Beef sausages with a bite
MICHAEL POLLITT, RURAL AFFAIRS EDITOR
15 April 2006 08:02
He is now making mountains of home-made beef sausages, which are selling at a rate of knots through a farm shop in his home village of Fransham, between Dereham and Swaffham.
He started a beef enterprise on the family's farm in 2000 and now runs a 200-cow herd including 70 pedigree Lincoln Red cattle.
Mr Mallon and his fiancee Gill Carnegie, want to generate more income from their beef cattle - hence the beef sausages.
She comes from the north of Scotland where beef sausages are much more popular than their pork cousins.
However, the task of producing a consistent sausage was a headache until he started using a natural sausage skin rather than a synthetic version.
Mr Mallon, who went to Circenester and obtained a diploma in farm management, and also runs his own specialist contracting business, is also learning core butchery skills at Graves of Briston.
Ironically, he is also following in his great grandfather's footsteps because he ran a butcher's shop in the nearby village of Melton Constable. And his grandfather ran a butcher's shop in Attleborough.
"It is quite funny how it has gone around in full circle. It is just diversifying to keep our heads above water really," he said.
"We have about 130 steers and heifers to finish. We're hoping to build our numbers up and at the moment we're doing about half to three-quarters of a carcase a week. My aim is to get to about two a week.
"The idea is to develop our shop into a small cutting room or butcher's shop to justify the outlay of cutting our own meat here," said Mr Mallon.
He is thoroughly enjoying the practical side of the meat business. "I go in and cut the meat, dice all the trimmed meat and I mix the ingredients myself," he said.
It has taken many months to get the recipe right but now the traditional all-beef sausage is selling well. And to add some spice, Mr Mallon has recently introduced a cracked black pepper and beef sausage, which is winning plenty of fans and much repeat business.
While they can sell the quality cuts of meat with ease, the sausage venture makes it possible to create extra value from the less valuable cuts.
