Secret ingredient to the perfect curry sausage

A little touch of a special ingredient and Andy Boulton's curry beef sausage went from just okay to a gold medal winner.

Andy is second-in-charge at the New World Ravenswood butchery department in Woodend, and was looking for the perfect curry sausage.

‘‘All I could find were okay, but they didn’t have what I was looking for in a curry beef sausage — so I made my own.’’

It came out almost right, but Andy and his colleagues felt it needed something extra to make it a true winner.

‘‘The team at the butchery suggested adding in the green tomato/jalapeno chutney we had our apprentices cook up for a recent contest, and that did it.

‘‘The sweetness of the chutney complemented the tartness of the curry, and it tasted divine,’’ says Andy.

The team were so happy with it they entered it into The Dunninghams Great New Zealand Sausage Competition, the premier event for New Zealand smallgoods producers.

Among 814 other small goods, their Curry Beef sausage scored a gold medal. It is the second time the team at the New World Ravenswood has won gold in three years.

The earlier win was in 2022, with a Lamb, Pumpkin and Feta creation.

‘‘Everyone was so happy. We all felt the chutney added just the right amount of sweetness and that lifted it above being just another curry beef sausage,’’ says butchery boss Sam Weller.

‘‘We had a fun night that was full of stress and excitement at the awards show in Auckland. We know many of our competitors now, and it was fun meeting them there, and seeing what creations they had come up with for the competition.’’

Harris Farms Ltd, of Cheviot, won bronze for its Italian shorts, and another bronze for its pork ‘n cheddar shorts.