taste of norfolk

EVERY TELLS A STORY

James Rutland offers an at-a-glance guide to his 32 varieties of sausage:

Barcelona bangers: Inspired by an international football tournament, these taste like . and horseradish: Like a Sunday roast in a sausage. : Created from an authentic South African recipe brought in by one of our customers. Bombay dreams: A Bollywood-inspired lamb curry sausage. Brambly apple: A real favourite; very sweet and soft. : Great for BBQs, children love them. Chocolate and cheddar: Our Easter special. Cocktails: The perfect party sausage. Cumberland: Savoury with a peppery taste. Garlic: Good strong flavour – exactly as it sounds. who pop in on a daily basis – are Kit way you can get such fullness of flavour : A bite-size haggis option. Mavilio, Carol Newman, Tracy Sturman and tenderness to the meat. To ensure Herbies: One of our first , full of and little brother James Rutland. Although superb quality, meat must be naturally mixed herbs. Kit Mavilio, Tracy Sturman, Carol they are all fully-trained butchers, none of reared.” Jerk sausages: Caribbean sausages, Newman, Marion Rutland, Michael them grew up intending to follow in the The quality of meat doesn’t just stop with slightly spicy. Rutland, James Rutland, Sarah Rutland, family business. James had plans to be a the sausages either. The shop has 10 : A Polish sausage made from all members of the Rutland family. racing car driver; Carol, a member of Pan’s different varieties of homemade burger – cheddar, smoked bacon and . People. But over a 16 year period between including beef, venison, chicken, and lamb Lamb, redcurrants and rosemary: A sweet the eldest and youngest they all naturally and feta – a selection of kebabs, lamb sausage that’s great at Christmas. fell into butchery. croquettes, ribs, chops, mini hog roasts and Leek: A seasonal, savoury sausage. The family is now also supported by even haggis, which brought them national Lemoncello and thyme: Inspired by my You can’t butcher Gary Howes, James’ wife Sarah and fame when The Sun newspaper picked up honeymoon in Sorrento, using a lemon Tracy’s son Carl who helps out after school on the fact that they were selling them to liqueur from the Amalfi coast. have a and on Saturday. customers in Scotland. Lincolnshire: A traditional, peppery “It’s actually lovely working with family “People are so much more experimental sausage. summer as we’re all working towards the same with their barbecues too,” says Carol. “So Marmite: My baby! Even people who hate goal,” says James. “Although it is a problem it’s not just the sausages and burgers that Marmite love this sausage. A sizzling that we all think we’re the boss!” go, but things like the kebabs and butterfly Minty lamb: A great alternative to pork. without a “Occasionally, we have the odd leg of lamb. We can also offer gluten-free Onion marmalade: Sweet and sticky. barbecue, and argument,” adds Carol, “but it’s usually versions of most of our recipes.” Pork, bacon and onion: A salty sausage over what we want to put in the meat.” And, in an eco-conscious era, whatever loved by our male customers. you can’t have Creative differences ultimately arise you buy can be transported home in a Rhubarb and chilli: A Thai-seasoned when it comes to recipes, but the Rutland reusable hessian Rutland bag. On sale for sausage that’s perfect for summer. a barbecue children all bring their own individual £2, all the money from the bag sales goes to Sausage meat: If you want to use our meat strengths to the business: Carol is the the Balloons for Hearts charity, which is to make your own pies or sausage rolls. without a forecast cooking instructions expert; Tracy is great raising money to enable angioplasty Spicy mango: Carol’s favourite – just with ready meals, picking up ideas from her patients to have surgery locally at the delicious. few bangers. he Rutland family knows what the Lincolnshires. And there can’t be many own demanding family; Kit specialises in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Spicy Moroccan: A lamb sausage originally weekend’s weather is going to be butchers south of Gretna Green where you slow food cooking, such as brisket and shin rather than having to travel to Papworth made for a Moroccan customer. Sarah like without even looking out of can pick up sausage-sized portions of of beef; and James’ forte is the sausages. Hospital in Cambridge for their operation. Stilton and pickle: My favourite – a their butcher’s shop window. “We haggis. Too many cooks might spoil the His inspiration comes from customer It’s their quality of meat and community- ploughmans in a sausage. Cassells meets can always tell if the forecast is broth, but too many butchers leave the suggestions, cookery programmes, eating focused attitude that has seen M&M Tennessee: A sweet chilli sausage made Tgood by the amount of barbeque meat that customer spoiled for choice! out and even the liqueur he enjoyed on his Rutland scoop numerous awards, including from an authentic recipe brought in by a the family goes,” says James Rutland, one-sixth of the The idea of working with family might honeymoon. The result is an experimental the EDP Norfolk Food Awards Butcher of customer from Tennessee. family who owns and runs the award- not appeal to everyone, but the Rutland clan mix of flavours that has grown to more than the Year category in 2007, the East of Tomato: An Italian-inspired, slightly sweet butchers that winning M&M Rutland butchers in Melton couldn’t imagine it any other way. 30 recipes, of which banana curry and England Top Shop Award and the Yellow sausage. Constable. “I think people have become M&M Rutland was set up in 1972 by parsnip is currently a work in progress. Pages Family Business Award. Traditional pork: Still the favourite among offer no fewer more adventurous with their barbecue Marion Rutland. She had been helping in Every day, at least 10 fresh options are made Not ones to rest on their laurels, the customers. cooking and our sausages are a way for her father’s butchery since she was eight and sold for £3 to £4 per pound. family is already working on increasing the Venison and mushroom: Made especially than 32 them to experiment; they really seem to years old but never expected to become the James credits much of the sausages’ sausage range further. from local Melton Park venison. have captured our customers’ matriarch of her own family business. success to the meat used in their creation. “We’re all very creative,” says James. Wild boar: The wild boar comes from varieties of imagination.” During the ensuing 35 years her business All the meat sold at M&M Rutland is from “Some recipes ultimately work better than Somerset and is the only meat we don’t Imaginative they certainly are with 32 and family grew concurrently and she was free-range, Norfolk, marsh-grazed animals others, but any mistakes we make we eat source locally. sausage. homemade varieties in the Rutland joined in the shop by husband Mike and sourced from JH Lamberts in Earsham. ourselves!” ɀ repertoire. There can’t be many places then, one by one, by their four children who James says: “We buy all our meat on the All made using local, free-range “Old Spot” Pictures by where marmite-flavoured bangers sit were raised in the family tradition. bone. It means you can hang it, which is M & M Rutland, 13 Briston Road, Melton pork, unless otherwise stated. alongside traditional pork, or strings of Mike and Marion’s children – who are such an integral part of maturing it. It’s Constable, NR24 2DG, 01263 860562; Colin Finch. rhubarb and chilli sausages hang next to now grown-ups with Rutland grandchildren quite labour intensive, but is the only real www.rutland-butchers.co.uk

68 Eastern Daily Press Norfolk August 2008 Eastern Daily Press Norfolk August 2008 69