Where “Sausage Sizzle” Comes From
A sausage sizzle is a barbecue where sausages are cooked on a hotplate, then served in a slice of white bread with fried onions and sauce. It’s a very common community fundraiser in Australia.
On election days, a sausage sizzle at the polling place is so common that people talk about the “democracy sausage”.
“There’s a sausage sizzle at the school fete.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
Aussies use it for the event and for the food itself.
In Real Life
A sausage sizzle is one of Australia’s most familiar community events. Groups such as schools, sporting clubs and charities cook sausages on a barbecue hotplate and sell them in a slice of white bread with onions and sauce. You’ll see them outside hardware stores, at school fetes and at election polling places. Around elections, the polling-day version became widely known as the “democracy sausage”.
Quick Questions
Why are sausage sizzles used for fundraising?
They’re cheap, quick to cook outdoors and popular, so a small group can raise money in a single day.
What do you get at a sausage sizzle?
A grilled sausage in a slice of bread, with fried onions and sauce. The question of whether the onions go under or over the sausage is a friendly debate.
Say It Like an Aussie
Say it: SOSS-ij SIZ-ul.
In conversation:
- Let’s grab a sausage sizzle.
- The footy club is running a sausage sizzle.
- Sausage sizzles are on at every election.
Good to know: Sausage sizzles are a classic Australian fundraiser, seen outside hardware stores, schools and polling booths. Onions can go under or over the sausage, and Aussies love to argue about it.
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