The Newmarket Sausage

The recipe for the Newmarket sausage is unchanged since the days of Queen Victoria in 1884. James Musk’s original recipe lives on, passed down through the generations, and remains a closely guarded secret by the current owners, ensuring the sausages continue to be made to the same exacting standards as they always have been. Handmade with care in small batches, the sausages are free from colouring and additives, the very idea of using them being as unthinkable now as it was in James Musk’s day.

Recently the company has introduced a gluten-free variety of their famous sausage, using the same pork shoulder meat and spices but substituting the bread with rice. The flavour and texture is almost indistinguishable from the original recipe and this has been recognised with a Gold Award from the Guild of Fine Food Retailers (the original recipe sausages already having two such awards!).

Other varieties available are Pork & Leek, also a Gold Award winner, and, seasonally, a special Christmas recipe made with chestnuts, orange zest, lemon peel and cranberries combined with our meat, bread and spices.

Musk’s have been a favourite of the Royal family for generations, having been the proud holder of four Royal Warrants during its history, having recently been granted a Warrant by Her Majesty the Queen. King George V in 1907, whilst Prince of Wales, granted the first Warrant and later in 1929, Edward, the then Prince of Wales, followed suit. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother granted her Warrant in 1965. Royal patronage has always been part of the company’s heritage.

On race days in Newmarket, people come into town to stock up with Musk’s but they are also available in delicatessens and fine food stores around the country. Alternatively they can be sent direct to your door by courier.

Musk’s Manufacturing Process

Most sausages contain rusk but Musk’s Newmarket sausages are made with bread, delivered daily by local bakeries, to give them the succulence for which they are renowned. Around 500 loaves a week are sliced before being soaked in water and added to the mixture.

The meat used is prime British pork shoulder from fully traceable free-range pigs reared on BQAP farms. There is no doubt that shoulder meat is the best for sausage making. It is exceptionally lean and looks good enough for Sunday lunch! The pork is inspected, weighed into 60lb. batches, mixed with the spices and passed through the mincer.

Natural hog or sheep gut is slipped onto the machine’s nozzle which is set for either sausages or chipolatas. Gut is thin but strong, so the machine can produce sausages without breaking the skin. Natural casings, which should never be pricked, are best as they will not burst when cooked and the end result is an attractive curved sausage.

Sausages are twisted deftly by hand into links then hung on racks to dry for twenty minutes. They show a good meaty appearance that is proudly displayed in open top packs or on trays. Covering the sausages in cellophane is the one automated process.

The factory practices have been brought into the 21st Century with full higher level EFSIS accreditation to give the quality assurance required nowadays. The small dedicated team who make the sausages have also been awarded Investor in People recognition for their part in maintaining a traditional process.

A reputation that has spanned two centuries brings you the texture and flavour of how sausages used to be.