Fun at Fordhall Organic Farm: Sausage Making with a Gingerbread Twist

Some of the team from Billington’s Gingerbread – Managing Director Gemma, Sales Manager Ingrid and Marketing Assistant Charlotte – recently paid a visit to Fordhall Organic Farm, just up the road from us here in Market Drayton.

Interestingly Fordhall is actually England’s first community-owned farm, and if you go there for a visit there is so much to see and do — from seeing the animals and exploring the scenic walking trails, to visiting their fantastic farm shop and café, which utilises fresh produce straight from the farm and local suppliers.

We’re incredibly proud to supply Fordhall with our deliciously spiced Billington’s Gingerbread – which is available to purchase in their farm shop! As such, we were kindly invited by James, the Shop Manager at Fordhall, and his amazing team to try our hand at something a little different… sausage making!

Incorporating sustainable practices is something we’re always striving towards, particularly when it comes to reducing waste. That’s why we love the idea of using the off-cuts (when available) that are generated from Billington’s Gingerbread — the biscuit crumb that would otherwise go to waste — and potentially incorporating them into delicious, spiced sausages.

Under the guidance of Butcher Tom, the team got hands on. The process of creating the sausages begins with pork from pigs raised at Fordhall. The meat was then ground to produce fine mince (our team found this quite a surprising arm workout!). Once minced, the other key ingredients were combined: a blend of secret seasoning and, of course, our Billington’s Gingerbread crumb. A small amount of water helped the mixture bind together smoothly.

The mixture was then passed back through the machine for a finer consistency before being loaded into the sausage stuffer, ensuring all air pockets were removed.

Next, the intestines were carefully threaded onto the nozzle — the team found this quite a fiddly task. The mince was then passed through into the casing – trying to avoid any bursting or gaps.

Finally, it was time to link the sausages — a deceptively tricky process that had the team all laughing and learning. Let’s just say we have a newfound respect for professional butchers!

All in all, a really insightful experience, a lot of fun, and a great example of local collaboration.

Charlotte Smith, Marketing Assistant, said:

I really enjoyed the visit. Having not been to Fordhall before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, so it was great to receive a tour from James. We got to see the sows and learn more about how the pigs are raised and some of the process of farm to fork. Next, we headed in for the sausage making with Tom, which was great fun and really interesting to see how the Billington’s left over crumb could be incorporated into a sausage recipe”.

A huge thank you on behalf of Billington’s Gingerbread to James, Tom and the rest of the Fordhall team for an insightful time and for gifting us the sausages made!… it was unanimously reported by the team that the sausages tasted very good once cooked. Let’s just say there were no leftovers…

Interested in learning more about the partnership between Fordhall and Billington’s gingerbread? Check out our recent Stockist Spotlight blog post about Fordhall.

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