The story behind Glamorgan sausages

The Glamorgan sausage paradox is that they’re not really sausages at all. Glamorgan sausages are — and have been since at least the advent of the Second World War — a cheese-and-leek croquette with a crispy-crumbed, fried shell and a soft, creamy centre, flecked with herbs and spiked with a little mustard.

History

There’s a chance some earlier versions did involve meat — one recipe, dating back to the late 1700s, features pork, cloves and ginger, while others published in the second half of the 19th century were sometimes vegetarian, sometimes not. However, whether these were Glamorgan sausages, or just sausages made in Glamorgan — the south Wales county that’s home to the cities of Cardiff and Swansea — is unclear. Either way, the Vale of Glamorgan is historically a major dairy-producing area, so it makes sense that cooks would have needed to think of ways to use up surpluses.

When wartime rationing began in the 1940s, the meatless sausage’s frugality came to the fore — although as Welsh food historian Bobby Freeman emphasised, they were not, as some have suggested, invented as a wartime speciality. Flavoured with local leeks and enriched with egg and cheese, Glamorgan sausages would have been nourishing and filling as meat became harder to come by. And, as the Welsh food writer Nerys Howell notes, they’re thrifty, too, since they repurpose stale bread both in the mixture and in the crumb.

How to make them

Traditionally, these sausages would have been made with Glamorgan cheese, but Glamorgan cattle all but died out in the 1920s. While a small herd is now being expanded in order to safeguard the breed, modern Glamorgan sausages are usually made with crumbly Caerphilly cheese, which has a delicate flavour that’s said to be similar to its Glamorgan cousin. Be sure to use a good-quality, traditionally made Caerphilly though, as it’s the source of much of the sausages’ flavour and if you use an anaemic mass-produced version, you may not get the same salty, lactic tang. It’s worth noting, however, that using Caerphilly cheese may mean the sausages aren’t always truly vegetarian, since it’s often made with animal rennet.

You can make a vegan version by using mashed potato or ground flaxseed as a binder, rather than egg, and by substituting grated vegan cheese for the Caerphilly, along with a little miso paste to mimic the umami in the original recipe.

Some home cooks now prefer to oven-bake their sausages, rather than pan-fry them, and while parsley and often thyme are traditional herbs, some people mix and match, adding the likes of tarragon or sage. Somewhat heretically, there are even recipes that include onions and garlic rather than leek, list paprika as a flavouring, and suggest the crispy shell be made with polenta — a good solution for those who can’t eat gluten, but not traditional.

Where to eat them

While they’re not hard to make at home, Glamorgan sausages are also often found on restaurant or cafe menus. At the Gwaelod y Garth Inn, a picturesque country pub dating back to at least the 1830s, half an hour’s drive north of Cardiff, they’re served as a vegetarian main course, made using cheddar rather than Caerphilly, and with a portion of sweet-sour piccalilli alongside to cut through the richness. Alternatively, half an hour west of Cardiff, The Fox at Penllyn pairs Glamorgan sausages with a crunchy apple and celeriac remoulade.

Serving

In her 1971 book, Taste of Wales, food historian Theodora Fitzgibbon recommended Glamorgan sausages be served with mashed potatoes and bacon, for breakfast. And in the 1862 book featuring their first known printed reference, Wild Wales by George Barrow, they’re also served for breakfast, alongside tea and toast. But they’re equally good with poached eggs for brunch; later in the day as a starter or snack, served with chutney, pickle, mustard, apple sauce or chilli jam; or as a main meal with roasted roots, steamed greens or mashed potatoes and onion gravy. And if you happen to make too much of the mixture, it can be wrapped in puff pastry to create Glamorgan sausage rolls.