Butcher Sets New Sausage World Record at Taste of Grampian

An Inverurie butcher set a new sausage-making world record on Saturday at the Taste of Grampian food festival.   Two of Scotland’s top butchers took to the stage to undertake the sizzling sausage-making record attempt using a Specially Selected Pork recipe mix to produce as many sausages as they could in 60 seconds.   In the battle of the bangers, David Patterson from Yorkes of Dundee went up against Steven Cusack from Davidsons Butchers in Inverurie to attempt to earn the title of Guinness World Record holder. In the end it was Steven Cusack who came out tops, making a whopping 54 sausages which, subject to Guinness verification, is significantly ahead of the existing record of 44 with David Patterson just behind the current record, with 43.   A large crowd of supporters witnessed the sausage spectacular arranged by Quality Meat Scotland, and cheered on the two Scotch Butchers Club members as they expertly worked with the quality assured Specially Selected Pork sausages, casing and linking as many as they could in one minute.    And to add to the fun auctioneer Colin Slessor, one of the stars of the very popular BBC series “The Mart”, joined the butchers and made his own attempt at the record, after a very short intensive coaching session with George Sinclair of Quality Meat Scotland's Scotch Butchers Club.    The auctioneer apprentice butcher provided a highly entertaining attempt at sausage-making and managed a very laudable seven sausages during his 60 seconds, though there was some debate at whether the sausages would have fully met Guinness standards!    To meet Guinness standards a team of officials acted as witnesses to the attempt including Stuart Donaldson MP, surveyor Rod Andean from Aberdeen and Northern Marts, two timekeepers from the world of sport and two independent butchers including Douglas Scott, Chief Executive of the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Association.    Carol McLaren of Quality Meat Scotland congratulated both butchers for being great sports and demonstrating their skills in a very challenging environment.   “The butchers had been training hard in their own premises but we were asking them to perform with equipment they were unfamiliar with in front of 100s of spectators so it was a very challenging environment," said Ms McLaren.   "While we were keen to have some fun with the record attempt and showcase the Specially Selected Pork brand, the main objective was to remind people of the traditional skills and innovation to be found in our butchers' shops around the country."   Both butchers taking part are members of the Scotch Butchers Club, the network of around 300 butcher retailers who support the Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork brands.   Specially Selected Pork was the main sponsor of this year’s Taste of Grampian where it was showcased by top celebrity chefs as well as starring in two BBQ demonstration sessions when the makers of Thistly Cross Craft Cider talked through some great pork and cider food pairings.   Quality Meat Scotland is currently running a campaign urging Scottish shoppers to “Do More With Pork”.  The six week campaign, which is set to reach over three million consumers, aims to showcase the quality, affordability and versatility of Specially Selected Pork, which is underpinned by quality assurance schemes which make animal welfare a priority.