May 27, 2015
Three of the South Burnett’s leading independent butchers are beefing up for a battle of bangers and burgers on May 31.
They’ll be compacting, mixing and pressing beef, pork, lamb and poultry in the Sunshine Coast/Burnett regional finals of the annual Sausage King and Best Butchers Burger competitions, which will be held at the Coolum Beach Bowls Club from 9:00am this Sunday.
Lowrie’s Meat House from Wooroolin, Nanango Meats, and Kilkivan Meats will be taking on butchers from as far afield as Hervey Bay and the Sunshine Coast, presenting their best sausage and burger creations to a team of judges who’ll meticulously inspect them, taste them and ultimately decide who makes the best sausages in the region.
The Sausage King Competition – run by the Australian Meat Industry Council – is now in its 15th year and the range of varieties up for assessment has been growing steadily.
This year six categories will be up for judging: Traditional Australian Beef; Traditional Australian Pork; Poultry; Australian Lamb/Open Class; Continental; and Gourmet/Open Class.
There’ll also be an array of burger patties, made from beef and/or pork, lamb and poultry, which will be judged separately in the parallel Butcher’s Choice Competition.
The experienced judging panel is made up of consumers and trade experts.
They’ll be scrutinising the uncooked and cooked appearance of the sausages and burgers, and taste-testing them for flavour and texture.
Points are also awarded for presentation and professionalism, and creative new recipes are always likely to grab extra judicial attention.
In all, seven Queensland regions are competing in regional heats that run around the State from February to July.
Regional winners then go on to compete in the State Finals, which will be held at the Food Pavilion in the RNA Showgrounds at Bowen Hills on August 16 to cap off this year’s Ekka.
These State Finals determine which independent butchers are truly entitled to wear the crowns for Best Sausages and Best Burgers in Queensland.
The State winners will go on to compete in the National Finals in Brisbane on February 7 next year for the ultimate accolade of being named Australian Sausage King and/or Australian Burger King.
Winners are chosen in each sausage and burger category, but any competitor can win more than one award if they choose to compete in multiple categories.
Last year Queensland successfully won three national titles and a second place at the National Sausage King Competition held in Adelaide.
This year, more than 1200 independent Queensland butchers have elected to take part.
