Our Sausage Story
Our Sausages
We started Pipers in 2022.
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Because I have no formal training as a butcher I approach sausages from the perspective of a very curious cook. I'm always looking for a way to get the best flavours and textures but at the same time I want the sausages I make to do more. I want to pay homage to classic preparations and to innovate with a deepening respect for the cultures I draw inspiration from. So far the sausages, charcuterie and pastries we make at Pipers fall into 3 broad categories.​​
Traditional British Flavours
Classic British styles made to reflect the very best of our rich tradition of sausage making. We harken back to a time before rusk and breadcrumbs were used; preferring instead to focus on techniques that use high quality meat alone as the foundation. This is a much older way of making sausage than the current understanding of the 'traditional' allows for. We adhere faithfully to the flavouring of classic styles like our excellent interpretation of Maynard Davies 'coaching inn' sausage and we look to achieve excellence within tradition by using the finest Sarawak pepper, Old spot pork and exacting techniques. Our classics, like all of our sausages, aim to take the best aspects of tradition and refine them through access to the highest quality ingredients and generational knowledge. If you are willing to put the time and effort into research and sourcing there has never been a better time to make a sausage.
Global Specialities
The world of sausage is huge! Pretty much every culture and country has their own canon of sausage recipes and at Pipers we're having fun exploring them all. The sausage that started it all for me was the Kasekrainer; an Austrian style smoked sausage with black pepper, fresh garlic and chunks of Emmental cheese. The truth is that I messed this sausage up many many times before finally understanding the technique required to produce it well. This gave us a grounding in continental sausage making skills that we've applied to styles from the Eastern Europe and the USA where sausage making ancestry is firmly European. I love making Asian sausages which reflects some of my travels but also my desire to experience new flavours and cultures. Say Ua from Northern Thailand is unmistakably herbal and fragrant whilst also warming from curry spices, a dead giveaway of the regions Burmese connections. Goan Chorizo from South India is great example of a sausage style completely transformed by the tastes and traditions of a host country. Fresh curry leaf, ginger and cayenne replace the smoky pimenton of their Spanish and Portuguese cousins. Murguez are another favourite, hailing from Morocco and give us the opportunity to use Derbyshire lamb and our excellent Dexter beef. We use the best local ingredients we can source which means excellent meat. For the lavishly spiced sausages we use the best organically grown whole spices from Yorkshire firm Steenbergs. For example our Jamaican curry sausage uses some absolutely incredible Jamaican allspice and fresh scotch bonnet peppers on a rich base of old spot pork and dexter beef. We do everything we can to bring the best of the globe to you in every sausage.
Bespoke Creations
We create completely new sausages that reflect our culinary ambitions. Sometimes we are playful and turn classic flavours from a particular dish not a sausage. The steak and peppercorn sauce sausage is a good example. We make a peppercorn sauce using the finest Sarawak and Tellicherry peppers with brined green peppercorns and a generous pour of double cream. Chunks of dexter beef are seared to give the all important grill flavour to this extravagantly juicy sausage.
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Other times I am looking to create a new flavour profile within an established sausage making tradition. Liverpool sausage for example, is a worthy edition to the canon of British sausages that can sit alongside the likes of Cumberland or Manchester sausage. Like those established recipes, Liverpool is crafted to reflect the social and economic history of the city. As such our recipe draws spices from the many ports and countries involved in Liverpoool's histric spice trade. We use rare and underused spices like grains of Selim and Ajwain alongside the more familiar nutmeg and mace to create a sausage that feels traditional whilst being unmistakably and uniquely delicious.
