Saveloy

A saveloy is a type of vividly red sausage served in southern English fish and chip shops, also available in parts of Australia where it is commonly deep fried in batter as a "battered sav" or unbattered as a "kabana" and in New Zealand, where it is also known colloquially as a sav. It is made of pork and is highly seasoned. The name supposedly comes from the French word cervelas, a pork sausage, sometimes made from pigs' brains. Its taste is similar to frankfurters or red pudding. It is mostly eaten with chips, but occasionally also in a sandwich accompanied with pease pudding or stuffing, sometimes known as a saveloy dip.

A similar item, available in the United States, is called a Red Hot.

Saveloy references in popular culture

• In the novel The Portable Door by Tom Holt, Paul meets his sinister boss Mr. Tanner at the supermarket. Mr. Tanner sadly says he is having saveloys for dinner, and he enviously regards the deep-dish pizza Paul is purchasing.

• In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul is given a piece of saveloy by a friend. He remarks, "With it goes hot tea and rum."

• There is a reference to saveloys in the musical Oliver! by Lionel Bart. In the song "Food, Glorious Food" workhouse boys sing rapturously of "pease pudding and saveloys".

• It is referred to in the film Withnail and I, which is partly set in London. "I" offers his saveloy to Danny whilst getting ready to visit Uncle Monty.

• It is referred to in James Herriot's All things Wise and Wonderful.

• In modern times, it has been popularised in the phrase 'Oi oi saveloy', used in English drinking culture.

• In Australia, the phrase "fair suck of the sav" was used in the past as an interjection when somebody was taking more than their fair share.

• The saveloy is traditional New Zealand fare at after-match rugby club functions. One inch (2.54 cm) pieces of saveloy and a much smallller variety of saveloy colloquially known as "schoolboys" are eaten with tomato sauce, washed down with beer.

• In the episode of Hancock's Half Hour entitled "Fred's Pie Stall" (broadcast 10 November 1959) Sid James is buying a pie and says to Fred, the pie stall owner, "Lift up the crust and whop in a saveloy".

• In the animated show Rex the Runt, a popular singer is a sausage known as Johnny Saveloy.

• Several references appear in Dickens' David Copperfield.

• There is a reference to saveloy in Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys: "He stopped at the chippie and bought a large bag of chips and a battered saveloy for his lunch."

• In the Paramount film "The Bank Dick" Egbert Sousé (W. C. Fields) exacerbates J. Pinkerton Snoopington's (Franklin Pangborn's) nausea with this remark: "Gonna have the missus bake you a nice coconut custard pie with saveloy pudding."