Are sausage sizzles popular outside Australia & New Zealand?

[Martini_Enfield]

@Melbourne

… The serviette /napkin is so that nobody, including the customer, touches the food. So that, when the council comes round to check your operation, they don’t close you down for improper food handling technique.

I thought the serviette was for wiping BBQ/Tomato/Mustard sauce off your face when you’d finished going “Om nom nom nom”?

[araminty]

I thought of this thread when I was in the supermarket today, I bought four sausages (labeled “British style bangers”) for $5. Which is a good price around here. Twice as much as I’d expect to pay in Australia.

[Inner_Stickler]

@Acsenray

In the United States there is usually a hot dog stand operating outside the Hope Depot on warm, sunny, crowded days. So there is definitely an association between hardware shopping and sausages. But these hot dog stands are not run for charity.

However, every once in a while you see such fundraisers set up in front of grocery stores or supermarkets. Usually they have just hot dogs and hamburgers with potato chips (I.e., crisps, not French fries) and only ketchup and mustard for condiments.
And I believe the food that is served is donated by the supermarket itself.

Yep.

I also think of it as being a small town activity. When I was growing up in a small podunk town, during the summer, you’d often see a sports team or extracurricular club hawking dogs and beef to the store patrons. I don’t know that I’ve seen it since I moved to the Twin Cities but I don’t know if that’s just because they’ve fallen out of favor or what.

[Krav_Manga]

Hanging around in the carpark having a fry-up Just Isn’t Done here for a variety of reasons, including the fact Australia is notoriously inflammable - despite our love of a good barbeque, there’s a lot of regulations around where you can have them. Also, the action is inside the grounds - even if you’re not watching the game, there’s still plenty of people to talk to and so on in there. The carpark is where you put your car, not hang around having a yarn with your mates.
Additionally, it’d be more trouble than it’s worth, when for less than a fiver, you can have a cooked sausage, bread, onions and a can of soft drink - with the money going to help the club out.

This wasn’t always the case. Back when rugby was still played at Ballymore there would often be carpark picnics etc before test matches and big reds games. I suspect these parties developed as an homage to the Twickenham carpark picnics.

[bengangmo]

@Sangahyando

I’m in the UK – never heard of a “sausage sizzle” before this thread ! “Snag” in this connection, is also a new one on me: clearly, from the context it must be Aussie-speak for a sausage, or a particular kind of sausage.

I’ve come across the word “snorkers” as an Australianism for sausages; but this was in a World War II-era work of fiction. Wonder whether it’s still part of the Australian vernacular nowadays?

Well for sausages you also have sangers and snarlers.

I do remember once manning the local pubs sauasage sizzle for a rather famous road race (takahe to akaroa) - cooked something like 600 or 700 sausages that day,

By the end of the day the smell of sausages pretty much made me wanna puke

[si_blakely]

Just a few thoughts to add:

Martini Enfield: Bunnings is now ubiquitous in NZ, and almost all Bunnings will have a Sausage Sizzle running over the weekend - the gazebo, tables and BBQ are provided (and branded) by Bunnings, the food and labour provided by the community group raising funds. This being south Auckland, our servers are generally not like those pretty aussie sheilas.

Tailgating: not a thing in NZ - stadium parking is limited, often in parking buildings, and most people don’t drive US style utility vehicles big enough for a BBQ.
However, over 20 years ago I knew a guy who did promotions at the Waikato rugby Stadium in Hamilton. He introduced “tailgating” for corporate boxes and the like.
The “tailgate” was the back end of a classic kiwi car - Mark II Zephyr, Holden Kingswood, or something of a similar vintage. The BBQ and icebox were built into the boot (trunk), and the corporate guests could run their event prior to the game. Pretty popular, too, but I don’t know if they still do it.

[Banquet_Bear]

@si_blakely

Tailgating: not a thing in NZ - stadium parking is limited, often in parking buildings, and most people don’t drive US style utility vehicles big enough for a BBQ.
However, over 20 years ago I knew a guy who did promotions at the Waikato rugby Stadium in Hamilton. He introduced “tailgating” for corporate boxes and the like.
The “tailgate” was the back end of a classic kiwi car - Mark II Zephyr, Holden Kingswood, or something of a similar vintage. The BBQ and icebox were built into the boot (trunk), and the corporate guests could run their event prior to the game. Pretty popular, too, but I don’t know if they still do it.

…thats a blast from the past. They called them “Boot Parties.” The name of the company I think was “Corporate Hospitality”, and they got the contract to run the catering at the Americas Cup Village back in 1999-2000, where they did a version called the “Boat Party.” I think the company went into receivership shortly after that, but don’t quote me on that.

But Boot Parties are still happening, looks like another company took up the mantle, see here (scroll down.).

http://www.experiencehospitality.co.nz/experience.php?ln=ALL-BLACKS-v-Australia--Auckland_link00300008661260815163700799300000000

[Banquet_Bear]

@Martini_Enfield

I thought the serviette was for wiping BBQ/Tomato/Mustard sauce off your face when you’d finished going “Om nom nom nom”?

…that of course is the secondary function of the serviette, but Melbourne is correct that the napkin goes under the bread (to Richard Pearse’s annoyance) to minimize handling of the food product as much as possible.

[Martini_Enfield]

@si_blakely

Just a few thoughts to add:

Martini Enfield: Bunnings is now ubiquitous in NZ, and almost all Bunnings will have a Sausage Sizzle running over the weekend - the gazebo, tables and BBQ are provided (and branded) by Bunnings, the food and labour provided by the community group raising funds. This being south Auckland, our servers are generally not like those pretty aussie sheilas.

Good to know - last time I was back, I was in Christchurch, but didn’t see any - just a large Placemakers. To be fair, hardware shopping wasn’t really on my itinerary, though.

[araminty]

I thought about this thread again when I stumbled across this Venezuelan stand-up comic’s bit about, you guessed it, sausage sizzles. The Aussie audience is loving it Ivan Aristeguieta - 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala - YouTube

[Acsenray]

That’s a great bit. I’ll have to look that guy up.

[Acsenray]

That guy, Ivan Aresteguieta, teamed up with an Australian comedian for a YouTube series called “Sauce and Salsa” about food.

Episode 3 was about a typical Australian post-drinking binge dish called “The AB,” which is gyro meat served on a bed of potato fries (chips) and doused in garlic sauce. But I can’t find any reference to this dish anywhere else —

Sauce & Salsa - Episode 3 "The AB" - YouTube

[Martini_Enfield]

@Acsenray

That guy, Ivan Aresteguieta, teamed up with an Australian comedian for a YouTube series called “Sauce and Salsa” about food.

Episode 3 was about a typical Australian post-drinking binge dish called “The AB,” which is gyro meat served on a bed of potato fries (chips) and doused in garlic sauce. But I can’t find any reference to this dish anywhere else —

http://youtu.be/RhIWpeDfphg

I’ve seen it offered at kebab places (not with that name) but I think it might be a thing from further south - a proper kebab is considered the proper post drink-binge food up here.

[don_t_ask]

The AB. It’s strictly an Adelaide thing. The AB kebab…

[Acsenray]

And no one knows how it got its name?