A sausage sizzle is a community event in Australia and New Zealand
Sausage sizzles are generally held either as free community events or as fundraisers for charities, schools, sports clubs and other organisations. As such, ingredients and equipment are cheaply purchased or donated by suppliers. Fundraising sausage sizzles have become particularly associated with elections in Australia and the hardware chain Bunnings.
Format
Most commonly, the main sale item at a sausage sizzle is a
pork or
beef sausage (often colloquially referred to as a "snag"), cooked on a
Barbecue grill and served on a single slice of white
sandwich bread,
or a hot dog roll in Western Australia.
is the most common accompaniment, and is usually available for no extra cost, although other condiments such as
barbecue sauce and
American mustard are regularly available. Grilled onions are often available, for free or at extra cost.
Some sausage sizzles also offer the option of a white bread roll as an alternative to sliced bread. Vegetarian or gluten free options are infrequently available, but they are often sold at events with more extensive menus, including hamburgers or complete meals. Cans of soft drink or bottled water may also be available for purchase, especially to maximise fundraising.
Prevalence
Australian elections
at the 2017 Queensland state election]]Sausage sizzles have become a recognised and expected addition to polling booths at Australian elections, with sausages at these stations nicknamed 'Democracy Sausages'.
There was widespread media coverage of this in the 2013 and 2016 Australian federal elections, with the hashtag "#democracysausage" trending on
Twitter.
Twitter also added a sausage-in-bread
emoji to the '#ausvotes'
hashtag on the day of the 2016 election; it was the most widely used emoji in relation to the election under that hashtag.
During the 2016 election, the leader of the Australian Labor Party,
Bill Shorten, came under scrutiny for the way in which he consumed his sausage in bread.
Bunnings Warehouse
Australian hardware chain Bunnings offers barbecue facilities at all of its stores for hire to community groups. Sausage sizzles at these locations usually occur on weekends and have become associated with the Bunnings brand.
In 2016, when Bunnings expanded to the
United Kingdom, it brought the sausage sizzle there as well, resulting in considerable media coverage.
See also
