BEST BANGERS In the 18 months since she began making her award winning "real" sausages, Jane Russell has expanded her range to include Toulouse (with red wine and garlic); Italian (with cracked fennel and paprika) and gluten-free bratwurst varieties, as well as dry-curing her own rashers.
She now produces 400kg of sausages a week at her production plant in Kilcullen, Co Kildare. Not only that, but an experimental batch of black pudding she made this summer proved to be so good that several chefs, including Thomas Houghton of Harvey Nichols, are clamouring for it to go into production.
Russell is a former chartered engineer, but she has pork and bacon in her blood - her mother's family were butchers in Clonmel, and the sausages Russell makes are influenced by the recipes, notebooks and out-of-print cookery books she inherited from her grandfather, who was also a pork and bacon butcher.
When she started making the sausages, Russell found it difficult to source Irish organic pork in the quantities she requires and, faced with the choice of importing it from Germany or finding a good- quality, non-organic producer here, she chose an Irish farm. She now buys all her pork from a single farm, Oakpark, in Cahir, Co Tipperary, where the pigs are humanely reared.
This summer Russell's Toulouse variety won gold at the Great Taste Awards in London. Her jalapeno variety, made with smoked bacon and a dash of balsamic vinegar, is also popular at the markets she attends in Naas, Co Kildare, Marlay Park and Monkstown, Dublin (all Saturday); and Dún Laoghaire, Dublin (Sunday).
In addition to the markets, the full range is on sale at Mortons of Ranelagh, Cavistons of Glasthule, Donnybrook Fair, Listons of Camden Street, Harvey Nichols Food Hall, Nolan's of Clontarf and Wrights of Howth (all in Dublin), as well as: GardenWorks, Clonee, Co Meath; SuperValu, Clane, Co Kildare; and Murtaghs, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. Market packs of 330g are €5 and shop-sized packs of 220g are €3.50. The dried cured rashers are €3.50 for a 180g pack. Jane Russell's Original Irish Handmade Sausages, Kilcullen, Co Kildare, 045-480100.
A TASTE OF HOME Galtee's Breakfast in America initiative is an easy way to send a taste of home to friends and family in the US. Hampers containing rashers, sausages, black and white pudding, Barry's teabags, Dairygold spread, Fruitfield marmalade and O'Hara's soda bread can be delivered within two days. Prices start at €45, plus a €15 shipping charge, which remains the same even if you opt for the premium hamper (€61 and containing enough to serve eight-12 breakfasts). Order by December 16th for Christmas delivery. www.galteebreakfast.com
DIARY DATE Year of Taste, the 2006 diary from the Oil & Vinegar shops in Dublin and Ballymena, is terrific value at €8.75. There are more than 40 seasonal recipes spread throughout the bright, cheery pages, as well as useful conversion charts, and space to record favourite recipes. The Dublin shop has introduced no fewer than 200 new products in the past few weeks, and in addition to food products there are stylish serving dishes, spice racks and presentation sets, all of which can be beautifully giftwrapped, for free. Oil & Vinegar, 16 South Great George's Street, Dublin 2 and 39 Ballymoney Street, Ballymena, Co Antrim