There are few sausage makers who I would have taken seriously when they told me they had made a pork and Christmas pudding sausage. Charles Clewlow of H Clewlows of Natwich is one of those few sausage makers.

Charles is a sausage maker of distinction and knows what makes a good sausage. He recently won the regional heat of the British Sausage Week competition with his pork and Nantwich blue sausages (more on those in a minute) . However, as someone who doesn’t often mix sweet and savoury, I was still concerned as to how Christmas pudding would work in a sausage.

Ever since I heard about The Somerset Sausage Company I had been waiting hungrily for the chance to try out these exciting sausages.

First off let me mention the packaging. Regular readers will know that I don’t normally go down the packaging route unless it’s recyclable. However I don’t think I have ever received mail order sausages so well packaged. The ice pack and insulted box had kept these meaty treats at a perfect temperature and they were all sitting as you see in the picture ready for inspection.

Welcome to the December edition of The Sizzler.

My apologies for the lack of Sizzlers over the past few months, a variety of sausage related projects have been keeping me busy. For more regular updates subscribe to the RSS feed on this website or follow me on Twitter. In this month’s Sizzler an update on The Sausage King Adventures, news from the World of sausages, latest reviews, useful websites and upcoming dates.

Earlier in the year I promised a review of some sausages from the Sausage Shed in Somerset.

These turned out to be some of the finest sausages I have ever tasted.

We tried Cracked Black Pepper, Pork and Marmalade and Pork with Burrow Hill Cider and Mustard and to say I was impressed is an understatement.

I finally got the chance to watch the rest of “Chop Idol” - Young Butcher of the Year. A cracking show with very high quality contestants and a very deserving winner. And another Sausage King (but more on him later).

This is a show which celebrates some unsung heroes of the butchery world and, for me at least, this was edge of the seat viewing. Five of the countries best young butchers fought for the title through four gruelling challenges.