Can sausages skinny be and scrummy?

As it’s revealed some ‘low-fat’ bangers may not be so light on calories after all, we put ten of the best to the test

MEaTY, juicy and utterly yummy — few can resist a sausage. Not even, it seems, those of us watching our weight.

There were howls of disappointment this month when it was suggested that a brand of so-called ‘skinny sausages’ being snapped up by slimmers might not actually be that low-calorie after all.

after endorsing Porky Lights sausages and telling its 900,000 members that each sausage contained only 78 calories, diet club slimming World did a dramatic u-turn.

It announced new tests showed the sausages had ‘materially higher levels of fat’ than first thought, with each Porky Light containing 19g of fat (a healthy, 2,000- calories a day diet is supposed to contain a maximum of 16g).

But family-run business g. White & Co. — which produces Porky Lights — was quick to hit back, saying the ‘new tests’ were actually carried out by a competitor.

‘ The most recent independent united kingdom accreditation service (ukas) tests confirm that Porky Lights are indeed 3 per cent fat and 78 calories per sausage,’ says managing director Chris Price firmly. ‘We are sticking to our claims.’

While the furore rages on, is there really any such thing as a tasty low-fat sausage?

Butcher Liam O’hagan, of O’hagan’s in Chichester, sussex, the world’s first specialist sausage shop, says: ‘You can’t escape the fact that a little fat is essential to give flavour and juiciness.

‘But, while it’s a challenge to produce a sausage which is low in fat but still contains a decent amount of meat, it’s not impossible.’

TEssa CuNNINghaM grabs a fork and samples the best of the slimming banger bunch...

SCRUMPTIOUS AND SAINTLY

Porky Lights, £3 for six (400g), Asda — 50p per sausage. Per sausage: 78 calories, 2.5g of fat (of which 0.9g saturates) and 0.9g salt I Was desperate to get my hands on a pack of Porky Lights to see what all the fuss has been about. While I’m not sure I would go as far as fighting in the aisles (as some sausage-loving slimmers have been known to do to get their hands on a pack), they are definitely worth buying.

although they are only 75 per cent pork, they are moist, fantastically filling, with a convincing chewy texture. Too good to be slimming? Well, they definitely taste like it. 5/5

STRICTLY FOR CASSEROLES

Marks & Spencer Outdoor Bred Skinny Sausages, £3.20 for six (400g) — 53p per sausage. Per sausage: 78 calories, 1.7g fat (0.5g saturates) and 0.93g salt. Marks & spencer was cock-ahoop when it launched these bangers in January. after years of experimenting, it hoped it had cracked the recipe for a tasty lowcalorie sausage.

Each sausage contains 90 per cent less fat and 60 per cent fewer calories than a standard sausage. and that’s despite boasting a seriously impressive 85 per cent meat content.

I really wanted to love them. But while a gluten-free crumb made from rice and chickpea flour is supposed to provide the perfect sausage texture, it’s more like chewing cardboard.

They would be great buried in a casserole, but eaten alone these sausages are disappointing. 3/5

HEAVY ON THE HERBS

Be Good To Yourself British Cumberland Pork Sausages, £1.50 for eight (454g), sainsburys.co.uk — 19p per sausage. Per sausage: 65 calories, 1.5g fat (0.5g saturates) and 0.6g salt. ThE label says these contain 50 per cent less fat than sainsbury’s standard sausages.

I’m longing to like them. But all I get is the overpowering taste of dry herbs. someone’s been so heavy-handed with the parsley and sage it’s impossible to taste whatever meat there is. 2/5

DISAPPOINTINGLY DRY

Tesco Reduced Fat British Pork Sausages, £1.50 for eight (454g), tesco.com — 19p per sausage. Per sausage: 103 calories, 6g fat (1.9g saturates) and 0.6g salt. sausagEs need contain only 30 per cent less fat than standard sausages to quality as ‘reduced fat’ (to be ‘low fat’ they must contain less than 3 per cent).

however, each of these Tesco sausages still contains more than 100 calories, and if you eat two you’ve had a fifth of a woman’s daily saturated fat intake. They are also dry, with a horrid chemical aftertaste. 1/5

A TREAT TO EAT

Waitrose Reduced Fat Extra Lean Gourmet Sausages, £3.29 for six (400g), waitrose.com — 55p per sausage. Per sausage: 116 calories, 6.65g fat (2.5g saturates) and 0.66g salt. ThEsE are so meaty and juicy, my other half refused to believe they were reduced fat at all. he was persuaded only when he reached for a third sausage and I didn’t comment on his waist line. They contain an impressive 86 per cent meat and are delicately seasoned with black pepper and nutmeg. Not as slimming as some, but perfect for a less naughty treat. 5/5

SO MOREISH

Debbie and Andrew’s Reduced Fat And Salt Perfect Little Pork Chipolatas, £3 for 12 (375g), ocado.com — 25p per chipolata. Per two chipolatas (equivalent to one sausage): 55 calories, 3g of fat (0.95g saturates) and 0.3g salt. WITh a generous 84 per cent meat, it’s no wonder these chipolatas taste yummy. That’s despite containing 40 per cent less fat and salt than the company’s standard chipolatas. I love the texture and the slight greasiness. Very moreish. 4/5

TASTY BUT NOT SKINNY

Good Little Company Great Big Sausages, £3.39 for six (360g), Ocado.com — 56p per sausage. Per sausage: 126 calories, 8.5g fat (3.6g saturates) and 0.8g salt. IT’s heartening to know that half the profits of these sausages go to charities focused on fighting poverty in africa. Made by dedicated Northern Irish sausage- makers good Little Company, they taste satisfyingly meaty, too — with an 87 per cent pork content. Maybe that explains why they aren’t as low in calories or fat as many others. If you are serious about dieting, you may want to look elsewhere. 3/5

JUST LIKE CARDBOARD

Asda Butcher’s Selection Reduced Fat Cumberland Sausages, £1.50 for eight (400g), asda.com — 19p per sausage. Per sausage: 88 calories, 4.6g of fat (1.65g saturates) and 0.47g salt. asda boasts that these reduced fat sausages contain 30 per cent less fat than a standard Cumberland sausage. sadly they contain so little meat — just 72 per cent pork — they taste like cardboard

Instead you get a lot of rusk and a dizzying array of preservatives and stabilisers. They also shrivelled during cooking. 2/5

WORTH A PIG OUT

Powters Skinny Pig Pork Sausages, £3 for six (400g), tesco.com — 50p per sausage. Per sausage: 97 calories, 1.7g fat (0.6g saturates) and 1.35g salt. ThEsE yummy bangers — made in small batches by the same suffolk family who have been producing sausages since 1881 — contain only 67 per cent meat. But they still manage to taste juicy. The nutmeg, sage and marjoram flavouring is delicious. 4/5

EVEN THE DOG DECLINED

Tesco Healthy Living Cumberland Sausages, £1.50 for eight (454g), tesco.com — 19p each. Per sausage: 74 calories, 2g fat (0.6g saturates) and 0.5g salt. ThEsE are so dry and rubbery — with a low 72 per cent meat count — that even my greedy Border Terrier puppy turned his nose up at them. and they are so salty I needed a jug of water to get through even half a sausage. 1/5