Sausage wins gold award
It seems the Porirua basin is a carnivore’s paradise – a month after a Tawa ham was named best in the country, an Elsdon-made sausage has won gold in a national competition.
Preston’s Master Butchers’ Turingia Bratwurst, a parsley and marjoram-flavoured pork sausage, came out top in the BBQ/ precooked category in the awards this month.
‘‘It was a great thrill,’’ general manager Andrew Preston says.
The sausages are made in Preston’s Elsdon plant and are sold at its three outlets, in Porirua, Wellington city and Palmerston North. Preston’s is a family company which set up shop in Wellington in 1904. Mr Preston is a fourthgeneration family member in the business.
The Devro New Zealand Sausage Competition is the top industry awards for bangers, and a win is a great boost for small butcheries like Preston’s, Mr Preston says.
Entrants are mysteryshopped by competition judges, to ensure the quality is as high in store as on the competition table, he says.
The Turingia Bratwurst was the brainchild of a German master butcher who worked for Preston’s a few years ago, Mr Preston says. ‘‘It’s not just your run-of-the-mill sausage. It’s got all the traditional techniques. It’s got a really nice flavour to it, a good bite to it, and it’s gluten-free.’’
The sausages won silver last year.