Sweet and savoury sausage a sensation

Crieff schoolgirl Naomi Morris knew there was much at “steak” when she learned of the competition to suggest a new flavour for the dinner table staple, and the 12-year-old won £250 for doing so.

John McCallum with the winning sausages and Naomi and Aimee Morris.

Competition was sizzling hot and thousands of zany entries were received by the team of judges.

However, Naomi's pork and caramel creation is now set to hit the shelves of butchers across the country.

“Scotland's craft butchers will launch the new sausage in national butchers' week which runs from Monday, March 15,” a spokesman for the contest said.

“A total of 450 shops throughout Scotland have now received the winning recipe and will all be able to make this latest invention for their customers.”

In November, consumers were invited to suggest a sausage that Scottish Craft Butchers might develop into a saleable product.

Entry forms were filled in at butchers up and down the country and many wild ideas were dreamed up.

From those, 20 were selected as ideas which were original and could possibly make an interesting sausage.

Judgement day came last month when a panel of sausage lovers from all over Scotland evaluated the best and “wurst” offerings on the shortlist.

Craft Butchers chief executive Douglas Scott said he was stunned to learn that the unlikely combination of pork and caramel had won the day.

“Many of the judges doubted the product would be in contention but every one of them was impressed with the submission during the taste test,” he added.

“The addition of caramel in the pork sausages is certainly intriguing and the desire to taste will attract sales.

“When the customers taste the product we are convinced that they will be as pleasantly surprised as all our judges were.”

Naomi collected her prize at McCallums, the Auchterarder shop where her father picked up an entry form.

She was delighted to beat off such stiff competition and declared the winning concoction “delicious.”

Naomi insisted she knew she was on to a winner from the start after insisting caramel was so tasty it would merge well with anything.

Meanwhile, butcher John McCallum, who was on hand to present the triumphant schoolgirl with her cheque along with a bag of winning sausages, predicted the surprise flavour sensation would become a big hit.