I've just come back from a motorhome holiday in France. One of the problems with the van was that it only had a hob, no oven or grill, which restricted what we could cook. One day, while we were shopping, we found some sausages, they were big and quite pale, I can't remember their name, but they felt really solid and looked nice, so we bought some.
That evening I started cooking them in the frying pan, the smell was a bit whiffy, but nothing too bad, so when they were done, we popped them on the plate with some salad.
One bite was enough, UGH. I don't know what was in them but they were disgusting, rubbery, chewy bits in with the sausage meat. They really were dreadful.
They were in date so it wasn't as though they were off or anything like that. It wasn't the only thing we had that we found pretty awful, either, but they were the worst.
Does anyone have any idea what they were?

BTW, I'm not having a go at the French or their food, most of which was lovely and the people we met were great, and I'm sure they'd say the same thing about our Scotch Eggs etc

I think you ate andouillete - or the sausages from hell. If you look up the ingredients on google you will see why I avoid them like the plague!

Definitely an acquired taste.

Oh, I see what you mean Sally. I don't think I'd like them either!

I have memories of the most delicious sausages I ate in France when I went on a French exchange back in the early 80s - Merguez. Of course, now that I'm (much) older and (a little bit) wiser, I know that they're actually North African.

Yes you're right, I think that's them

Except you're also wrong. We didn't eat them, one mouthful was enough and that ended up back on the plate and then in the bin outside.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/t...lette-sausages

Scroll down and you'll understand why it "whiffs"

"Chitterlings". Such a nice word to describe a pig's colon!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andouillette

True andouillette is rarely seen outside France and has a strong, distinctive odour related to its intestinal origins and components. Although sometimes repellant to the uninitiated, this aspect of andouillette is prized by its devotees.

Nope, can't say I'm sold on the idea. Bismark was perhaps very right about this sausage. Still, if it's a repellant, perhaps stockpile it at the Calais end of the chunnel?

An addendum to this thread.

A very long time ago, when my children were little we went to stay at a friend's house in France whilst they were away. I went shopping and bought sausages. My children were big eaters in those days and I bought the usual number - 3 for each of them and husband and 2 for me.
At the end of the meal, everybody had eaten just one each of their sausages! What I had not realised was that then, in the 70's, British sausages were rubbish and full of sawdust (well, I am exaggerating but not by much) whereas their sausages were full of meat - so a heck of a lot more filling.

I am so glad that we have more or less caught up with the French - my butcher (and Waitrose) do the most absolutely gorgeous, meat rich sausages now.
But I will never, ever, eat Andouillete!!

I agree - we've moved on a long way from the "banger".

When our now adult "kids" were younger we often went static caravan "camping" in France. On our first trip, not knowing what to expect, my wife served up Campbell's meat balls and Smash - both of which we'd never eat at home.
My son started crying and when we asked him what was wrong he said the thought French food was horrible.
We set off to the hypermarket next morning.

I can't say I'm partial to a French sausage myself - their coqs are far more satisfying.

Very fussy diners, the French; I remember when my French penpal, Didier, came to stay he was very particular about pickle and condiments. He wanted very elaborate chutney for example, but in the end he was more than happy when I palmed him off with relish.

Clearly I'm the only one here partial to andouillette
When travelling in France years ago, I regularly used to stop at a particular motorway service station where andouillette was sometimes the day's special. They served it with a mustardy sauce and I would always have it with mashed potato. Twas lovely.

I love the Creole andouille sausages. I guess the difference lies in the chitterlings? I'd have thought though if any nation were to use chitterlings it would be Deep South of the US

I hope you introduced him to a pickled egg and a pint of Brains in your local.
Better still, cockles in vinegar

A friend spoke of these and said they were delicious! I'm very glad I never took her advice and tried them.

Andouillettes - the only food we as a family have ever thrown away after a mouthful.
The kitchen smelt like a festival latrine after everyone had been on the curry.
But most french sausages are much nicer.

Chitterlings used to be a bit of a local delicacy around here in Notts and Derby. Not that I've ever fancied trying it and I'm not sure if I've even seen it for a few years. Might still be available in the Victoria Market food hall.

Not sausages but I remember once on a caravan holiday in France we bought a chicken from the local hypermarket.

Cooked it and sat down to eat and it tasted really strange and very fishy. It wasn't at all pleasant.

Then someone looked at the label and translated a bit that had previously been missed - turned out the chicken had been fed on fish meal. You can bet we never made that mistake again and always scrutinised the labels before buying.

He did enjoy the local delicacies. He was a bit of a gourmet and decided to cook me a traditional French feast. He even printed a menu for me to peruse, nothing much appealed but I did spot something tempting between the frogs legs.

I wouldn't have thought the French were known for their sausages......

Germany and Poland is sausage-land !

I sure hope you're talking about chicken, but maybe it depends what you do with them

We have lived in France for eleven years and still have yet to summon the courage to eat andouillettes! Normally we buy either chipolatas or Toulouse sausages, both are at least 90% pork with a much chunkier texture than their English counterparts. The French tend to cook sausages by boiling rather than frying and cannot get to grips with the concept of fried sausages - they do however, barbecue them which is not all that far removed from frying!

Andouilletes are chitterling or tripe sausages.best avoided.

Stick to chipolatas or merguez. Higher meat content than many uk sausages. Merguez are spicy alternatives for a change.