An Otago-made sausage that tastes ‘‘just like’’ a McDonald’s cheeseburger has claimed top prize at a Southland town’s ultimate snag showdown.
The ‘‘beef cheeseburger sausage’’, conceived by the New World Alexandra butchery, was crowned New World’s best butcher-made sausage yesterday after being voted the winner by locals of the so-called sausage capital of New Zealand, Tuatapere.
That means the sausage will soon be on shelves at select New World supermarkets nationwide.
Butchery manager Thomas Ramage said being crowned the winner by Tuatapere locals was ‘‘an absolute privilege’’.
‘‘You can’t go wrong when you’ve got a town that’s obviously notorious for something, and then to say that you’re the winner of that competition, it’s overwhelming.’’
‘‘Kiwis love a sausage and Kiwis love a cheeseburger, so why not put the two together?’’
Described as a ‘‘nostalgic take on a Kiwi classic’’, the sausage comprised a select cut of beef, Rum and Que-branded sausage meal, both mozzarella and Colby cheeses along with pickles — capped off with further pickle juice to maintain the moisture and flavour.
It was ‘‘honestly, just like eating a Macca’s cheeseburger’’, he said.
‘‘Macca’s might be quite p..... off with me after today.’’
Alexandra locals first got a taste at a sausage sizzle outside their local New World, and gave it the thumbs-up.
Mr Ramage said he knew he and his team were on to something good once the sausage was announced as a finalist.
The secret to a good sausage was to ensure there was a good structure of flavour, ‘‘but nothing too overpowering’’.
That meant keeping a good crust around the skin and retaining the moisture.
‘‘You don’t want to bite into a dry sausage.
‘‘You want a bit of moisture in there too so you can experience the flavour.’’
The other four sausages in contention for the top title were New World Long Bay’s ‘‘beef, jalapeno and cheese’’, Remuera’s ‘‘chicken, Thai green coconut’’, Waipukurau’s ‘‘smoky beef maple’’ and Ferry Rd’s ‘‘brisket jalapeno and cheddar’’.
