RJ Balson & Son - England's Oldest Family Butchers - Buy English British & Irish Sausages Bangers and Bacon Online in the USA.

We would like to thank so many of you for your patronage this year, and we'd especially like to wish you a Happy Christmas and New Year!  God bless you,

The Balsons

A highlight from last year's National Sausage Week... R.J. Balson's Spicy Pork and Toffee Apple sausage, created for fireworks night, reached the finals of the competition and was judged to be one of Britain's "Most Legendary Bangers" by the panel of experts and guest judge Noddy Holder. I list of all 2012 awards coming soon!

 The Summer of 2012 was quite eventful! ...London survived the crowds of the Olympics while Bridport survived major flash flooding!  Our shop was underwater with much of Dorset, and we still managed to keep the butchery going!  Summer of 2012 is another major event to add to our 477 year history!   Top photos are of front and sides of the shop, Bottom photos are of Bridport streets.

Be sure to catch us on the radio Wed., July 17... We're talking butchery with " Big JD" -- at 4pm -- don't miss "uTalkin2ME with Big JD" talk show on 99.1FM out of Windsor-Detroit or online podcast at

http://www.utalkin2me.ca/index.html

A special thank you to Shelly Hill from Two Classy Chics Foodie Blog for a wonderful review of our bangers and bacon!.... just click  the link below!

Cheers!, The Balsons

 http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com/2012/04/english-and-irish-specialty-meats-from.html

Feel free to visit the Culinary Image's recent foodie blog entry for a wonderful review of our back bacon by Rico Mandel.  Thank you for a job well done, Rico!

http://culinaryimage.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/balsons-bacon-extraordinaire/

Cheers!, Oliver Balson

http://www.balsonbutchers.com/products/pork-back-bacon

We are pleased to announce that "Balsons Bangers" will be in the majority of Costco Clubs through St Patricks Day, while supplies last!  We have worked long and hard to make this happen, and this is a HUGE opportunity for us to show COSTCO that there is a great demand for British and Irish meats here in the U.S.A. If they do well, we can potentially get bangers, back bacon, and even black pudding on the shelves, on a regular basis! (We do not determine the retail cost of the product -- this will be set by Costco, but we are sure it will be a great price!)

We need your help to spread the word! We're up against other products from big companies that have a lot of money to spend on advertizing and marketing, and so we are asking for your help -- if there is a Costco near you that is stocking, we encourage you to purchase our bangers there (they can be frozen, so please stock up!), tell your friends, family, British and Irish clubs, and neighbors-- help us spread the word by forwarding this link to your friends, posting on Facebook, Twitter, etc.! 

Here is a timeline of Regions:

So Cal COSTCO -- (All Costcos in San Diego area, Las Vegas area, AZ, CO, and NM,) -- Products are on the shelves!
LA area COSTCO -- (All Costcos in Los Angeles area, up to Bakersfield) -- Products hitting shelves Feb 16-17th.
TX area COSTCO -- (All Costcos in TX) -- Products hitting shelves next week Feb 16th-17th.
Northeast COSTCO -- (All Costcos from VA north to VT and NH, and all states in between) -- Products hitting shelves Feb 16th-17th.
Midwest COSTCO -- (All Costcos in KS, NE, MO, IA, WI, MI, MN, IL, IN, OH, and KY) -- Products hitting shelves Feb. 23rd-24th

Bangers will be in a 2-lb pack and will be able to be refrigerated or frozen for 6 months after purchasing! We look forward to a great turnout and hopefully we'll get the Southeast (NC, SC, GA, and FL) and Northwest (WA, OR, northern CA) on board next time! Thank you for your help, and being a huge part of helping us bring English and Irish meat products to the mainstream USA!

Cheers!
The Balsons

We at Balson's love receiving positive responses from our customers -- this recent letter from a 7th grade literary teacher in Va especially lifted our spirits and "Mrs. P" gave us permission to share it....enjoy! The Balsons

Hello,

My carton of sausages was delivered to my classroom yesterday morning,
and my students (7th graders) swarmed around it.  How many questions
can twenty-four kids ask?? After they studied the picture on the
carton, pointed out that there was a discount code on one corner, and
guessed what the sausage looked like, they *begged* me to open it.
(That translates to kids getting my scissors and opening it for me!)
You should have been in the room.  Such surgeons!  Removing the
carton's protective shrink-wrap skin took almost three minutes--not a
scissor poke on the carton!  They peeled the epidermis away, slit one
piece of tape, and lifted the lid.

"They are white!  Is it chicken?"
"My daddy makes sausage, but his ain't that color.  How'd they do that Mrs. P?"
"Food City has bratwurst that color.  Does it taste the same as them?"
"Does this taste different from our sausage, Mrs. P?" Students are
passing the packages around at this point.
"Of course it's different," the surgeon answered for me, "or she
wouldn't have ordered this stuff."  In his most uncanny, beseeching
voice, he added, "I can call my granny and have her bring some
skillets and a hot plate--if you want me to."
"This is Mrs. P's Christmas," the mother hen girl points out. "Maybe
she wants to take them home and eat them all by herself.  She could
make these last a couple of months if she hides them in the freezer."
"If she give me some, my dad can figure out how to make them for her."

Well, the scrapbooks of my summer trip to England and Cornwall came
off the classroom bookshelf, the pictures of Tintagel and Launceston
were scrutinized.  Finally, they found pictures of various shops.
They found the picture of the butcher shop with the sausages
displayed.  Mr. Balson, school was a half-day because of the Christmas
holiday break, and I didn't get my wrap-up lesson on a book chapter
done because we were doing something much more important--talking
about the world and how everything not being the same is a good thing.

Apart from now having my wonderful bangers in my home freezer--with
exception of the three that are in an airtight container in the
fridge, I have to say it was pretty much a perfect day.  Yesterday
evening, I had a late tea of two traditional bangers, mashed potatoes,
and scrambled eggs.  For a short while, I was in Reading with my
friends enjoying the Balson sausages we got in Bridgport before
leaving England's southwest tip. (I had hiked to Merlin's Cave and the
Tintagel ruins using the coastal footpaths to get material for the
purpose of making Merlin and Arthur legends come alive in Southwest
Virginia.)  I'm off to the shops today to buy some mushrooms and
yellow finger potatoes.  We will be having what my family calls
Brinner (breakfast for dinner).  I'll give one package of traditional
bangers to my mother, who grew up in Bottisham/Cambridge before
meeting and marrying my father and moving to America.  One package
will be held in reserve for those illustrious students of
mine...because while I was eating my two bangers, I realized that
there is no way to describe how bangers taste...they have to be
experienced, savored.  And there is only one way to do that...fix a
full English breakfast for twenty-five kids (doing that in January).

I am so happy with my bangers...

Mr. Balson, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

Thanks again,
Liz