This week we are featuring Nolechek’s Meats Inc., of Thorp, WI. This year at the WAMP product show Nolechek’s took home included Grand Champion for their Apricot Dijon Fresh Bratwurst, Reserve Grand bacon, and Reserve Grand garlic polish sausage. Check out their website http://www.nolechekmeats.com/

Nolechek's Meats has been a family owned and operated, community oriented business providing premium quality meats since 1952. Nolechek's was founded by Bill Sr. and his wife Dee in 1952 and is now owned and operated by their two sons Bill Jr. and Kelly with 5 employees including their sister Jennifer, and Kelly's son Chad.

Nolechek’s has a huge selection of fresh, smoked and frozen items including steaks, pork chops , beef and pork roasts, over ten different types of summer sausages, several types of bacon, a wide variety of smoked sausages including different polish sausages and wieners, stuffed chicken breasts, several types of breakfast sausages including maple, blueberry, and apple cinnamon, a variety of lunch meats, several different types of old world ethnic sausages, and of course 30+ types of award winning bratwurst. They also custom slaughter hogs, and process deer. And with deer season around the corner Nolechek’s has lowered costs for their deer processing to $75. Their processing includes skinning, cutting wrapping and hamburger fabrication.

On your next visit to Thorp make sure to plan a stop at Nolechek’s Meats!

Superior Meats

Continuing with our series on Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors contest winners, this week we are featuring Superior Meats located in Superior WI.

At the 2010 WAMP product show Superior Meats took home Grand Champion emulsified ring bologna, Reserve Grand Champion Canadian Bacon and Reserve Champion Specialty cook bratwurst red pepper provolone brat. In addition to 57 different types of award winning brats they also offer the highest quality pork, poultry and ground chuck which is prepared fresh daily on the premises. They make and smoke their own sausages and cut meats to order, allowing them to offer hard to find specialty meats. Mike Cragin Superior Meats general manager says our “Mission is to provide our customers with the finest quality and freshest products available. Butcher shop quality at supermarket prices.”

Superior Meats was opened 11 years ago and has 10 times as much business as they did that first year. Leading to a feature on the ABC Twin Cities news station. Which can be viewed here http://kstp.com/article/stories/S447222.shtml?cat=1

So if you are interested in tasting their award winning brats, please visit Superior Meats 6301 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI 54733 or visit their website http://www.superior-meats.com/index.html

WAMP Award Winner: Haen Meat Packing

Today we feature Haen Meats of Kaukauna. Family owned and operated for over 50 years, the company is currently run by the four Haen Brothers: Dan John Tim and Tom. Haen Meat Packing is a full service meat market featuring custom slaughtering, the finest meat cuts, and a huge selection of cured and smoked meats and sausage products made from family recipes. The company has won over 250 State, State Fair and National awards for their products. At this year’s WAMP Show they took home two Grand Champion awards for their Bone-in Ham and Skinless Weiners. They also received two Champion and one Reserve Champion awards at the show as well as winning four awards at the State Fair Meat Products Show. In 2008 John and Tim Haen were in ducted into the American Association of Meat Processors Cured Meat Hall of Fame. In addition to these award winners, Haen’s also offers 14 different kinds of specialty bratwurst, a variety of fresh and smoked sausage, fresh cuts of meat, homemade pizzas, many ready to eat products/soups, and bakery. Haen Meat Packing also offers custom and wild game processing. They are located on County Road KK, Kaukauna - between County N and Highway 55. For more information please visit their website at www.haenmeats.com or find them on Facebook!
Store Hours:

Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri: 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thur: 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sat: 7:00 AM - Noon

WAMP Award Winner: Brandon Meats and Sausage

Brandon Meats and Sausage owners Alan and Janet Feucht purchased the Menke Processing Plant in Brandon, Wisconsin, on May 1, 1985. T first they just continued to slaughter and process beef, hogs, lambs, and deer. Soon though, they added long time sausage maker Lloyd Weisnicht to the team and began retail sales as well as processing. Soon they were expanding, adding new smokers and coolers and eventually building an addition to the existing plant to house the retail store and cutting room, which now houses over 40 feet of retail meat case. They continue to slaughter and process for farmers and hunters and in 2007 they produced over 200, 000 pounds of venison sausage plus other varieties of wild game! Brandon Meats and Sausage is also highly active in the community, supporting 4-H and FFA activities as well as producing their famous Five Foot Summer Sausage which they donate to organizations to use in fundraisers. At this year’s WAMP Brandon Meats took home 2 Grand Champion awards for their Bacon & Cheddar Potato Sausage and their Pepper Bacon. They also received 2 Reserve Grand Champion, 3 Champion and 1 Reserve Champion Awards. Brandon Meats and Sausage is located at 117 South Commercial St., Brandon, WI 53919. For more information visit their website at www.brandonmeats.com

Hours of Operation:

Monday-Thursday: 7:00am-5:00pm
Friday: 7:00am-7:00pm
Saturday: 7:00am-3:00pm

Governor's Sweepstakes Meat Products Auction

The Wisconsin 4-H Foundation held its 19th annual Governor’s Sweepstakes Meat Products Auction on Tuesday night. The auction raises money for 4-H programs in Wisconsin. The items up for bidding included the 1st and 2nd place winners from each category in the State Fair Meat Products Auction as well as a Badger football tickets package, a Sausage and Cheese Package, a Frontier Airlines ticket package and a Milwaukee Bucks ticket package. The Auction raised over $43,000 for Wisconsin 4-H.

WAMP Award Winner: Maplewood Meats

Today we are Profiling Maplewood Meats in Green Bay:
Maplewood Meats is owned and operated by the Van Hemelryk family -- Roger and Patricia, daughter Lisa and son-in-law Bob, son David and daughter-in-law Vicki, and grandchildren: Kasey, Kevin, Megan, Matthew, Brad, Sara, and Cari. There is a lot of family history and nostalgia within the store. Patricia grew up on a farm, and her father was a butcher. He taught Roger how to cut meat, and was the inspiration for Pat & Roger when they opened the plant. Maplewood Meats began as just a processing plant for the community farmers. They later added a fresh meat case and 'retail area'. The sausage products came next. From the very beginning, the entire family (Roger, Pat, son Dave, and daughter Lisa) have been involved in the business. Maplewood will celebrate its 27th anniversary later this year. Today the retail store includes a full-service retail case that is over 80 feet long? At this year’s WAMP show Maplewood took home four Grand Champion Awards for their Hickory Smoked Turkey, Old Fashioned Natural Casing Beef Sticks, Natural Casing Smoked Polish Sausage and Hickory Smoked Bratwurst. They also received two Reserve Grand Champion, three Champion and one Reserve Champion awards. In addition to their award-winning sausages, fresh cuts of beef and pork; Maple wood also offers many specialty products that are ready to serve, or ready for the oven. The deli case includes shredded bbq beef, shredded roast beef, shredded bbq beef, shredded turkey, and shredded chicken that ready to heat and serve on a bun. Many lunchmeats, including sliced ham, turkey breast, chicken breast, pastrami, dried beef, and sandwich spreads. The fresh case includes specialties such as chicken cordon bleu, stuffed pork chops, and marinated kabobs (beef tenderloin, chicken breast, or pork tenderloin), that are ready for the oven or grill. They also make their own pizzas and breakfast pizzas, soups, a variety of flavored bratwursts (beer, cheddar, mushroom & swiss, and chili cheese--just to name a few) and a variety of snack sticks. Maplewood also offers Custom Processing of Livestock, Venison and other Wild Game. For more information on Maplewood Meats and the services they offer visit http://www.maplewoodmeats.com/.

Maplewood Meats is located at:

4663 Milltown Road, Green Bay, WI 54313

Store Hours:

M-T-W-F: 7 - 5, Thursday: 7 - 6 Saturday: 7 - 12, Closed on Sundays

Wisconsin State Fair Meat Products Show Winners

The winners of the 2010 Wisconsin State Fair Meat Products Show have been announced the Winners of each class are

Flavored Bacon: Brandon Meats & Sausage in Brandon

Specialty Cooked Bratwurst (uncured): Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly in Oconomowoc

Bone-in Ham: Haen Meat Packing Inc. in Kaukauna

Whole Muscle Jerky: Lodi Sausage Company in Lodi

Small Diameter Smoked & Cooked Sausage: Brandon Meats & Sausage in Brandon

Traditional Snack Sausages: RJ's Meats & Sausage in Hudson

Flavored Snack Sausages: Lodi Sausage Company in Lodi

Summer Sausage:Brandon Meats & Sausage in Brandon


Congratulations to all the winners! For a full list of the top 4 entries in each category check the State Fair website at
http://www.wistatefair.com/pdfs/10_fair/Pressroom/Wisconsin-State_Fair_Meat_Products_Contest_Results.pdf

Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July weekend is the perfect time for grilling and enjoying Wisconsin made Specialty Meat products.
Check here for grilling tips and beer and sausage pairings:
http://www.hot-dog.org/ht/d/sp/i/38569/pid/38569

And Click here for great producers of Wisconsin sausage, brats, hot dogs and other delicious specialty meat products:
http://www.wi-amp.com/v2/members/

WAMP Award Winner: Louie's Finer Meats

Louie’s Finer Meats is located in Cumberland Wisconsin. It was opened in 1970 by Louis Muench Sr. and will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in November! They continue a family tradition with 7 members of the Muench family employed at the company so you can always count on finding one of the family behind the counter! Louie’s Finer Meats offers a full-service meat counter, catering for special events, custom Venison processing for hunters, and shipping for special orders. They have won over 300 State, National and International awards including 11 medals at the International Meat Product Trade Fair in Germany. Louis E. Muench, son of Louis Sr., is member of the National Cured Meats Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2009. At the 2010 WAMP competition Louie’s Finer Meats brought home three Grand Champion awards for their Buffalo Salami, Italian Breakfast Links, and Summer Sausage as well as the award for Excellence in Product Manufacture which goes to the producer with the highest number of awards in the competition. The company also received three Reserve Grand Champion, two Champion and three Reserve Champion awards. They also offer specialized and ethnic products, grilling items such as pork grillers, ribs on a stick, marinated chicken breast, and over 100 varieties of fresh, smoked, and precooked bratwurst. The company is also very active in the community. They host a “Brat Haus” which is manned by numerous non-profit groups throughout the spring, summer and fall to raise money. Louie’s Finer Meats is located at Hwy 63 North - 2025 Superior Avenue Cumberland, WI 54829. For more information on the company, their products and where to buy them, ordering or contact information go to http://www.louiesfinermeats.com/ or follow them on Facebook or Twitter at louiesmeats.

Store hours:

Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m to 8 p.m.

Saturday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m

WAMP Award Winner: Sailer's Food Market and Meat Processing

Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors Product Show Award Winners:

Today we begin a series of features on the Grand Champion winners at the WAMP product show:

Our first feature is Sailer’s Food Market and Meat Processing of Elmwood, WI. Sailer’s Meats was founded in 1923 and has been run by five generations of the Sailer family. It is a state inspected custom processor of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Buffalo and Red Deer, as well as processing Venison for hunters. They carry a full line of retail cuts of meat and award winning sausages including brats, wieners, summer sausage, bologna, snack stix and strips. They also carry many smoked and cured products, including their award winning smoked beef, bacon and smoked ham. In 2010 Sailer’s received the Grand Champion award in the Dried or Smoked Beef category as well as a Best of Show award for their Smoked Beef and the Grand Champion award for their Bacon. Additionally, they won three Reserve Grand Champion, four Champion and one Reserve Champion awards at the show. Sailer’s Food Market and Meat Processing is located at 600 W Winter Ave, Elmwood, Wisconsin 54740. For more information about Sailer’s, their history and a full list of the products and services they offer visit their website at http://www.sailersmeats.com/ or find them on Facebook.

Some Facts About Wisconsin Specialty Meats

• There are 289 small state-inspected meat processing and 65 custom slaughter facilities in Wisconsin, more than any other state in the country!


• The meat industry in Wisconsin employs 19,400 people directly and creates over 88,000 jobs when you consider direct and indirect employment


• In 2008 Wisconsin meat processors were awarded 10 Grand Champion and 4 Reserve Grand Champion titles at the American Association of Meat Processors Product Show out of 25 total classes

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for the Wisconsin Specialty Meat Initiative. Our goal is to showcase the small meat processors, artisan sausage and cured meat makers producing fine specialty meat products throughout the state of Wisconsin. While nearly everyone has heard of Wisconsin's artisanal cheeses far fewer are aware the the State has one of the strongest traditions of artisanal meat production in the country. The State has both a strong ethnic tradition with small local producers creating traditional old-world varieties of sausage found few other places in North America, and a drive for innovation that has producers creating new and delicious specialty meat products found nowhere else. With Wisconsin specialty meats you are assured a level of quality and safety that only comes from knowing your producer is comitted to the highest standards of artisanal production. Check back often to see spotlights on Wisconsin producers, specialty products and local events. Support local producers that hold themselves to the highest standards, buy Wisconsin specialty meat products!