Fire up the barbie: it's sausage time

So it's no surprise that in a recent Which? survey the cheaper sausages contained such strange ingredients as chicken skin, bacon and rice, and Tesco's "Value" frozen sausages weighed in with a meat content of just 30 per cent. Fortunately at the other end of the price scale there are some splendid sausages: meaty, well seasoned and representing very good value for money.

We tried a dozen different bangers - all "best pork sausages" - five were made by butchers renowned for their sausages, four from the supermarkets and three "wild cards" - from a specialist sausage shop; from the butchery counter at Harrods; and Duchy Originals.

H.G. WALTER
51 Palliser Road, W14 (020 7385 6466). Country Style Pork Sausage, £6.60 per kg.
*****
Hurrah! A stunning butcher's sausage. A good traditional pork sausage with enough fat to give plenty of flavour and the right percentage of meat in the mix to hold it together. Joint overall winner.

BIGGLES
66 Marylebone Lane, W1 (020 7224 5937). Marylebone Pork Sausage, £6.30 per kg.
*****
Biggles is a small, specialist sausage shop, its "Marylebone Pork" is a very good sausage, meaty and juicy. It's described as being made to "an old London pork butcher recipe and seasoned with mace and ginger" - the mace comes through well. Joint winner overall and very good value.

SAINSBURY'S
Ultimate British Pork Sausages, £2.19 for 400g.
****
A meaty sausage (95 per cent outdoor reared pork) coarsely cut which adds distinctive texture. The flavour of sage comes through strongly. The best supermarket sausage.

JACK O'SHEA'S
11 Montpelier Street, SW7 (020 7581 7771). Best Pork Sausage, £7.95 per kg.
****
The sausage is good and porky with traditional seasoning and a decent texture. A very creditable sausage.

WAITROSE
"Free range" Hampshire Pork Sausages, £5.49 per kg.
***
These sausages have a good flavour, but the juicy interior with the rather thick skins mean that they seem to "burst" in the mouth. Workmanlike.

M&S
Outdoor bred Pork Sausages, £2.59 for 400g.
***
The 97 per cent meat content leads to problems with lack of binding. A good, upfront taste of sage. The most expensive supermarket sausage.

MOEN & SONS
24 Pavement, Clapham SW4 (020 7622 1624). Traditional Pork Sausage, £5.95 per kg.
***
These large and imposing sausages are agreeably "old-fashioned" but are let down by chewy skins. Good but not great.

RICHARDSON'S
88 Northfield Avenue, W13 (020 8567 1064). Best Pork Sausage, £5.75 per kg.
***
Over the past 20 years, Richardson's has become renowned for fine sausages. They are very traditional (75 per cent meat) and are agreeably peppery and well-seasoned.

TESCO
Traditionally Made Pork Sausages, £4.66 per kg.
**
A thick skinned sausage that contains 85 per cent meat, but is a little greasy. The least interesting of the supermarket sausages.

JAMES ELLIOT
96 Essex Road, N1 (020 7226 3658). Best pork sausage, £8.72 per kg.
**
For an expensive pork sausage from a well-respected butcher, this banger disappointed. Uncooked it looked pinkish; when cooked the seasoning was strident and the skin leathery. The lowest scoring butcher's sausage.

DUCHY
Original Old Fashioned Pork Sausages with herbs, £2.85 for 400g.
**
An 85 per cent pork sausage from HRH Prince Charles's Duchy Original brand, available in several supermarkets. A fatty sausage that also has a thick and chewy skin - not a very good combination. The flavour is well-balanced but the texture lets it down.

HARRODS
87-135 Brompton Road, SW1 (020 7730 1234). Premium Fresh Pork Breakfast Sausages £2.99 for 450g.
*
A shockingly bad sausage. For a start, the butchery department doesn't make its own sausages (according to the label this pre-packed sausage is made by Fairfax Meadow in Derby). It's a very plain, finely textured, ordinary sausage. The lowest scoring and definitely one to avoid.