Portsmouth butcher Buckwells of Southsea celebrates award for making UK's best sausage - and shares secrets to success

Buckwells of Southsea in Osborne Road is run by John and Helen Buckwell and their team who collectively have more than 150 years of experience in the meat trade. It has been serving quality meat products to customers in Portsmouth for 36 years and was recognised for its Old Portsmouth sausage at the Smithfield Awards where the creation was named the UK’s best traditional pork sausage.

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Speaking after the win, butcher Tommy Bridle said: ‘It’s amazing. We do this every day and it can become a little bit monotonous but then you go to Smithfield, which has been going on for years and years and is probably one of the most highly recognised butchers. It’s really nice to be recognised for something you do on a daily basis.

‘A lot of it is to do with John. He started in London, and he’s worked in every kind of butcher’s shop. Everything we sell is fresh, everything is clean, there’s no unnecessary additives - nothing is pumped full of water. People who have been coming here regularly know the difference. Our window is pretty unique. We get a lot of people coming around taking photos of it - it’s something John has perfected over the years.

‘I love it all. I love the customers, spending 50 hours a week with these guys. Every day is different.’

Tommy, who has worked at Buckwells for seven years, added that he is excited for summer, a particularly busy time for Buckwells as people look for skewers and marinated meats for their barbecues. He described the winning sausage as ‘not too fatty and not to lean’ and compared it to a Lincolnshire sausage – with a decade of tweaks made to ‘perfect’ the recipe.

Fellow butcher Dean Searl, who has been in the profession for 40 years, said that Buckwells has grown in popularity over the years and even experienced an increase in trade during the pandemic.

Dean added: ‘Out of school, I fell into it - not knowing I was going to do it for he rest of my life. I’ve been here more than 20 years. It’s quite a nice, relaxed atmosphere here now. Butchery has adapted a hell of a compared to what it was when I first started.’

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The shop has also received 5 ‘Diamond’ Smithfield awards in recent years and been a finalist on many other occasions. This year, the shop also won ‘Masterclass in Meat Display’ for its window arrangement for the second year in a row.

Buckwells prides itself on sourcing the best quality breeds with a wide selection of beef, poultry, game, pork, sausages and pies - focusing on taste, whilst being committed to health and animal welfare.

Scoring 67 points out of a possible 70 and described by judges as ‘a super, well-seasoned sausage’, Buckwells’ Old Portsmouth Herb Sausage is made using an old recipe combining the finest pork sausage with herbs and

spices. The award was presented to Buckwells by British chef Jeremy Lee. The Southsea butcher also made the shortlist in the ‘Gourmet Burger’ category with its Philly Cheese-Steak Burger.