Louisiana Reds – Eastbourne Village Meats

I went out to Eastbourne recently on a “hunter gather” mission as a few people have mentioned the sausages made at the local butcher’s shop, Eastbourne Village Meats, to me. This shop looks and feels like a traditional butcher’s shop. When I went I talked to the butcher and found him to be friendly and obliging. When it came to asking more detailed questions about the sausages I was purchasing, he said they had a few trade secrets that he would not share with me. I purchased four Louisiana Red Sausages. This is an interesting name for a sausage, my thoughts where Cajun food, gumbo and jambalaya along with zydeco music, and a bit of the blues.

This is a healthy looking sausage, smaller eaters may consider it a meal in itself. There is a large portion in each sausage. The butcher told me that this pork sausage has chilli, cayenne, garlic, black pepper and parsley added to the sausage meat to bring out that southern USA flavour.

The sausages did not have a strong aroma. They smelt of the meat, the spices could not be detected when I smelt them. It was a very pleasant smell.

The sausages cooked up nicely. A bit is sausage meat oozed out the casing. The real test came in the eating. These sausages were soft, the filling inside the casing was spongy, and this is unusual for a sausage. It made eating them a pleasure. The sausage meat was malleable between the teeth and it slipped down the gullet easily. Some sausages require a lot of chewing but these are at the other end of spectrum.

When I think of food from Louisiana, I think of hot and spicy. These sausages are mild with a subtle hint of spice. There is a stronger after taste of cayenne and chilli, but this is not pronounced. This sausage is a coarse to medium grind. It goes down nicely. The boys had one each, and wanted more. They thought this was really good sausage. However I had eaten one for quality control and was onto the second one by the time they requested more. It pays to be fast in our house. I have a saying when it comes to food, “there are the slow and the hungry.”

This is an excellent sausage and when next in Eastbourne I will buy some more.

Cost: $17.95 per kilo