Unearthed's new range of speciality meats

A few weeks ago, I blogged a selection of recipes (here) from foodie experts Unearthed using ingredients that you could forage in the English countryside. Well, as well as providing me with these unique recipes, they asked me if I'd be interested in trying unearthed’s new range of speciality meats. These new products have just gone into Waitrose stores and they are very authentic products that have been brought over from Italy and Spain and re-created by unearthed.

I received three products to try out : Spicy Salsiccia, Chorizo de Leon and Calabrian 'Nduja. The sausages reminded me very much of the ones we always see (and often eat) in French farmers' markets and foodie fayres in France. The flavours are as intense and delicious as I was expecting but the sausages seem less tough, both when chewing and cutting them, and the fat ratio seems slightly lower. The 'Nduja is a totally new product that I had never come across before, even in France. 

I started off with the Spicy Salsiccia, which they describe as "a cured sausage spiced with chilli and fennel" and which costs £3.49 for 225g. Now, I purposely started with this one before the chorizo because I assumed it would be the less spicy of the two (and you should always start with the least spicy option or subsequent nibbles will have no taste after the chilli heat has nuked your tastebuds !) but it was actually spicier than the chorizo, which surprised me. It's not horribly intense heat, just a pleasant warmth on the tongue and even the kids liked it. The white bits that you can see are fat, which is an important ingredient in the recipe, but I found it to be less heavy on the fat than similar artisanal sausages that we've eaten in France, which is a good thing. I don't know if this is a difference between Italian and French sausages or if it's unearthed's idea but it gets a thumbs up from me. This would be lovely as a replacement for sausages (I usually use smoked Saucisses de Toulouse) in a popular self-invented recipe in our house - chunks of sausage fried with onion, red and green peppers and mushrooms, with a can of chopped tomatoes stirred in towards the end, served with pasta or rice. But unfortunately, I didn't get to try this as it was so delicious just sliced straight from the fridge that it disappeared before I got the chance !

Next up was Chorizo de Leon, from El Bierzo in North West Spain, described as a lightly spiced Spanish cured pork sausage seasoned with paprika and smoked over oak wood, and which costs £3.49 for 220g. Many of the chorizo sausages that we've sampled in France are extremely spicy (whether they're labelled "hot" or "mild") but the unearthed chorizo was only very slightly spicy. It was therefore a winner with the kids, who usually avoid chorizo, finding it too hot. This means that you can really appreciate the smoky flavour of the meat, rather than just sensing fierce chilli heat. As for the Spicy Salsiccia, the chorizo is delicious straight from the pack but would also add great colour and taste to dishes such as scrambled eggs, omelettes, pizzas and pasta sauces.

The final product that we tried was Calabrian ‘Nduja, a ready to eat spreadable spicy sausage, unique to Calabria in Southern Italy, which costs £2.19 for 90g. I've never seen anything similar in France so I was really keen to give it a whirl. The packaging says that it's ready to eat so you can simply spread it but that it comes into its own as a cooking ingredient. We sampled it on some fresh bread that had just come out of the bread machine, alongside some olives, pistacchios and other nibbles, and it was very tasty as a spread. I wasn't sure what to do with it as an ingredient so I didn't actually try this out but I can see the flavour working well as a hot meal too.

The whole family really enjoyed the whole range, which surprised me actually, as I didn't think the girls would be too keen on the spicy products. They're perfect for adding new flavours to your cooking or just as interesting nibbles with drinks but above all I love the fact that they seem really authentic and allow you to do some armchair travelling, just by popping them into your mouth !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : Spicy Salsiccia £3.49 for 225g, Chorizo de Leon £3.49 for 220g, Calabrian 'Nduja £2.19 for 90g

for more information : http://www.discoverunearthed.com/

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