Two Welsh entrants have been names as runners-up in the prestigious UK and Ireland Champion of Champions competition to find the best sausage money can buy.
Judging was held in July in West Sussex by competition organisers Meat Trades Journal, with the top award going to Buttling Butchers of Dorset for their traditional pork and sage banger.
Among the elite group of runners-up were Ela and Huw Roberts, alias Oinc Oink from Llithfaen near Pwllheli, and the Hayward family’s Puff Pigs of Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley.
The independent panel of judges from the industry were looking for the best taste, texture, filling and appearance, and had high praise for Puff Pigs’s spicy chilli and garlic sausage, and Oinc Oink’s Welsh porc and vintage Cheddar offering.
Neither company is a stranger to competition success. Oinc Oink is a previous ‘Champion of Champions’, whereas Puff Pigs picked up the prize in the Welsh ‘Put Your Best Sausage Forward’ competition run at the Royal Welsh Show in 2019 by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).
Hybu Cig Cymru Brand Marketing Executive, Philippa Gill, said:
“We’re always delighted when our Porc Blasus producers get the recognition they deserve. Pigs in Wales are generally bred to very high standards in small herds, often specialising in rare breeds, but they pack a big flavour!”
Ela Roberts of Oinc Oink said:
“We were delighted to hear that we’d come so close to the top in this competition. The standard of our sausages is testament to the quality of the meat from our pure Welsh pigs.”
Wayne Hayward of Puff Pigs said:
“We hope this achievement will highlight the benefits of the traditional pig breeds and specifically, in our case, the British Saddleback. We are passionate about the survival of the rare-breeds and the traceability of our produce as a result of using pure-bred, pedigree stock. The taste and texture of outdoor-reared, slow-grown pork is unrivalled in our opinion and, we believe, gives us a huge advantage when producing sausages. As a small–scale producer, we know we’ll never be able to compete on cost alone so felt we had to produce the highest quality sausage and aim for the premium product market.”
