Meats

The manufacture and sale of cooked meats was one of the most profitable parts of Sainsbury's business.

Products included York ham, Oxford brawn, roast beef, chicken and ham roll, nonpareil (a chicken and ham loaf), pork pies, boar's head, galantines, ox tongue and pressed pork. There were also sausages (including Beef Breakfast Sausage) and meat and fish pastes, including Bloater Paste, which was made in Sainsbury's 'kitchens' at Blackfriars to a recipe which began: 'Take 112lbs boned red herring…'. Demand for Sainsbury's 'ready-cooked' meats was at its highest during the summer picnic season.

Bacon was sold at a separate counter and was cut to different thicknesses using a Berkel slicing machine. Number seven, for frying was the most popular thickness. Shoppers in poorer areas, such as Kentish Town or Kilburn, tended to buy streaky bacon. In more prosperous areas such as Brondesbury or Muswell Hill, the demand was for expensive back bacon, which Sainsbury's imported from Canada.

Poultry was available both ready-trussed and untrussed, although in hot weather only a small number of birds were displayed on the counter. Any leftover birds were sold cheaply at the end of the day. When a customer had selected a bird, it was sent to the poultry room behind the shop to be prepared while she waited.

In season, the range of game was tremendous: wild duck, widgeon, capercailzie, pheasant, grouse, black cock, partridge, hares and rabbits. Some frozen game was available all year.

Apart from a single butcher's shop at 16 Kingsland High Street, Sainsbury's did not sell fresh meat other than pork and poultry. Around 1910, frozen New Zealand lamb was added to range, followed by fresh lamb, mutton and beef after the First World War. However, trade grew rapidly and by the 1930s Sainsbury's sold more meat than multiple butchers such as Dewhurst's.