I started with the eight sausages in the pan - four of them have the skins removed - as my kids prefer them that way - but it will also be interesting to see if the skinless ones cook differently.

After 20 minutes or so of gentle frying, they were turning nicely golden brown - the skinless ones were developing a distinct and crunchy crust (must be all that wheat, I think). There was about half a centimetre of fat in the bottom of the pan - all from the sausages.

When they were done, I weighed them. The ordinary ones had reduced from 56g to 52g - mostly from exuded fat - although a little of the weight loss will have been water.

The skinless ones had dropped to 41g - that's more than 25% lost weight.

Eating The Sausages

I served them up with fried potatoes, beans and an egg.

The Final Verdict

OK, here it is - the unvarnished truth.

They're not bad.

Seriously - I know a lot of people will be willing me to say they were foul or inedible, or deeply sub-standard or something. They're not - they're... OK. They're certainly nothing to rant and rave about, but there's nothing particularly bad about them either.

The flavour was fair - they were quite succulent (all that fat, I bet) and nicely seasoned. They're not at all 'meaty' or chunky in texture - in fact they're quite soft - it's a bit like eating a sausage already in a bun (which I guess is all the wheat). But you can actually taste the pork.

The kids thought they were quite good - in fact they enjoyed them more than they would enjoy a more substantial and meaty sausage

A Bit Of A Surprise Then

Yes. A bit of a surprise. I'm determined not to be too snobby about this - and I refuse to imagine a problem where none is apparent - It is true to say that I do also enjoy a really good-quality, meaty, solid, chunky butcher sausage - and these tuppenny sausages aren't anywhere close to that. But they're not trying to be - they're just trying to be cheap, ordinary bangers - and it cannot be denied that they achieve some measure of success in achieving that.

So there it is. I cannot see any objective reason to hold these to absolute scorn. Too soft? Too fatty? So what? - people eat (and wildly enthuse about) other soft, fatty things (Foie Gras, anyone?). They're not going to satisfy everyone, but nothing does that anyway.

When I get a chance, I'll pick up packs of the budget sausages other supermarkets have on offer, for comparison.