Community
24 June, 2021
Meat the sausage kings
FOR Rod and Julie Leaver, owners of Edge Hill Butchery it’s all about consistency and quality. Since taking over the business five years ago they have worked tirelessly to build a strong reputation based upon the old-fashioned principles that butcher shops were built upon.
“We specialise in meat, sourcing the best and most consistent quality meat for our customers,” Mr Leaver said.
“It’s all about consistency of product every week. People want the best steak every time they visit.
“We stock the world-renowned Cape Grim beef and lamb. Farmed in the cleanest air in Australia.
“The cattle and sheep are grass fed in the far northwest corner
of Tasmania.
“Cape Grim Beef and Lamb are restaurant quality, along with Rangers Valley Beef, we offer undoubtedly the very best range of quality steaks in Cairns.”
In the tradition of butcher shops of old, Edge Hill Butcher also produce a comprehensive range of shop produced product. Their sausages and burgers are recognised as some of the best in the north.
In the recent Australian Meat Industry Council’s annual Tropical Region Sausage King, Best Butchers Burger and Smallgoods competition, Edge Hill Butchers cleaned up, winning four golds, four silvers and three bronze awards across 6 divisions.
“We are thrilled with the result. We know we have great meat, we buy in the best brands, but the burgers and sausages we make from scratch in-house to our recipe and these were the awards we received.
“Our Canadian Maple and Smokey Bacon Sausages won gold in the Gourmet Sausage Class.
“The Wagyu, Caramelised Onion and Cracked Pepper sausages also won silver in the class.
“Both of these sausages are very popular with our customers. They are packed with flavour and just the right texture and moistness. Perfect for the barbecue.”
Sausages are not all the Edge Hill Butchers exceled in. They scooped the pool in the Best Butchers Gourmet Burger winning with their Wagyu Beef and Bourbon Burger as well as silver and bronze.
If you’re wanting something a little less fancy, their Wagyu Burger and Dry Aged Burger took silver and bronze in the Best Beef Burger Award as well.
What makes a great sausage or burger? According to Rod it’s the blend of quality ingredients, the recipe as well as the subtle hint of seasoning and flavouring. All carefully blended and still with a coarseness that allows flavour to build as you cook it.
For both Rod and Julie the next awards to focus on are the state finals later this year in Brisbane and hopefully the national finals in Adelaide in February 2022, where they can showcase their specialities to the national judges.
The final ground-breaking question that needed to be addressed; do we prick our sausages when we cook them?
“Definitely not. We use a quality natural sausage skin that keeps the flavours and moistness in.
“If you prick the sausage, you lose that flavour and the sausage dries out in the cooking. And always cook on a medium heat slowly to avoid over cooking the outside and still underdone in the middle.”
Sounds like the Cairns’ Sausage Kings are the go-to guys in town when it comes to meat as well as cooking tips.
Tropical Region Sausage King, Best Butchers Burger and Smallgoods Awards:
Traditional Australian Pork Sausage – Gold
Poultry Sausage – Gold
Continental Sausage – Silver and Bronze
Gourmet Sausage – Gold and Silver
Best Butchers Beef Burger – Silver and Bronze
Best Butchers Gourmet Burger – Gold, Silver and Bronze
