Its team returned from the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition with four awards, including its Lamb Merguez entry being named champion in the ‘Continental Fresh’ category.
Fergbutcher was the only South Island winner of a category award at last week’s competition in Auckland, which attracted more than 800 entries.
The Bush Creek Rd store also received gongs for Peking Pork (gold), Lamb, Truffle and Parmesan (silver) and Irish Pork (bronze).
Head butcher Ryan O’Gara says working with executive chef Chris Bindon to create new sausages, or improving their existing range, is his favourite part of the job.
"We try to improve them throughout the year.
"You can tweak the recipes to make them better, and we get opinions from the staff and let people taste them."
Sausages have become increasingly gourmet over the past decade.
"I was brought up back home on a standard plain pork sausage
... But now people are really trying to push the boundaries with flavours."
The butchery’s won nine awards at the competition over the past three years, but it’s getting harder, O’Gara says.
"The flavours are getting better, the standard is definitely getting better, and there are more entries every year."
Its Lamb Merguez sausage is made from Southland lamb blended with harissa chili paste and preserved lemon, and is based on traditional North African recipes.
