Best of Sydney: where to find the best snags in the north
Australia Day is around the corner and snags will be on the menu for many of us. Here’s where to find the best ones in Sydney’s north.
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With Australia Day around the corner, we’re celebrating the humble snag.
The iconic Aussie sausage sanger is a simple dish but the key to making it really sizzle starts with a great butcher.
Whether you prefer a classic beef or a gourmet twist on Aussie classics – lamington and beef and VB are just some of the unusual flavours on the menu this year – Sydney’s north is home to some of the most delicious snags in the state.
We asked for our readers help to find the best in town and after counting your nominations and votes, the results are in.
Here are the best snags in the north as voted by you.
5. McFarland’s Gourmet Meats
14 Railway Ave, Wahroonga
McFarland’s has a proud history in the area, serving Wahroonga locals since 1928.
Summer is always busy for the shop, especially in the lead up to Australia Day and snags are on many customers’ shopping lists.
Manager Trevor Winfield said McFarland’s sells “heaps” of snags at this time of year.
“Warmer weather is definitely sausage weather,” he said.
McFarland’s offers a range of flavoured sausages such as fennel, chicken, spinach and pine nuts, but the most popular items are the classics.
“Traditional thick and thin beef sausages are by far our bestsellers,” Mr Winfield said.
The high quality ingredients make their snags some of the best in the state.
“All of our sausages are made on the premises, they’re all gluten free (and) we only use natural casings,” Mr Winfield said.
Grant, who nominated McFarland’s as the best snags in Sydney, is one of their many local fans.
“Always happy service,” he said.
4. Tender Gourmet Butchery, Warringah Mall
Shop 1525/145 Old Pittwater Rd, Brookvale
Tender Gourmet Butchery at Warringah Mall only opened a year ago, but the butchery has been busy from the get-go.
Owner Chris Guest said he was happy with the store’s first year.
“We’ve gotten busier and busier,” he said.
“There’s five Tender Gourmet Butchery shops, but we’re the only one that does cooked food as well.”
Offering the full Tender Gourmet product line, which boasts between 40–50 varieties of snags, Guest said their flexible sausage menu sets them apart from others.
“They are all handmade in shop every week, and we’re always changing up the recipes,” he said.
“We push to make new sausages for competitions and stuff like that.
“We probably make three or four different varieties every year, and if they win they make it onto our list.”
A favourite flavour combination among Tender Gourmet’s customers is the Persian lamb, pine nut and haloumi cheese sausage.
Offering up some sound advice about the best cooking method for snags, Mr Guest said he prefers to cook with the thick sausage range.
“You turn them regularly until they’re golden brown,” he said.
“By leaving it unpricked you allow all the flavour to cook in the sausage, and stay in it.”
Michael, one of many who nominated Tender Gourmet as the best in Sydney, said the shop offered “amazing quality”.
“They are always happy to suggest great new flavours and often have tasters being cooked,” he said.
3. Mt Kuring-gai Village Butchery
2/757 Pacific Hwy, Mount Kuring-Gai
Mt Kuring-gai Village Butchery has been a reliable snag store since 1993, when owner Graham Frankel bought the place and began the family venture with his wife Di.
Known for selling the freshest quality meat and lean, gluten-free snags, Mt Kuring-Gai Village Butchery doesn’t cut corners.
The shop’s 2IC, Mark Pearce, said “high quality ingredients and processes” were the key to a successful snag.
“We don’t compromise on them,” he said.
“We go through our processes slowly and soundly to provide quality across the board.”
Mr Pearce also said that the shop’s old-fashioned snags – made with natural skins – can be found “everywhere you go up and down this area on a weekend”, as the butchery provides snags to nearly all the sporting clubs in the area for their Saturday and Sunday barbies.
“We do a number of orders through the sporting clubs for their home games, and they always order our thick snags,” he said.
“We even par boil the sausages for them, which makes it easier.”
Mt Kuring-gai Village Butchery is gearing up for a busy Australia Day long weekend, and are likely to sell around 2500 thin and 2500 thick beef sausages.
“Our sausage trade is busy all year round,” Mr Pearce said.
We took the opportunity to ask the much-loved business about their top tips for cooking a great sausage.
“Slowly and without pricking them,” Mr Pearce said.
“Just roll them around, not too hot, and slow and steady.”
Lorraine voted Mt Kuring-gai Village Butchery as the best in Sydney and said the staff were “so friendly and happy”.
“Nothing is ever too much trouble,” she said.
2. Springbok Delights
656 Mowbray Rd W, Lane Cove North
The gluten-free gourmet sausages available at Springbok Delights go well beyond the standard flavours.
Everything from butter chicken to beef, pepper and merlot sausages can be found at the Lane Cove butchery.
“I make probably 10 different flavours a week,” manager Adam McConville said.
“It’s something different to what you would see in the average butcher shop.”
Mr McConville said as well as the more traditional flavours, the spiced lamb, chicken, rocket and fetta and duck and orange sausages were among their current top sellers.
Boerewors are also popular at Springbok Delights, which specialise in selling South African-style meat cuts.
“It’s a traditional lean beef sausage with spices like coriander and nutmeg,” Mr McConville said.
“You can cook it on the barbecue and put it on a nice hamburger.
“Once a month we do a tasting in store and people get to try it.”
Mr McConville said the most important tip to frying up sausages was to cook them slowly.
“Keep them at a low to moderate temperature. If you go too hot they are going to split and burst,” he said.
Along with their delicious snags, the butcher shop’s friendly atmosphere is also a big drawcard for customers.
Robert, who nominated Springbok Delights as the best in Sydney, said:
“Adam always has the best customer service and involves everyone for a laugh, and you walk out happy.”
1. Tender Gourmet Butchery, Hornsby
12 Florence St, Hornsby
If you’re searching for the ultimate Aussie snag to throw on the barbie this Australia Day, you have Buckley’s chance of finding a more true-blue banger than the lamington snag at Tender Gourmet Butchery in Hornsby.
The lamington sausage, complete with lamb, smooth chocolate and crunchy coconut, is one of three Australia Day specialty sausages available this long weekend at the Hornsby store.
The other unique holiday offerings include a beef, Vegemite and cheese snag, and a beef and VB snag.
Impressively, not one but two Tender Gourmet Butchery shops were chosen as the best snags in Sydney’s north.
Loyal customer Paula nominated the Hornsby store as the best and described their sausages as “delicious, juicy and imaginative”.
“I feel very welcome there,” she said.
“Plus you can order online, (with) home delivery!”
Not only has the Hornsby store served locals like Paula for 17 years, they’ve all but conquered the international sausage world as well.
Tender Gourmet Hornsby’s owner, Adam Stratton, brought his much-loved pork, truffle and provolone cheese sausage to the World Butcher’s Challenge in Belfast, taking out the top prize for World’s Best Pork Sausage.
With the barbecuing season well under way, we pressed Tender Gourmet Butchery’s head sausage maker Mike O’Rafferty for his secrets to cooking the perfect sausage.
“A low to medium heat, and just keep a good turn on the sausage,” he said.
“With the old fashioned banger you used to have to prick them, but with our sausages you don’t do that, because the fat content is so low.”