Final judge announced

And then there were four...

The Wine Industry Smallgoods Smackdown is proud to announce its only vestige of credibility with the inclusion of sausage expert and smallgoods supermo Richard Cornish as the fourth judge for WISS.

Richard is the Senior Features Writer for The Age's Epicure section and the co-author of MoVida: Spanish Culinary Adventures and MoVida Rustica cookbooks. He knows his way around his meat. Richard is a valued addition to the judging panel and we are pleased to bring someone with any gravitas to the competition.

Sadly, we can't show his face as he has allegedly never been captured on film, but an artist's rendition has him looking pretty much like this...

First Drop Of Blooooooddd

No messing around for First Drop. John Retsas offers his donut-eating-pig little chance to survive the post harvest downtime. Bolstered by Krispy Kreme goodness, the First Drop pig is taken to 'that happy place' before a finely executed deconstruction. 

Just hangin' out... 

The bits are manhandled for flavour. 

An authentic set of Italian hands (the t-shirt gives it away) massages and seasons Miss Piggy's best bits.

Mince Master Mike going off...

A string of sausages materialises.

More sausages than a towel down after a football match. 

Barry bonanza

While 'what happens on tour, stays on tour' might be one expression, 'keeping it all in the family' is another. Amazing huh? Anyway, that gibberish aside, it's great to see the Barrys en masse contributing to their WISS cause with a lusty pig slaughter followed by smallgoods production session. The generations are here representing Jim Barry Wines and Clos Clare Wines too. Sure, it's not like they all took a bath together or share a bed, but the family bonding is still there. 

So, here is some background on their WISS entry. See how the pigs frolic with the horse. These are free range pigs too. Not sure if Mr Ed ended up in the meat mix, but it could be a possibility... 

Neigh! I don't taste that good! - Mr Ed

Just hanging with the hogs. Babe and his mates really liked the Barry's too... 

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy became roast beef

They're bloody serious about their meats too. See how the family enjoys the bits of their formerly living, porcine friends...

We did get a missive from the Barry's too - here is some context for their entry: 

Last year when we did the Winter pig we enlisted the services and expertise of an Italian couple from Adelaide. This year we the help and added advice of Jo Barrington–Case (nee Knappstein) who has a heritage of sausage making along with some fabulous recipes and is arguably the best cook in Clare.

We are very happy to have had this info come our way, it adds context to the meats and their efforts. See how they perspire over their sausage...

Sam knows his way around a sausage or two.

And of course, the family that plays together, stays together... 

Freeze. Or the meat gets it...

The competition heats up...

First Drop - Stop Press

Today marks First Drop's smallgoods making fiesta and an urgent email has landed in the WISS inbox. The alarm bells rang, fireworks shot out of someone's ears and lazer beams came out of a dog's mouth.

Email Subject: Sausage Mince Heaven

Email: John's [Retsas] in his "happy place"

Image attached: (see below)

You know what they do to chopped liver at boarding schools, right? ... Hmm... 

Cirillo - pleased to meat you

If only someone could bottle Marco Cirillo's enthusiasm for stuff... You could call it Cirillo Cetchup, or Excitement Sauce, or Marco's Ballistic Hullabaloo Exhilaration Passion Fervour Condiment. Or something like that. Bring it on Marco, bring it on!

He's run me through a couple of details about the smallgoods process, but a picture tells a thousand lies, can be used as a marital aid or assist with making ugly people look prettier. Here are a couple of flicks from Marco's butchering day anyway.

Witness the cutting up of pigs. The Cirillo's take to the beast en masse. 

An unlikely looking goat. Why is it naked? Haw haw. 

Meanwhile, witness the miracle of the Cirillo's making one goat... become two...

Whoa! Double vision...