NSW is well represented in this year’s Sausage King competition, with five of our independent butchers sharpening their cleavers in preparation for the chance to be crowned Australian sausage royalty.
On the February 18, 31 of the country’s most talented meat-masters will travel down to Hobart for the final showdown, after blitzing their way through regional and state competitions.
Among the finalists is veteran competitor Robert Constable, of Robert Meats in Singleton, with his gourmet sweet curry and sultana sausage.
Robert, has been entering the Sausage King competition since he opened his shop in 2003, and he’s made it through the regional part of the competition every single year.
“Sausages have come a long way in the last few years and the biggest selling point of sausages, these days, is nutrition,” he said.
“Now adults want to buy gourmet sausages, they want sweet curry and sultana or caramelised onion sausages.”
Gone are the days of blithely ignoring the ingredients in a sausage; these days it’s all about the freshest and best meat, getting the sausage mix just right, and coming up with unique flavour profiles.
Being crowned the Sausage King of Australia is the highest honour a butcher can receive, and the competition is fierce, with over 900 entries in NSW alone.
For competition newcomer Martin Timms of Martin Timms’ Farmgate Fresh Cut Meat in Bathurst, making it through to the final round of the traditional Australian pork category was the ultimate validation of his products.
“We have only been here for a year-and-a-half, so it’s good to know that we are doing the right things,” he said.
“It will be all the best butchers in Australia, so it will be good to compete with them and see where we are at against the best.”
Judging the six main categories is both an honour and a challenge, and a job that judge Steve Fleming takes very seriously.
“For some butchers, winning any category can mean demand goes up and they have to take on a couple of extra staff for the next year,” he said.
“Butchers take the competition very seriously and if they win, they become champions in their own field.”
The other three NSW finalists have all won Sausage King titles in their category in previous years – Jake Forbes of Kariong Quality Meats, Garry Leeson of Ocean Shores Quality Meats and Gregory Patrick of Euromaster Smallgoods in St Peters.
The six categories that will be judged in Hobart are Traditional Australian, Traditional Australian Pork, Poultry, Australian Lamb/Open Class, Continental and Gourmet/Open Class.
