The competition to discover Britain’s Greatest Bangers, as part of British Sausage Week (4th-10th November), just stepped up a notch with the revelation of the multiple retail sector finalists.
Five supermarket sausages are in the running of being crowned the nation’s best, after two intense rounds of judging. The final five will be awarded at a prestigious presentation ceremony in London on Friday 1st November, with celebrity ambassador Simon Rimmer.
More than 300 individual pork sausages were entered into the competition by retailers, manufacturers and butchers across the country; ranging from traditional pork favourites to new pork sausage discoveries. This not only demonstrated the fantastic range of quality pork sausages in stores, but also the exciting new tastes, flavours and unique varieties being introduced to the market.
In the multiple retailer/branded manufacturer category, the top performers selected to go forward to the grand final are:
• Waitrose ‘6 Pork Sausages with Caramelised Red Onion Confit’• Waitrose ‘12 Pork & Herb Chipolatas Seasoned with Rosemary & Thyme’ • Marks & Spencer ‘The Grill Posh Dogs’• Asda ‘Butchers Selection Cocktail Cocktails’• Tesco ‘Finest 6 Pork Cheddar & Onion Sausages’
BPEX butchery and product development manager, Keith Fisher, said: “The competition this year has been incredibly tough to judge, with more than 170 companies submitting entries. We certainly weren’t disappointed by the sheer range of varieties and flavour combinations and the quality on display.
“Sausages continue to be one of the biggest selling meat products – they outsell burgers and grills by two to one – yet the sector is never complacent and keeps pushing the boundaries.
“We are delighted to have these fantastic five, as well as the many gold award-winning butcher entries, on show in our very own pop-up sausage shop at Old Spitalfields Market on 1 November, after which the Champion will be revealed.”
Regional finalists in the independent butcher category will be visited as part of the British Sausage Week Tour, with Simon Rimmer, from Monday 4th November.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.