If there’s one thing that’s synonymous with election day, it’s the democracy sausage. As we head into yet another Federal Election year it’s time to start planning the best part of the day you get to vote – your democracy sausage sandwich. To help you out we’ve got a guide to finding your traditional voting day lunch and what goes into the best sausage sandwich.
What is a Democracy Sausage?
The old faithful democracy sausage sandwich is a well-earned reward for Aussies lining up (sometimes for hours) at polling booths. It’s so beloved it was even crowned Word of the Year a few years back.
The meal itself is very simply a slice of bread with a barbecued sausage in the centre, topped with either some grilled onions and a sauce of choice – usually tomato, BBQ or mustard. It’s also quite common now for there to also be vegan and vegetarian sausages available.
For election days, polling centres will usually put on a sausage sizzle out the front to raise money for a cause and feed hungry voters.
Where can I find a Democracy Sausage on election day?
When it comes to finding a democracy sausage on election day, it’s a safe bet that any public polling centre will have some form of sausage sizzle to accompany it. Particularly at locations like schools and churches.
To be completely sure that the voting location you’re attending has a sausage sizzle you can check out this crowdsourced map to find places with sausages, cakes and other offerings. Once the election has been called the map should start updating with places you can snag a snag.
Less common are sausage sizzles at pre-polling booths, so you’ll have to vote on the actual election Saturday if you want to get hands-on with the delicious sandwich.
What makes the perfect Democracy Sausage Sandwich?
For some, a democracy sausage may just seem like a sausage in bread, but in reality, it’s so much more than that.
To prove that point we spoke with Sydney sausage experts Sausage Queen to find out what makes the perfect sausage sanga.
Tips for finding the perfect Democracy Sausage on election day
Chrissy over at Sausage Queen said the key to a great sausage sandwich is not to go too fancy with your choice of meat.
“You want an awesome, classic, simple saus. I like a simply pork sausage like a Toulouse or a Diot but, *whispers quietly*, a good quality supermarket pork sausage will do the job just fine, (especially so for drunks or children).”
You also want to keep it simple when it comes to the bread with soft white being the slice of choice over fancier types like sourdough, wholemeal or multigrain.
For those cooking the snags, Sausage Queen had some helpful hints.
“Cook them low and slow and don’t bloody prick those beautiful love bundles. Most of us in this part of the world cook the bajesus out of them on too high a heat, so the proteins move and they split open, which is why we often prick them, which in turn makes all the delicious juices run out of them. Bad news people. Cook on a low to medium heat and you can keep the fork to yourself.”
For the garnishes, Chrissy said there’s nothing wrong with plain old tomato sauce but if you want to test yourself try pebre:
“We also like something like pebre on a sanga, which is basically a Chilean version of chimichurri with diced tomato. It’s bloody genius with any simple sausage and bread. Give it a whirl.”
There you have it – all the tips for sourcing the perfect democracy sausage sandwich on election day. You can even make your own at home to get into the spirit of the vote if you wish.
We’ve also got a guide to all the things you need to know about the upcoming Australian federal election including what each key party candidate stands for and what to do if you come down with COVID-19 on the day.
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