagyu actually means “Japanese cattle” and a herd of a herd of Wagyu cattle was imported to the UK in 2008. Wagyu beef tends to have more marbling and a sweet aroma.
We tested a pack of both and to make it a fair test we served the Originals with nothing more than good old mash and as we didn’t have any peas, some fried courgette.
This was also a chance to try out Idahoan instant mash, it’s so simple to make – boiling water and then wait three minutes, it’s perfect for a weeknight fast serve.
So we put the sausages in the Ninja on ‘grill’. As it’s a closed cooker, not only do the sausages grill, they also bake. This speeds up the cooking and avoids the burnt outside, raw inside problem. These come out nicely browned and cooked through.
Of course beef sausages are kind of unusual, pork is more familiar, so you have to manage your expectations before you bite. First impression was of a good ‘snap’ to the skin, always a good sign, then came the buttery texture which is a signature of Wagyu. The rich beefy umami flavour was helped along by some subtle black pepper seasoning. The binding agent here is pea flour, which makes these gluten free.
We tried the Wagyu sausages with added horseradish in a ‘toad in the hole’, a dish that along with ‘spotted dick’ Americans find frightening until it’s explained to them. It’s one of my favourites and the Wagyusausages made it extra-special, along with my homemade onion gravy. Again the sausages were rich and buttery although the horseradish was not all that noticeable. The photo is not of my ‘toad’ , but comes from Warrendale. Their recipe is below
It’s always a mistake to go for cheap sausages, beef or pork, because at best there will be a lot of cereal filler, and at worst a few parts of the pig you’d rather not think about. With these Warrendales you’re getting all good stuff
And Warrendale Wagyus aren’t actually all that expensive, a pack of six is £4.49 at Waitrose
Or buy them as part of a Wagyu pack at Warrendale direct.
Wagyu Sausage Toad in the Hole:
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 8 original or horseradish sausages
- 1 sliced onion (white or red)
Batter:
- 100g plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 150ml semi-skimmed milk
Gravy:
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp plain flour
- 2 tsp English Mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 vegetable stock cube, made up to 300ml
Method:
- Preheat oven to gas 7, 220°C.
- First make the batter, put the flour in a bowl, add the eggs and slowly mix in the milk then beat until smooth.
- Put the sausages in an ovenproof baking dish, scatter over the sliced onion and drizzle over the oil. Roast for 15mins.
- Remove the dish from the oven, pour the batter over and around the sausages then return to the oven and cook for a further 35mins or until the sausages are cooked through and the batter is golden on top.
- To make the gravy, heat a deep frying pan or saucepan and fry the remaining onion in the oil for 5 minutes until golden. Sprinkle over the flour and cook, stirring until thick. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and, gradually, the stock, stirring until smooth and thickened to your liking.
Yorkshire-based Warrendale Wagyu was founded on an unwavering commitment to supply chain transparency, product quality and consistency. The team works in partnership with a 750-strong collective of farmers to rear herds of a Wagyu cross dairy cattle breed known as F1 Wagyu. The brand has been running its unique business model to produce high quality marbled Wagyu beef since 2017. They now supply to Waitrose, premium restaurants including Hakkasan and Ivy Asia and online to meat lovers across Britain.