Move over hot dog, introducing the Chickfurter

I’ve been buying sausages from the local butcher this year, as I can take my own container to avoid any packaging, but I have previously purchased HECK sausages from the supermarket. Both the boys enjoy sausages. So when I heard that HECK were launching a new product, the Chickfurter, I was interested in the concept. Son1 is quite a hotdog fan, but it is a treat that he doesn’t often get the opportunity to try. Meanwhile son2 does not like hot dogs.

So I received two free packs of HECK Chickfurters to review. How would these go down with the boys?

First the nutritional side. They are gluten free like all the rest of the HECK range and contain 97% British chicken. Apparently the HECK Chickfurter is the only frankfurter on the market currently made of chicken breast, rather than mechanically reclaimed meat. That sounds good. I was also pleased to note that they had 9 days until the use by date, which is pretty impressive for a refrigerated product. Plus they are suitable for home freezing.

Each 320g pack contains 4 large chickfurters. I’m used to the method of cooking hot dogs in water, but the packet said to pan-fry for best results or to grill. So I opted to pan-fry them, serving them in traditional long rolls with ketchup and optional fried onion.

Son1 loved them and wanted two which at 72g each was a huge meat hit. I certainly couldn’t have eaten a second in one sitting. But son2 lived upto expectation and did not like them. He was in the minority though as the rest of us enjoyed them. I loved that smoky flavour.

And now to discuss the packaging. I knew that I would be compromising my ideal by receiving a packaged product but what type of packaging? It was a plastic tray covered with film in a cardboard sleeve. And at least the tray was not black plastic, as sorting equipment cannot detect the colour black. So all recyclable apart from the film, which could be eco-bricked, but it would be preferable to swap the tray and film to a more sustainable material. For instance when I buy frozen vegetarian sausages, those are just sold in cardboard.

Also by receiving the product via post, there was a lot of additional packaging in order to keep the product chilled during transit. So I would recommend purchasing in-store rather than online, although currently, the chickfurter has only been launched in Morrisons.

Do take a look at the HECK website to see the rest of their range. I was particularly interested to see they make a wide range of vegan sausages too. I was unaware of these previously. I’ve been eating meat-free more regularly recently and often adapt a sausage recipe to be veggie sausages for me, whilst the rest of the family have butchers sausages.

And I’d love to hear your recipe ideas for chickfurters.

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Disclosure.  This post is a review of a product I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Sausage Plait

This recipe is a little bit more interesting than just using your sausagemeat to make traditional sausage rolls. Full instructions below showing you how simple it is to make the sausage plait, cutting the pastry and folding it lattice style.

Sausage Plait

Ingredients (serves 4)

375g puff pastry
500g sausage meat

Method

Preheat fan oven to 180 degree C.
Grease a baking tray.
Roll out pastry.
Lift pastry over the baking tray.
Place sausage meat onto the pastry and press into a flat rectangular shape.
Carefully cut pastry overhang into attached strips.
Plait the strips over the top of sausagement.
Bake on middle shelf of oven for 30 – 40 minutes until golden.
Cut into slices.
Serve with your choice of potatoes and vegetables.
Enjoy.

The recipe could be adapted to use a vegetarian or vegan substitute for the sausage meat.

And as an easy accompaniment, I decided to try a variant on cheesy potatoes using yoghurt. You’ll need to get this into the oven first, as always best to check how long a recipe takes to cook and this is about 10-15 minutes longer than the sausage platt.

Cheesy yoghurt potatoes

Ingredients (serves 4)

750g potatoes
250g yoghurt
100g cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat fan oven to 180 degree C.
Peel and slice the potatoes.
Grate the cheese.
Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
Cover with yoghurt and grated cheese.
Repeat layers until all ingredients are in the dish, ending with a cheese layer.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cook on top shelf of oven for about 45 – 50 minutes, until potato has softened.
Serve as a side dish.
Enjoy.

The sausage meat plat was very popular but mixed reactions to the potatoes. Two of us liked it and two weren’t so convinced.

I’d love to hear your recipes for potatoes or sausage meat. And what accompaniments would you choose to have with a sausage plait?

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Cheesy Cinnamon Sausage Hotpot plus giveaway

I recently received 7 free cans of Cinnamora, a cinnamon soft drink to review, 6 sparkling and 1 still. I love cinnamon toast, so was very interested in the idea of trying a cinnamon drink. And although there are no established health claims related to cinnamon, there are many studies supporting its beneficial effects on diabetes and cholesterol.

I was slightly dismayed to see that they arrived in one of those Royal Mail “damaged in transit” wrappers. A few cans were slightly dented, but otherwise okay. I would recommend that they pack them in a box for better protection.

So onto the taste test. I’m not personally a huge fan of fizzy drinks, so as expected I preferred the still variant. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I would rate the flavour as okay, so not quite as tasty as I was hoping. However on the plus side, there is no sugar, artificial flavouring or colours in these drinks. And it was very refreshing. The rest of the family also tried the sparkling variant. My other half liked it but the kids weren’t that keen.

Now as regular readers know, I enjoy cooking, so I decided to try it out in a dish. I decided on making a hotpot with it.

Cheesy Cinnamon Sausage Hotpot

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 375g pack of 12 good quality sausages
1 250ml can of Cinnamora sparkling cinnamon soft drink
1 medium onion
1 420g can of baked beans
500g potatoes
50g cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
Choose a lidded casserole dish which is suitable for both oven and hob.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Add the olive oil to the casserole dish and heat gently on hob.
Add onion and cook for a couple of minutes until softened.
Prick the sausages and add to the dish.
Continue to cook for a further few minutes.
Meanwhile peel and slice the potatoes.
Pour the Cinnamora over the sausages.
Stir in the baked beans.
Cover with the sliced potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the top.
Cover with lid and cook in oven for 40 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
Remove lid and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy.

This time, I got a resounding thumbs up from all the family. So it would be great to see Cinnamora develop a section of recipes on their website.

Cinnamora currently retails at £1 for a 250ml can and is available to purchase online or at selected retailers in London.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway 7 cans of Cinnamora to one lucky winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

And you may see my other giveaways here.

I’d love to hear your favourite drinks or your idea for a recipe using Cinnamora.

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Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Sausage Risotto

Tasteclub have invited bloggers to celebrate Sausage Summer by sharing their favourite sausage recipe.  My favourite is sausage risotto.  I always use best quality sausages and suggest traditional pork sausage for my recipe.

Ingredients (serves 2 adults and 2 children)

350g butchers pork sausages
150g mushrooms
1 large onion
75g green beans
2 cloves of garlic
2 pints stock (made from 2 beef stock cubes and boiling water)
mixed herbs
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
280g risotto rice (80g per adult and 60g per child)

Method

Top and tail the beans. Cut any long ones in two pieces.
Chop the mushrooms, onion and garlic.
Cut the sausages into short pieces.
Add a tablespoonful of olive oil to a wok and heat.
Brown the sausage with the garlic.
Add the rice and cook for 1 minute to coat with oil.
Gradually add the stock a few tablespoons at a time, stirring continuously until absorbed.
Meanwhile, heat the other tablespoonful of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and mushrooms. (This is because my children do not like onion and mushroom. Otherwise they could be added directly at this stage.)
Add the beans when the rice is al dente, (after approx 20 mins).
Season with herbs, salt and pepper.
The risotto is ready, once the rice has softened to your preferred taste. (You may not require all the stock).
Serve the childrens portions.
Add the onion and mushrooms to the risotto.
Serve and enjoy.

Chop the vegetables

Cut the sausages

Brown the sausages with the garlic

Add the rice

Gradually stir in the stock

Cook the onion and mushrooms separately

Add the beans

Add the onion and mushroom

Serve and enjoy