The best gift you can give your dad on Father’s Day is an incredible meal, so this month, chef Anthony Rose helps us kick off patio season by grilling and tasting the ultimate summer banger — sausage. Which is the city’s best and which is the wurst? Read on to find out.
Winner: Sanagan’s Meat Locker’s maple syrup and Chinese five spice
“Cool combo! Not overpowering on maple syrup or Chinese five spice. It reminds me of a pork belly fried rice we used to do at Rose and Sons, so it’s very nostalgic.” 176 Baldwin St., $11.99/four
Runner-Up: Bespoke Butcher’s Nashville hot chicken
“This is spicy spicy! It’s really overpowering, but if people like spicy, they’re going to love this. While it’s not my thing, I can appreciate the flavours and understand why it’s a favourite.” 215 Madison Ave., $13.37/three
Olliffe Butcher’s hot Macedonian
“There’s a little bit of heat and it’s ground really well. It’s a touch over-cured and could have used a few more percentages of fat, as it’s not really juicy, but overall it’s a good sausage.” 1097A Yonge St., $5.81/each
Cumbrae’s ham, leek & gruyère
“You can taste the Gruyère right away! I’m not a huge fan of Gruyère, but it’s nice here. This is a well-made sausage, and it has a good amount of fat. I’m not really seeing or tasting much leek, though.” 1589 Bayview Ave., $12.99/ lb.
Caprae & Suidae’s bacon & leek
“It doesn’t taste like bacon or leek. It tastes like very flat sausage. It could have been ground a little bit more, but It’s very balanced for what it is, and the sausage has a nice fullness.” 1903 Avenue Rd., North York, $26.43/kg.
The Healthy Butcher’s organic jerk chicken
“Wow, this is a very well-made sausage! I’m not a huge fan of the flavour combinations, but the sausage is high quality and I like the leanest
quality and I like the leanness of the chicken.” 298 Eglinton Ave. W., $17.99/four
Stuart Carrol Meats’ turkey & cranberry
“It’s nice that the cranberry isn’t chunky. I like that the flavour is still there, but it’s not overpowering. I love the leanness of a turkey sausage, and this definitely has great texture.” 7509 Yonge St., Thornhill, $7.99/ lb.