An Interview with the Founder of Bangerritos
What exactly happens when you cross a burrito with a banger?
Auckland creative and Auckland Burrito Review founder Ben Polkinghorne endeavoured to make a product that showcases the ingredients of the loveable cylindrical Mexican meal and put them in sausage form for convenience. Part sausage, part burrito, his brilliantly named Bangerritos hit the meat section a couple of summers ago. They were everywhere, then all of a sudden, they weren't. We caught up with Ben to discover what exactly happens when you cross a burrito with a banger, find out what went wrong, and what's now going right.
Hey Ben. For those that don't know, what is a Bangerrito?
Everyone loves burritos. The problem is making them at home is fiddly. So we've put the ingredients of a burrito into a sausage and perfected the taste. We use free-range pork rubbed in Mexican spices and whole black beans and diced red onion, which give you the texture of a burrito. There's other ingredients: chipotle in adobo imported from Mexico, fresh coriander and locally squeezed orange juice. That's it. Bangerritos literally taste like burritos. You just wrap the Bangerrito in a tortilla, maybe chuck on a guac, some hot sauce and you're good to go.
Where did the idea come from?
A few years ago, burritos were my only hobby. I started the Auckland Burrito Review (ABR) and reviewed about 40 of them around Auckland. It was all quite niche, but I had a weekly radio segment, interviewed politicians and even officially opened Mexican restaurants. Then I met a guy into sausages…
What happened next?
They were the best thing I'd ever tasted. I knew others would feel the same way. Very quickly we were into Farro, Nosh, a New World, Moore Wilson's and even My Food Bag. The problems were we grew too quickly, our shelf life was terrible, I was inexperienced and still working full time and I didn't have the right team around me. It blew up in my face.But I didn't give up. So for the past 18 months I've been quietly working on the relaunch. We're now working with Green Meadows Beef in Taranaki, who are amazing. We've sorted our shelf life with better packaging and importantly, I like to think I sort-of-nearly-hopefully know what I'm doing now.
What's the latest?
Well, we just won GOLD at the New Zealand Sausage Awards. That's huge. It makes all the hard work worthwhile. The only thing that kept me going — and the only reason we've been given another shot — is because the sausage is that good. Now we're on sale at the Mad Butcher Glen Eden, all five Farro stores and the Green Meadows store. I'm putting all my attention into making those work for now — but the sky's the limit. People are already calling us New Zealand's new national dish and I can't wait to take this mighty fine sausage to the nation.
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