Oxford sausage

History

The first published reference to a sausage that closely resembles the modern Oxford sausage is by John Nott in his book The Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary: Or, the Accomplish'd Housewife's Companion, published in London in 1723. In the text Nott, cook to the Duke of Bolton, refers to the sausages as "Oxford Skates" (or "Kates", as listed in the index). Whether this was a common local recipe or one created by Nott is unclear. By the late 18th century the spice-rich nature of the Oxford sausage had entered popular consciousness to such an extent that Thomas Warton used The Oxford Sausage as the title for his compilation of "highly spiced" political and satirical college verse, first published in 1764 and republished a number of times in the following 50 years. A number of variations on the recipe were published over the years, until Isabella Beeton selected the Oxford style as her exemplar for a typical pork sausage in her 1861 Book of Household Management.

Ingredients and manufacture

As with most regional foodstuffs, different recipes for Oxford sausages vary in many aspects, but all follow a similar ingredient list. The modern Oxford sausage is considered, typically, to consist of a mixture of pork and veal, seasoned with lemon and herbs. Nott's 1723 recipe calls for pork or veal, seasoned with salt, pepper, clove, mace and sage. some have replaced the veal content with lamb while others use only pork.

As first produced, the Oxford sausage did not have a skin or other casing, but was hand-formed and floured before frying. However, modern forms are commonly made in a conventional, linked "banger" style, with natural pork or sheep casings. Beeton mentions both methods.

References

References

1. Beeton, Isabella. (1861). "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management". S.O. Beeton.
2. "Traditional Oxford Pork Sausages". Graig Farm Organics.
3. (25 January 2005). "Have You the Sauce to Write Us a Recipe?". The Oxford Times.
4. Nott, John. (1723). "The Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary: Or, the Accomplish'd Housewife's Companion".
5. Warton, Thomas. (1764). "The Oxford Sausage: Or, Select Political Pieces, Written by the most Celebrated Wits of the University of Oxford". J. Fletcher and Co..
6. "The Rise of the Oxford Sausage". The Big Bang.
7. "Sausage Facts and Stats". British Sausage Week.
8. "Food Legends of the United Kingdom: Oxford Sausage". Information Britain.
9. "10. Oxfordshire".