Beef Sausages - Wagyu F1 x Angus

The Beef: This is 100% grass-fed F1 Wagyu, a first-cross of Full-blood Wagyu over Angus, raised for superior quality and grown with a deep respect for the land. The F1 cross is the sweet spot: it takes the Wagyu's fine intramuscular marbling and pairs it with the Angus frame and the deep, beefy flavour Australian cattle are known for. In a sausage, that marbling means a snag that's juicy, rich and full of real beef flavour.

The Cut: These sausages are made from Wagyu trim from across the whole animal, the flavourful pieces from the shoulder, brisket and plate. Turning the trim into sausages is part of how we use every bit of the beast, and with Wagyu it means you're getting the same quality of beef that goes into our steaks, just in a form the whole family will reach for. They're made for the barbecue, the frying pan and the oven tray.

How to Cook It: Take the sausages out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking. Don't prick them; the skin keeps the juices in.

On the barbecue or in a pan: Cook over medium heat, not high. Turn them every couple of minutes for 12–15 minutes, until evenly browned all over and cooked through. Too much heat splits the skins and dries out the middle.

In the oven: Roast on a tray at 200°C for 20–25 minutes, turning halfway, alongside onions, potatoes or whatever vegetables you have on hand.

Grass-fed F1 Wagyu fat renders at a lower temperature than grain-fed, so these will give up a little more juice and cook a touch faster. Gentle, steady heat gets the best from them.

Cook to 71°C internal, then rest for a couple of minutes before serving.

Tips

• For perfect snags every time, poach them gently in simmering water for 8 minutes first, then finish on the grill for colour.
• Fry sliced onions in the fat left behind. That's the Aussie sausage sizzle sorted.
• Slice cooked sausages into pasta, fried rice or a hearty soup for a quick weeknight meal.
• Bangers and mash with onion gravy never gets old.

A Little History: Sausage-making is one of the oldest ways to use the whole animal, going back thousands of years to the Greeks and Romans, who stuffed seasoned meat into casings to keep it and to waste nothing. Every food culture made its own, from German bratwurst to Spanish chorizo and the British banger, so called because wartime sausages full of water would burst with a bang in the pan. In Australia, the humble snag in bread became a national ritual, served at every school fete, footy club and Saturday morning hardware store.