Mango and chilli chicken sausage - NZ's best

DEAN KOZANIC/ The Press

WINNING BANGER: Chris Timbs' mango and chilli chicken sausage has been judged New Zealand's best.

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A customer's question led to Christchurch butcher Chris Timbs making New Zealand's best sausage.

Representing Peter Timbs Butchery and Delicatessen, at Edgeware Road, Timbs has won the supreme award in the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition with his mango and chilli chicken sausage.

Timbs, who has been a butcher for 15 years, said it was a last-minute decision to enter the chicken banger.

"I just did it randomly," he said. "A customer had said, `Why don't you make chicken sausages?' And I went along with it.

"I thought mango and chicken would be nice and tweaked the recipe over the last couple of months."

Timbs, who learnt his trade in father Peter's shop and in Germany, said the secret to a good sausage was in using quality ingredients.

"Gone are the days where you put rubbish in sausages. We use quality spices imported from Germany," he said. "We don't extend our sausages with meal, so they are also gluten-free. We source our meat from different places but get the best we possibly can."

Timbs' streaky bacon had already been voted best bacon for 2009, and he has his sights on other prizes.

"We'd love a salami competition. We make good salami."

- © Fairfax NZ News