Butcher bags NZ's best sausage award for the fourth time

A beef, truffle and parmesan sausage has earned Westmere Butchery in Auckland its fourth prize for the country's best sausage.

“The grind of the meat and fat was beautiful, the fat ratio was spot on, and all the ingredients were nicely incorporated. It was a well-made sausage and filled with care,” judge and boutique butcher Hannah Miller Childs said.

Fellow judge chef Sam Anderson said it was the balance in the sausage that stood out.

"The truffle was the first thing to hit, blending seamlessly with the parmesan, while the beef flavour still came through."

Westmere Butchery has a history of sausage success. The business won the title last year with its pork and leek sausage, in 2019 for a chicken, leek and bacon and in 2018 for a beef and mushroom creation.

The butchery has also previously bagged three people's choice awards: in 2023 for wagyu beef and roasted bell pepper, in 2022 for wagyu beef, and in 2014 their peri peri chicken was the most popular.

There were 814 entries in this year's Great New Zealand Sausage Competition. The winner was crowned at an event in Auckland on Tuesday night.

Judging took place in two stages - the first round was carried out across six days with 52 judges. The judging panel, consisting of butchers, food writers and chefs, assessed entries on technical composition, aroma, appearance, texture and taste.

In the second stage, the top-scoring category champions were re-judged to find the supreme winner.

To pick the people's choice prize, a lunchtime sausage sizzle served up the judges six highest-scoring sausages for an anonymous taste test. Pokeno Bacon claimed victory with its chicken con queso sausage.