AN award-winning butcher has won an award for his sausages which are made using Easingwold pigs.

Elite Meat in Starbeck, Harrogate, is celebrating its sizzling success after picking up the top award in a national competition.

The high street shop’s ‘Traditional Prime Yorkshire Pork Sausage’ earned the title of Best Independent Butcher: North East at the Sausage Week awards.

Owner Gordon Atkinson travelled down to the Plaisterers’ Hall in London to receive his award from UK Sausage Week ambassador and TV personality, Eric Knowles, from the Antiques Roadshow.

The ceremony took place on Monday, October 30, the launch day for UK Sausage Week, which ran through to Bonfire Night.

It was fronted by Meat Management magazine.

Gordon Atkinson said: “We are thrilled with yet another award win.

“This one was special.

“We had forgotten about the competition, so at the eleventh hour picked some sausage out of the cabinet and shipped them.

“Our prime Yorkshire pork sausages are on sale every day and this latest accolade is both a true testament to our great British farmers and my fantastic team here at Elite Meat.”

The business is no stranger to success in the industry awards arena and is a seven times national sausage champion with different products from its renowned sausage stable.

The meat used in Elite Meat’s Prime Yorkshire Pork Sausage comes from outdoor reared pigs from long-time suppliers Colin Piercy and family, based in Easingwold.

Elite Meat sources all its pork from CR&J Piercy’s 420-sow enterprise.

The family is renowned for its specially-bred porkers and itself narrowly missed out on being declared UK Outdoor Pig Producer of the Year in the recent 2017 National Pig Awards.

Earlier this year, Elite Meat continued its amazing run in the annual Great Taste Awards, picking up a 2-star gold with its Stem Ginger Flapjack and one-star gold with its Free Range Pork Pie.

Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, Great Taste is described as the world’s most coveted blind-tasted food accreditation scheme.

Elite Meat also starred in this year’s Butchers Q Guild Smithfield Awards, when the shop’s gold award-winning Smoked Streaky Bacon went on to be crowned Best English Bacon product.

This high profile event is regarded as one of the toughest product evaluation tests in the land, held aloft as the Q Guild’s annual ‘Oscars.’

The shop remains a long-standing member of the Q Guild, which represents 121 award-winning independent butchers nationwide, who are all at the top of their game.

Mr Atkinson established Elite Meat in 1999 and the business has expanded and diversifed beyond recognition over the ensuing years.

“The good news for customers is that our award-winning pork sausage and bacon are both available from our hot counter on a daily basis,” he added.