Hawke’s Bay’s Beard Brothers boss Rob Beard defends the humble saveloy
Rob Beard’s saveloys won a gold medal in the 2017 NZ Sausage Competition, and silver in the 2019 Devro Great NZ Sausage Competition. Photo / Mark Story
Foodie and deputy editor Mark Story is shining a light on the region’s rising food and beverage stars. This week he hears Beard Brothers owner Rob Beard’s defence of his award-winning saveloy — and the perfect wine to accompany it.
Many claim they’re a poor cousin to the sausage. Sell me a sav over a banger.
The great sausage over saveloy debate! The poor old sav has had a bad rap over the years. We would be one of the very few left making saveloys in natural-hog casings. We are very proud of them and have won best in New Zealand by sticking to our knitting. If made correctly they’re as good as any snag. They’re super versatile and can be simmered, barbecued, fried etc.
Please tell me that, contrary to popular belief, saveloys aren’t “all a**holes and ears”.
Not at all! We use two types of meat in our saveloy to get the perfect (we think) texture and sweetness, a mixture of good meat-to-fat ratio beef trim, and we also add a proportion of free range chicken leg, thigh and breast mince. This adds a slightly sweeter flavour and subdues the fat content of the beef. Nothing worse than a fatty saveloy.
With your background in viticulture, are there skills from that which now feed into the protein business?
Coming from a background of being involved in the wine industry for many years and growing grapes, there are definitely synergies when making, developing and producing a product. The same thing as winter pruning a grape vine to bring the crop through to harvest, it’s a similar sort of thing. I love my job, it’s a passion and something I enjoy massively, so it’s second nature to always be searching for the perfect snag. It’s no different than searching for a perfect vintage or a surfer searching for the perfect wave. This is what drives me day in, day out.
What’s your top way to eat them?
My absolute favourite way to eat our humble saveloy is to simmer until cooked through, whack it in a good chunk of French stick with a plethora of butter, top with tomato sauce, mustard and grated cheese under a grill until cheese melts. Then boom, bon appétit.
Name the perfect Hawke’s Bay wine match for your award-winning savs?
I’d match it with a 2024 Clearview Black Reef Blush. A match made in smallgoods heaven. It’s slightly sweet and I just think it works - and it’s the right colour!
Mark Story’s Review: Beard Brothers saveloys, average $16 per kilo.
There’s little point gilding these lilies. Slow simmer for 10 minutes.
The pan’s temperature’s also perfect for poaching eggs. So I popped one in next to the red heroes to watch it slowly blush with sav-stain.
These are delectable. A consistent heavy-meat bite, casings that crack like they did when I was a kid and a micro-crunch of onion. The king of the breakfast sausage punches well above its rep.
* Do you know of a rising Hawke’s Bay food or beverage product worth a profile? Contact mark.story@hbtoday.co.nz