GREAT RESULT: Nathan Alcock and his apprentices at Mountain Side Meats at Shoalhaven Heads Shaun Hill and Brady Monteith have tasted success at the National Sausage King Competition with a second placing.
MOUNTAIN Side Meats at Shoalhaven Heads gained a second place at the National Sausage King Competition in Perth last weekend.
Owner Nathan Alcock was delighted with the placing, saying it was a great achievement for his team.
The locals placed second in the traditional Australian pork sausage, just points off the eventual winner Peter Johnston of Johnston Gourmet Meats in Smithton, Tasmania.
“I’m very proud of our second placing. It’s just our first year in the shop and to be second in Australia is pretty amazing,” Mr Alcock said.
“People have tried to get as far as that in some cases up to 20 years in their shops and we’ve done it in our first year.
“It was pretty stiff competition and sometimes it does come down to luck; you are relying on people’s tastes.
“Hopefully, we can come back next year and go one better.”
Entrants were judged on a range of criteria including appearance, aroma, texture and flavour.
“We were really happy with our sausage and it is a credit to our team at the Heads, apprentices Shaun Hill and Brady Monteith and our casual staff member Nick Martin,” he said.
“We have spent a lot of time in the last 12 months trying different recipes and we are very happy with the 15 sausages we have on sale at the shop.”
There will also be a couple of new varieties coming on line in the next couple of weeks.
“I spoke to a number of fellow entrants while I was in Perth and discovered that a couple do things differently so I have come back with some different ideas and methods,” he said.
The national competition is the culmination of a year’s worth of competitions throughout Australia, with the contest attracting around 500 entrants.
The local team qualified for the national finals after taking out a gold medal at the NSW titles last year.