There’s no doubt about it – Aussies love a good snag, and our Butchers and Poulterers have some on-point tips for making your own delicious varieties. It’s not as hard as you think and it also means that you can experiment with new flavour combinations. You’ll find plenty of delicious meats and other ingredients to use in your sausage at the Market and our Traders are more than happy to help guide you along the way.
Spanish-style sausages
Chorizo is a popular Iberian-style sausage, originating from the Iberian Peninsula in the regions of Spain and Portugal. Traditional Galician chorizo is made using lean pork, bacon, paprika and pepper, garlic, and salt.
“To make a Spanish-style sausage you would definitely use pork shoulder and back fat as the base of this snag. To replicate the chorizo flavour, add a mix of oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, nutmeg, and garlic for that spicy Spanish taste. A little heat in the flavour of the sausage is what you are aiming for,” said Simon from Ian’s Quality Meats.
Italian-style sausages
When you think of popular meat dishes in Italy, sausages aren’t the first thing to spring to mind. However, there are lots of great meats like mortadella, prosciutto, and salami that can be used as inspiration to create some delicious sausage flavours.
“For an Italian-style sausage you are looking at the base meat being either pork or beef. Adding spices such as dried basil, dried parsley, thyme, fennel, and of course garlic will give the snag a quintessential Italian flavour,” advised Ash from Gary’s Meats.
Cajun-style sausages
You may think of spiced chicken when you hear the word Cajun, however, it is a cuisine that works for a variety of different foods, including sausages. Cajun is a combination of French and Southern cuisines that was brought to the U.S almost 250 years ago.
Dean from J&L Quality Meats says, “The Cajun-style sausage is known as the Andouille and has a smoky, heavily-seasoned flavour and aroma. You can use a variety of meats as the base of this sausage, but pork, venison, and beef will work best. Add allspice, mustard, sweet paprika, and thyme to get that authentic Cajun flavour.”
Spicy Turkey sausages
Sausages are typically thought of as being made of beef, chicken, or pork. However, if you are looking for a slightly healthier alternative, turkey can be a great option. Turkey per ounce contains less fat and calories than red meat, so these snags can be easily incorporated into a healthy diet.
“The turkey sausage is not your typical go-to. However, this healthier meat can be made just as flavourful as the traditional pork and beef with the addition of some spices. If you want to try making these sausages at home, use turkey meat and add red pepper, garlic, cayenne, onion powder, and oregano to elevate this sausage to new spicy levels and save on calories,” said Arthur of Arthur’s Quality Poultry.
5 Top Tips for making your own snags at home
- Make sure all of your ingredients are really cold. Why? It can affect the cell structure of the sausage. You want the fat to be able to bind nicely and it will make sure you avoid producing a grainy sausage.
- Don’t force your meat into the grinder. Make sure your meat is diced fine so you can simply drop it in and let the grinder do its all-important job.
- It’s always best to mix your filling by hand and give it care and attention. This is also the best way to tell when your sausage mix is ready. Put a small bit on your hand, turn it over. If it sticks, it’s ready. If it drops, you need to keep going.
- When your sausage is ready to go into the casing, do not stuff it too tightly. This can cause the sausage to burst, ruining all of your hard work. Alternatively, if they are too loose, you’ll have too much slack. So don’t rush as it’s important to be careful here.
- Make sure to slow cook your snag on a medium heat as this will help to avoid it bursting. After all of this hard work, you want to enjoy your snags in perfect form.
Of course, you can always just take this inspiration and then buy expertly prepared sausages in a huge range of flavours in Bracher Arcade!
