This week Conor Popetest Sausages

MS Irish Sausages, €3.59 for 400g, €8.97 per kg

Highs:These are tasty and extremely pleasant. They might not be as good as the best sausages we tried, but they were a whole lot cheaper. They are made with 85 per cent meat, putting them at the top of the meatiness table. There are a lot of subtle spicy flavours, including nutmeg and cayenne pepper, in this sausage. They're versatile - we fried, baked, barbecued and stewed them and they were good everytime. The ingredient list contained nothing more complicated than pork, egg, rusk, mustard and seasoning.

Lows:We ended up eating far too many of them, which can't be a good thing. They are made with natural pork casings and, while that is presumably better than a sausage made with unnatural pork casings, they were a little on the chewy side.

Verdict:Good and cheap but a bit chewy

Star rating: ****

Jane Russell's Original Irish Handmade Sausages, €3.50 for 220g, €15.90 per kg

Highs:While we are rightly sceptical about the claims some multi-national companies make about their products being made by hand to a traditional recipe, these sausages from a small company are undoubtedly the real deal. Made with 80 per cent good quality pork, they are full of flavour and have a wonderfully natural texture - unlike some of the gelatinous muck on our supermarket shelves. They are not tied together like traditional butcher's sausages, which made them easier to get into our frying pan using just one hand. They are also amongst the most widely available of the posh sausages we tried.

Lows:We can't fault their taste and texture but they may be out of reach of many budgets in these cash straitened times.

Verdict:Very good but pricey

Star rating: *****

Clonakilty Butcher Style Sausages, €2.95 for 400g, €7.37 per kg

Highs:Made by the people behind the more famous black and white pudding, these very thick and very pink sausages scored highly on price and would certainly be good for a barbecue - should the circumstances ever arise that we can actually have a barbecue in this benighted country. They tasted fine if a little on the dull side.

Lows:Compared with some of the competition, there was nothing really special about them at all. They are suspiciously pink and not nearly as meaty as some of the sausages we ate. The ingredient list included flavour enhancer and colourings. We found them a bit too salty, and it was unfortunate that we came across a piece of gristle in our very first bite, although to be fair it was the only such piece we happened upon.

Verdict:Their puddings are a lot better

Star rating: ***

Rosscarbery Recipes Traditional Irish Sausages, €2.59 for 300g, €8.63 per kg

Highs:These sausages were made not from any old pigs but free-range "west Cork pork". We liked them because they were old-fashioned in a hearty kind of way.

We also liked the price which, while not cheap, was a lot less than some of the more upmarket options available. They have a pleasant, slightly herby flavour and the absence of artificial colouring meant we could look kindly on their slightly grey pallor.

Lows: We were disappointed by the texture, which was not as meaty as we would have hoped. They are made with just 60 per cent beef - a lot better than most of the sausages on the market but not even close to some of their rivals in this test. Like their Clonakilty cousins, they lack the wow factor.

Verdict:Good and good value

Star rating: ***

Gubbeen Smokehouse Breakfast Sausages, €4.70 for 288g, €16.31 per kg

Highs:These might just be the nicest sausages Pricewatch has ever tasted, with little flecks of herb and a nice lemony tang. They are not at all greasy and while some very meaty sausages can be dry, these they are juicy and moist. They come in a nice wooden tray which identifies them as a very upmarket sausage. The presence of sea salt and cane sugar and cream further enhanced its status in our eyes.

Lows:They are horrendously expensive - you'd want deep pockets for them to be your everyday breakfast sausage. We found them in Fallon Byrne on Dublin's Wicklow St but we are not sure how widely available they are; nor do we know how much pork went into each sausage as we couldn't find any reference to it anywhere on the label.

Verdict:Top notch and top dollar

Star rating: *****