British Butcher Freed From Freezer with Sausage Battering Ram

Tubular meat: perfect for breakfast and escaping locked boxes.

By Ethan L. Johns
January 12, 2018

Image: Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty Images

What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a small freezer box with a limited air supply and a whole lot of meat? Thankfully, one crafty butcher in Southwest England who found himself in such a situation was able to bash his way out using nothing but a frozen log of black pudding—and one that was fit for the Queen, at that.

Chris McCabe became stuck in the walk-in freezer behind his butcher shop in Totnes, England, when the wind blew the door shut. After finding the emergency exit button to be frozen solid, he quickly realized that he likely had less than 30 minutes before he himself would become frozen solid.

Deciding that his lamb sausage was too big and that his beef sausage was too unwieldy, McCabe went the Goldilocks route and picked up his very last log of black pudding, which was just right. Plus, it came from HM Sheridan of Ballater, according to the Daily Mirror, which means that it’s approved for consumption by the Queen. Lucky thing, too, that there was some left; his shop goes through two or three of them each week.

Then, McCabe—taking a page out of an action film—used the tubular meat as a battering ram in order to hammer his way out of his walk-in freezer.

"I managed to get in a position to bash the button a few times until the ice broke and the door opened," he told the Mirror.

He credited the black pudding with saving his life, and believes that he would have undoubtedly died in the -4 degree-Fahrenheit temperatures if he had not been able to break his way out.

Sounds like his ingenuity warrants some celebration. Perhaps with a few nice slices of England’s favorite fried blood sausage?

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About Ethan L. Johns

Ethan is the Food News Writer at Genius Kitchen. An expert on the Parisian bistrot, he likes bitters and salted butters, and is no fan of dessert unless it's made with fruit. His hobbies include reading up on the history of borscht and attempting to roll perfect couscous by hand. Twits & Instagram @EthanLJohns