It was a sizzle off at the 2014 Royal Queensland Food & Wine Show and the Australian Meat Industry Council's Sausage King Competition state final on Sunday as the judges ate the competitors, well their sausages really.
City slickers dominated the awards but country cousins made a strong showing so Queenslanders can be assured that they are never too far away from a good snag.
Now in it's 16th year, the Sausage King Competition is designed to unearth the best sausages in the state and then pit them against other state rivals to find Australia's best. The sausages are judges on their visual appearance when uncooked, technical composition, visual appearance when cooked and, of course, their flavour. The judges include palate judges, butchers, and media and Ed+bK was a judge in 2012. The national finals will be held in South Australia in February 2015.
The Standard Market Company at Gasworks, Newstead took out the titles of best pork sausage and best gourmet sausage in Queensland. If you'd like to try a venison and dark chocolate sausage, and I certainly would, this is the place to go.
Jack Purcell Meats, another Brisbane butcher, took the best poultry sausage title for their chicken, pumpkin, fetta and shallots snag.
The winners
- BEEF: Ashton’s Butchery, Pittsworth
- PORK: The Standard Market Company, Gasworks, Newstead
- LAMB: CQ Quality Meats, Biloela
- POULTRY: Jack Purcell Meats, Virginia
- CONTINENTAL: Master Butchers Whitsunday, Cannonvale
- GOURMET: The Standard Market Company, Gasworks, Newstead
How do you cook the perfect sausage? Here's an expert opinion from Errol.