When it comes to the perfect sausage, Chris O’Connor knows a thing or two.
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The Milton butcher will be judging the first amatuer sausage making competiton at the Milton Show this year.
Following the 2018 theme of Milk and Meat, Mr O’Connor is calling on all local sausage enthusiasts to start brainstorming the perfect recipe.
“I’ll be looking a nice texture and it’s got to have a good mix of fat – I’d say a good sausage is 85 per cent meat and 15 per cent fat,” Mr O’Connor said.
“It’s also got to have a nice flavour, something a bit unusual.”
When it comes to flavours, Mr O’Connor said it’s hard to beat a good pork and fennel sausage.
“It’s definitely the most popular flavour in here (Ted’s Butchery Milton) because it just goes naturally together and pork makes a nice, juicy sausage,” he said.
Mr O’Connor said old fashioned herbs such as rosemary and sage have made a comeback in recent years.
Judging for the amatuer sausage making comeptiton will take place on Thursday, March 1 at the Milton Showground ahead of the March 2 and 3 event.
When it comes to the making the sausages, Mr O’Connor said it’s all about getting the timing right.
“You have to prepare them a few days before and leave them hanging a day or two to let the flavours infuse and allow the skin to set,” he said.
“If you make them and cook them straight away and cook them, the skin will burst and the flavours won’t set.”
Since moving to Milton at the age of 15 from the Southerland Shire, Mr O’Connor’s seen a shift in attitude towards home grown produce.
He said he’s increasingly seeing people looking for the ‘paddock to plate’ experience.
“Years ago Milton used to be a bit daggy but now there’s a real food culture and we’re seeing more and more holiday makers who make it their second home and they expect a bit more,” he said.
“We seeing people come here and buy skins to make their own sausages and they’re growing their own herbs at home.”
Mr O’Connor will be hosting a demonstration at the Milton Show from 2pm on Saturday, March 3. He’ll be revealing how to prepare the perfect rolled brisket.
For more information on the amateur sausage making competition and how to enter, head to the Milton Show Society website.