Sausage lovers have been flocking to Blairgowrie to try the bangers from new shop Toad in the Hole.
The High Street spot has been packed with customers, delighting owners Aaron Young and his wife Olivia, who have sold out of their sausages for days in a row.
I had to visit to try the sausages from Toad in the Hole to see what makes them so popular.
The sausage shop is quaint and compact, without being cramped, though there is a big – and constantly growing – queue when I visit.
People are requesting plenty of sausages, and I am worried as I watch the number dwindle as I near the till.
Will I miss out on the famous Blairgowrie sausages?
Thankfully, there are some left for me, but I can overhear others in the queue discussing that today is their third or fourth try to get some sausages.
Clearly, people are invested in the Toad in the Hole bangers.
What sausages can you get at the Blairgowrie sausage shop?
The different varieties on offer on my visit were:
- Date and ginger
- Sun-dried tomato and basil
- Breakfast (lightly seasoned)
- Porcini and garlic
These are all £11.50 per kg, except the porcini and garlic, which costs £12 per kg.
The sausage rolls, which are filled with either the breakfast sausage meat or sun-dried tomato and basil, cost £3.50.
So how do the Blairgowrie bangers taste?
I bought two of each kind of sausage, and this cost me £7 total.
As these are sold uncooked, I had to nip back to the office and get them heated up by some of my brilliant colleagues first.
Aaron recommends heating up the sausages at 180 for 20-30 minutes.
What did I think of the Toad in the Hole Blairgowrie sausages?
First off, I tried the date and ginger sausages.
These were sweet, but not sickly so.
I really enjoyed the contrast with the spicy hit of ginger and the umami flavour of the pork.
Then, I had a try of the sun-dried tomato and basil sausages.
These again were sizeable. Though the sausage meat had burst through the casing, the flavour was excellent.
I didn’t taste the basil strongly, but the tomato flavour added a warmth and sweetness to the sausage.
The breakfast (lightly seasoned) sausage is a more commonly found sausage.
The seasoning was great though, and it didn’t lack in flavour in trying to appeal to the more fussy folk.
The sausage retained moisture well, but it retained its shape when sliced and didn’t crumble apart.
Finally, I tried the porcini and garlic sausage.
I was admittedly nervous about this, not being the biggest mushroom fan.
However, this was delicious too.
The wee chunks of mushroom were flavourful, and there weren’t too many of them. The garlic didn’t overpower the sausage either.
Would I return to Toad in the Hole?
A customer said that the sausage shop has “brought people back to Blairgowrie”, and this is clear to see.
With queues out the door, Aaron and Olivia are clearly doing something right.
The Blairgowrie sausage shop is clearly a gem in the area.
Their sausages are juicy, flavourful and well-made.
I will definitely be making a journey to Toad in the Hole again soon.
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