Unusual combination for winning sausages (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Unusual combination for winning sausages

4:14pm Wednesday 4th April 2007

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Martin Martindale of Greenfield Pork tells Sophie Boxall of Hampshire Fare about winning at the Great Hampshire Sausage, Pie & Ready Meal competition

Pork, watercress and goat's cheese might seem like an unusual combination for a sausage but it certainly won the judges' approval at the recent Great Hampshire Sausage, Pie & Ready Meal competition, scooping two champion trophies for Hampshire Fare producer Martin Martindale, of Greenfield Pork Products.

Butchers are encouraged to devise products which incorporate ingredients from Hampshire, and in doing so, Martin's sausage was awarded Hampshire Sausage Champion as well as Hampshire Farmers' Market Champion.

He also won five gold awards from their total of seven entries, for their pork, honey mustard and cider sausage, leek and stilton sausage, King Alfred traditional pork sausage and Barry's twizzlersticks', marinated strips of lean pork ideal for the barbecue.

Dawn and Martin Martindale established Greenfield Pigs in 1990, initially to produce free range pigs for the commercial market.

On their farm in Andover, their pigs are bred for quality and flavour, and the pigs' welfare is a priority.

Crisis in the pig market in the late 1990s led them to revamp their business and set up a butchery and delivery service to supply local shops, restaurants and hotels, as well as customers at Hampshire farmers' markets, selling Wiltshire cured bacon, traditional sausages and fresh pork.

They also set up Greenfield Hog Roasts in 1999, initially to feed hungry shoppers at the farmers' markets, but this really took off and is also now a popular service for weddings, parties, social events and corporate functions.

Says Martin: "We were chuffed to bits to win these awards, although we were pipped at the post with the Supreme Champion award, which I have my eye on for next year!

"Our winning pork, watercress and goats' cheese sausage and the pork, honey mustard and cider sausage are both new flavours that we developed for this competition, both using local ingredients, so we were delighted that they won.

"The awards are a tribute to my staff, who are invaluable."

Martin and Dawn have a trained team of six staff. Martin is, in fact, self taught in butchery, however the first sausages he ever made were awarded Gold in the 2004 Great Hampshire Sausage and Pie Competition and they have won awards in this competition each year.

His pork has also been credited by celebrity chef James Martin in his book, Great British Dinners, saying: "This is the best tasting pork I've ever tasted."

Greenfield Pork Products are a regular at Hampshire farmers' markets across the county, including Winchester this Sunday. They sell free-range pork products, sausages, dry-cured bacon and gammon and hog roast.

For the future, Dawn and Martin plan to open a farm shop and develop a full range of charcuterie, not forgetting their ambition to secure that all important Supreme Champion award next year!

For more information about Greenfield Hog Roasts or where to buy their pork products, call 01264 359422.

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