Sausage sizzles are generally held either as free community events or as fundraisers for charities, schools, sports clubs and other organisations. As such, ingredients and equipment are cheaply purchased or donated by suppliers. Fundraising sausage sizzles have become particularly associated with elections in Australia and the hardware chain Bunnings.
Most commonly, the main sale item at a sausage sizzle is a pork or beef sausage (often colloquially referred to as a "snag"), cooked on a grill or barbecue and served on a single slice of white sandwich bread, or a hot dog roll in Western Australia.