- +1 (718) 784-1078
- helpbutchersblock@outlook.com
- 43-46 41st St Sunnyside, NY 11104
Noel Gaynor, owner and head butcher at The Butcher Block, has been rolling and tying sausages by hand since the shop opened in 1995. Some mornings that means hundreds of them, all done before the case even opens for the day.
In January 2020, longtime Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema, who spent more than three decades covering New York dining, wrote up a sandwich built almost entirely around those same sausages, a stacked take on a full Irish breakfast piled onto a kaiser roll. He called the result “loamy and delicious, with a porky and herbal aftertaste.”
Two kinds of Irish sausage sit side by side in the case. Donnelly’s bangers come imported straight from Ireland, the same brand a lot of customers grew up eating at home. The other line, BB Sausages, is Noel’s own, rolled and tied by hand from locally sourced meat, using a recipe he has kept the same since the doors first opened. Both come with a sell by date and a weight printed right on the tray, packed the same morning they go out.
Sietsema’s write up centered on the Irish breakfast sandwich, which stacks Irish Rashers (or bacon), black pudding, white pudding, and one of Noel’s sausages onto a kaiser roll alongside a pair of fried eggs, skipping only the tomato from a traditional plate. He noted the sandwich carries so much sausage that pieces can work their way out the side while you eat it, a fair warning rather than a complaint. It remains one of the more direct ways to taste the full range of what sits in the case, all in a single sandwich rather than spread across a plate.
The shop sits at 43-46 41st Street in Sunnyside, a short walk from the 7 train at either 40th Street and Lowery Street or 46th Street and Bliss Street. Doors open daily at 8am and close at 7pm, and Noel is usually behind the counter himself, restocking the case before the first customer walks in.
The sausages earn their place at a full Irish or English breakfast just as easily as they do straight off the grill at a backyard barbecue, the same recipe taking on a deeper char and a smokier edge either way.
Order ahead for delivery through DoorDash, or grab a tray straight from the case if you are walking in. Both the imported and the house made sausages are packed and weighed before the doors open, so there is nothing to wait on.
What is in the Irish breakfast sandwich Eater wrote about?
The sandwich stacks Irish bacon, black pudding, white pudding, and one of Noel’s sausages onto a kaiser roll with two fried eggs, built to carry the full range of a traditional Irish breakfast in one hand.
Does Noel really make the sausages himself?
Yes. The BB Sausages line is rolled and tied by hand by Noel and the team most mornings, using locally sourced meat and the same recipe kept since the shop opened in 1995.
What is the difference between Irish bangers and regular sausages?
Irish bangers use a higher ratio of bread or rusk to meat than a typical American sausage, giving them a softer bite and a milder seasoning built for a fry up rather than a standalone meal.
Are the Irish sausages imported or made locally?
Both. Donnelly’s bangers are imported directly from Ireland, and BB Sausages are made fresh in house using locally sourced meat.
Can I order Irish sausages for delivery?
Yes, through DoorDash, The Butcher Block’s only online ordering channel at the moment.
How should I cook them?
A gentle pan fry or a spot on the grill works well. Higher heat can split the casing before the center cooks through.
By the afternoon, Noel is usually already tying the next day’s batch, so the case never runs empty for long.
