It’s the great Aussie tradition of polling day: the democracy sausage. Served hot from the grill, with loads of onion and sauce, inelegantly slapped onto soft white bread and bundled into a paper napkin.

According to traditions that began as far back as compulsory Australian voting in 1924, food stalls are the reward for braving long lines on a Saturday, with money going to the community venue hosting the voting.

The term “democracy sausage” was officially coined in 2010, appearing alongside interactive maps locating polling day barbecues, and was voted Word of the Year by the Australian National Dictionary Centre in 2016. But the tradition came into its own long before that, with the rise of the 1980s portable gas barbecue.

What’s the best sausage for the job?

“For the democracy sausage, we’re talking a standard fat beef snag,” says butcher Adam Stratton, the World Butcher Challenge sausage champion and owner of Tender Gourmet Butchery. He’s served Aussie sausages to prime ministers and US presidents, and beaten the Germans at their own sausage game in world competitions.

Natural casings are his choice, which dictates the sausage is a classic, fat snag, identifiable by a not-quite-uniform shape and a tied-off end. “Collagen casings start to peel off when they’re cooking,” says Stratton.

Fat ratios in the filling mix are also key for texture, mouthfeel and flavour or “it’ll be dry as anything”, says Stratton. “We find that starting at 80 per cent lean and 20 per cent fat is ideal.”

‘For the democracy sausage, we’re talking a standard fat beef snag.’

Adam Stratton, butcher

Butcher of 20 years Alison Meagher agrees. Natural casings are her go-to, with a preferred filling mix of 70 per cent lean to 30 per cent fat.

“I like to put it on the 5ml grinding plate. It’s a bit chunkier,” says the advocate for women in butchery, adding that chilling both the water used for processing and the grinder is her trick to keeping the mince cool and avoiding the pasty texture that comes from over-processing and warm, emulsified fat.

While ratios of seasoning and additional flavours are personal – trade secrets, even – Stratton says classic beef seasonings (including paprika and onion powder) should be just a hint, not an overwhelming feature.

Tips and tricks for cooking the perfect sausage

Both butchers recommend slowing down on the cooking temperature. A hot grill causes splitting, burning and raw centres, and easing sausages into the heat is best.

Stratton says par-boiling before barbecuing is the way to go, to retain moisture and make catering for large groups more efficient. Bring the sausages to a simmer in a large pot of water for about 8 to 10 minutes until they begin to firm.

Allow them to cool and, when you’re ready, roll them on the hot (but not scorching) grill to get some colour, or butterfly them for more browning surface. “It halves the cooking time and you won’t be losing moisture.”

When cooking from raw, Meagher recommends starting with your sausages in a cold pan or on a cold barbecue. “You don’t want them to burst, so bring them up to a medium temperature slowly.”

The result will be a lovely browned-outside and juicy interior, without any splits.

To prick or not to prick?

Both butchers are adamant that you should never prick a good sausage. When butchers work hard to create the perfect flavour and texture balance, pricking will undo it all, with the flavour and moisture just draining away.

How to DIY classic democracy sausages with jammy onion

The trick to stopping the skin splitting and cutting down on time is working ahead, par-boiling the sausages and cooking the onions ahead of time.

Ingredients:

• 6 thick all-beef sausages
• 6 slices of soft, fresh, white bread, buttered
• 3 large brown onions, cut into thin half rings
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp barbecue sauce, plus tomato and barbecue sauce to serve

Method:

1. First par-boil your sausages ahead: Place your sausages into a deep pot of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until firm. Drain, cool and set aside.
2. Cook your jammy onions ahead: Heat your barbecue or pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil and toss in your sliced onions. Cook the onions for 30 minutes, tossing every so often to make sure they don’t stick or burn. Time is key here; you can’t rush them or they won’t caramelise. In the last 5 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce and stir through to cook. Once the onions are done, set aside until needed.
3. When you’re ready, bring your barbecue plate to medium, toss your onions back on the barbecue plate to warm, and add your sausages to brown for a couple of minutes on the same hotplate.
4. Serve browned sausages on a slice of buttered white bread, with a good spoonful of jammy onions and a drizzle of preferred sauce.