I don't know about you, but when I think about the Manchester Christmas Markets, the first thing that springs to mind is massive sausages. You simply can't do one without the other. Bratwurst have featured heavily at the markets for years, but now there's more quirky variations that ever before.
We've all seen the sausages spanning at least a metre long available in St Ann's Square before - it's a beast and definitely worth sampling - but in recent years we've also seen jumbo piggy wraps from everyone's favourite Porky Pig, along with Crunch Korean's sweet vs savoury mash-up, and Curry Wurst on New Cathedral Street - for when we need that hit of spice.
Regardless, there's a lot to contend with so on day one of the Manchester Christmas Markets we decided to try out some of the best and most interesting and condense all our intel into one handy sausage guide.
Read more: Manchester Christmas Markets 2022 full list of traders at every location
Crunch Korean, Piccadilly Gardens
This isn't Crunch Korean's first rodeo and their 'potato half and half' (£6.50) went down a storm at last year's Christmas Markets. Sweet and salt can sometimes be a little two much, but in the case of this sausage, which is half potato and half sausage corn dog, it really does work. Sprinkled with sugar and topped with honey mustard, this sausage-meets-doughnut mash-up is a real treat.
Curry Wurst at The Witch House, New Cathedral Street
Round two. This a sausage in bite-sized form so should be a breeze for a seasoned pro.
Drizzled with a ketchup-flavoured curry sauce, the Curry Wurst (£7) are not nearly as spicy as I had prepped myself for, but that's no bad thing. Transporting me to a Christmas Market in Berlin or Hamburg, I have to say this all feels quite continental, and the sausage, which is juicy and tangy, is totally life affirming. Top marks.
Porky Pig, Exchange Square
It's well known in these parts that Porky Pig is a Manchester Christmas Markets institution. They're famed for their meat-wrapped-in-Yorkshire pudding treats, and are always packed by lunchtime on day one.
Last year we sampled the Jumbo Piggy Wrap - a battered sausage in a bacon blanket, drizzled with gravy and caramelised onions and wrapped in a Yorkshire pudding - so this year we thought we would switch things up and try the battered Pigs in Blankets, and never have I been so glad to pivot. These jumbo blankets wrapped in bacon and accompanied with a tub of glorious gravy are sure to become a festive favourite - but be warned, two is more than enough.
Gourmet Sausages and Burgers, Cathedral Gardens
Over at Cathedral Gardens, not only will you find the ice rink, but there's also a stall serving up some very hearty gourmet sausages. There's five varieties here - oak-smoked, spicy paprika, Bratwurst, Cumberland and the Pork, Honey and Marmalade sausage - and we opt for the latter.
The sweet hint of marmalade is very much welcome and the goes well with the savoury onions here. As far as the bap goes, this one had a slight crunch to it, which I'll take any day over a soft and soggy one.
Bratwurst, St Ann's Square
How do you solve a problem like a half metre sausage? The answer is you don't. You simply commit yourself to the endeavour and regret your choices later.
This was sausage four on the trail, so a rather big commitment, but where there's a will there's a way. At the very least, snapping up one of these (£6) is a talking point and something to show off to your mates with. Unlike last year's rookie error of tackling the half metre of pork with no sauce, we doused ours in ketchup, and we suggest you to do.
Panc, Piccadilly Gardens
Several hours later and in the clutches of a pork sausage-induced sleep we circle back to Piccadilly Gardens to try one last sausage. This time it's the turn of Panc, purveyors of colourful buns and vegan sausages and burgers. We opt for the Vegan Festive Dawg (£8) - grilled vegan sausage with honey glazed grilled onions, ketchup and mustard.
I might be delirious by this point in the day, but those onions are something else. While I do drop some down by Christmas Jumper, the ones remaining are perfectly seasoned and not in the slightest bit soggy - usually my biggest pet peeve with onions in baps. Talking of bags the bun here isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but pleasant on the tastebuds too.
Read next:
- The festive lights events you can book now across Greater Manchester and Cheshire
- All the confirmed Christmas events taking place in Manchester for 2022
- Why Manchester Christmas Lights Switch-on event is OFF for 2022
- UK's biggest outdoor and indoor heated Winter Festival returning to Manchester
- Places to go ice skating in Manchester for Christmas 2022
