Western australia is more in line with the New York Italian American tradition that you see at the various feasts(St Anthony, San Gennaro, etc) and food carts. I remember as a kid going to those feasts especially around my neighborhood and ordering a Sauasge and Onions on a hero(a.k.a. hoggie, club, roll to the rest of the country). Yes, grilled onions, sometimes peppers ON TOP of the bread. Cheers to Western Australia!!! We're more alike than any other region or country. We love our BBQ(Barbie) too!!! You guys have to try a real Hot or Sweet Italian sausage. you'll love it.
USA has its 2nd Amendment, and despite how stupid it is and the lives lost because of it, nothing will change.
In Australia we don't get gunned down in the streets, but we also have our own lore that the onion belongs ON TOP of the sausage. I don't care how many people slip and hurt themselves because of lost onion. This is as non-negotiable as the 2nd Amendment, despite its stupidity.
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This story shows again that the NYT reporters in Australia do not understand the culture. The "over-reaction" to the Bunnings proposal--reported in the story as if genuine--is meant as self-mocking ridicule. Every Australian gets that. Even the characterisation of it as yet another example of the "nanny state" is a deliberate ramping up of the issue as a form of humour. Yet here it is reported as if it's serious.
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@Clive Hamilton Unfortunately having canvassing the opinions of my older relatives and anyone I work with over the age of about 45, that's exactly how they see it. As an encroachment by the "nanny state" on their rights.
Admittedly, a fair swag of the same people when asked couldn't understand why the girl calling Adam Goodes an ape was racist, so I wasn't expecting much.
I'd like to think most Aussies recognise the humour of the Bunnings Snags reaction, but unfortunately there's a ton who are actually outraged. I'd imagine the same people who decided free plastic bags was their hill to die on and call people they disagree with 'snowflakes.'
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Do I really need to point out to American readers that our hyperbolic outrage is all tongue in cheek — or rather snag in slice?
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Since they announced their foray into the Australian market last year, I’ve been waiting for NYT to cover some otherwise neglected Australian issues with their typically scrupulous depth, insight and precision. And this is what we get. Bravo, NYT. Bravo.
Also, I’m never surprised by Australians’ ability to ignore a plethora of other issues – Nauru, NEG and renewables, a state election, deaths in custody, the government advocation of expelling gays from schools, family violence et al – in favour of an issue that makes us ALL FEEL GOOD. Bravo, Australia. Bravo indeed!
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I'm not surprised at all with this latest act of "nanny-stateism" There is now an expectation that the state will always look after us and "keep us safe", one only has to look at the slogans being used in the current Victoria election campaign.
Long gone are the days when were a nation "that prides itself on outback ingenuity and self-reliance" We no longer take responsibility for our actions and have an expectation that our society can be made perfect (safe) if only enough laws could be passed.
Would be nice to eat a sausage right now. Or just eat...
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Yes, but which end of the egg are they breaking? That's what really matters.
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Perhaps the proponents and opponents of this tradition should be called Liliputians and Blefuscans.
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Always gratifying to read that at least one country is as capable of moronic overreaction as the US.
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@Jim L As a nation, we can certainly overreact at times... but this is not one of those occasions. This is all very tongue-in-cheek. What you're seeing here is mock-outrage from people running with the joke.
The 'Bunnings Sausage' has become somewhat of an Australian cult-figure, as it represents our nation's pride in 'taking pleasure in the simple things'. It would be like if someone tried to make a rule in the US about how a PB&J sandwich was made. Nobody would actually care, but there would be a lot of funny responses on social media.
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@Jim L count down to little stamps saying “warning, contains slip hazard”.
That would be peak nanny state... now excuse me while I carefully avoid getting caught by every single speed camera between work and home.
Sausage, onions, ketchup on a slice of white bread? Someone please ship a container of mustard, sauerkraut and hot dog rolls to Australia. Maybe you want to include a few cases of Sabretts onion sauce too!
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@Jay Amberg We love proper German sausages with sauerkraut and mustard... this is all very tongue in cheek. The 'Bunnings Sausage' is an Australian cult-figure for how simple (but still effective) it is. All these 'outraged' comments are made in jest.
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@Jay Amberg- You've forgotten about Italian sausage. You should know better than that. Go to any Italian festival during the summer and stop by a food cart.. Sweet or hot Italian sausage with grilled Onions and/or peppers on a hero(hoggie /Italian bread)), always served on top of the sausage. I preferred mustard but ketchup was popular too, a matter of taste..
@Jay Amberg You do NOT put mustard on a snag. No no no.
It's none of my business, of course, but it seems logical to put the onion underneath the meat as it's done (when done properly) with a hamburger in the States. Not only does the onion stay put without creeping out of the bun and falling in one's lap, or on the floor to be slipped on, it becomes imbued with hot meat juices--which doesn't happen if it's placed on top of the meat patty. I'm with Bunnings on this one. And I now crave a burger from the Sunset Grill in Hollywood, CA. Or a Habit burger, which I can get here.
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the sausage is for post-shop ,if shopping at all. this is only wild because people are trying to eat sausages in the store in the first place.
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@georgia no way! Part of the ritual is walking around the store pretending to shop whilst you consume your two snags. Then once your hands are free, it’s time to shop.
Plus no food in the car, so there’s that to consider as well.
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So, putting the onions down under is offensive but calling the whole country down under is not?
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The U.S. has a madman for president, there is an ongoing genocide in Mynamar/Burma, children are starving to death in Yemen, and Australia is worried about where in the sandwich the onions belong. Oh, the humanity!
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@Sharon I can promise you that there are much bigger issues in Australia right now. For example, tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the extremely damaging postal plebiscite which led to marriage equality, and we're still dealing with a government-sanctioned report advocating for gay students to be expelled and gay teachers to be fired from religious schools. Other issues like this are allowed space, too.
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Hahaha. You just don't know the pain that changing the bunnings sausage/onion order has on Australia. It's a tradition that should not be messed with. If you slip on some onion..well you laugh and get up. That's the Australian way!
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@Kb Australians do seem to revel in a little bit of danger in their daily lives. Reminds me of the steep train ride out of a defunct mining area during a hike/tour in one of your parks outside of Sydney. In the US we would have been strapped, probably wearing helmets, into the open air train car that brought us out of the canyon. So, seeing one of your retailers advocating for a safer way to eat a sandwich in their stores seems to go against the character of your country, and, thus, highly amusing.
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The sausages are definitely NOT like hot dogs. They have a much finer skin, and are usually beef - maybe sometimes pork?At the school where I work, they are NOT pork, because they are halal to cater for our large migrant community.
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I don’t know why they allow eating in the stores at all. Eat your sausage before or after you go in, I don’t care which.
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One wonders if those sausages taste anything like a Pink's Hot Dog or something else. Exactly what kind of sausage are they?
@David Gregory I'm not sure that there's a direct equivalent in North America. However I'll do my best to describe them.
Usually made from a mixture of beef and pork with plenty of fat, they're entirely homogeneous inside. Extremely soft when raw - the meat is like a paste inside the thin casings. When cooked, they give little resistance to the bite, with a fairly smooth texture inside. The flavour is generic but meaty - not strongly flavoured with any particular meat, herb, or spice, but a mixture of everything.
When Australians refer to "hot dogs", we refer not to these, but usually to a Saveloy sausage served much like an American hot dog would be, in a long bun with sauce/ketchup and mustard.
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@David Gregory just regular thin pork sausages.
@Nat ack, sorry, beef sausages!
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The real Existential threat is knee replacments and diabetes.
Priceless! Nothing like Strine indignation over sacred cows.
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The Christopher Bishop that you quote is the New Zealand Opposition MP for Lower Hutt. Bunnings trades in NZ as well, so our sausage sizzles will also be affected.
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