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Most of what makes a smokehouse link taste the way it does was decided long before it reached the grill. Five decisions, made the same way in every batch, are the whole craft. Here they are, in the order they happen.
The Cuts
Premium beef and pork for the smoked line. Chicken thighs, not breast, for the Chicken Poblano Monterey Jack. Pork and veal for the Bratwurst, the way the German tradition calls for it. The cut decides how the link eats, so the cut comes first.
The Grind
Coarse, for every smoked sausage. You can see real pieces of seasoned meat through the film, and you can taste them. The two German links, Bratwurst and Knackwurst, are the exception: fine grind, smooth and dense, in the traditional style. Both grinds are deliberate. Neither is a compromise.
The Seasoning
Heritage spice blends, refined over generations to be balanced rather than loud. Country Blend is the original family recipe and the base the newer flavors build on: Hatch Green Chile, Habanero, and the chicken sausage all start there and add one honest thing. Heat is a choice on the label, never a surprise in the bite, from the no-heat end of the lineup to the Habanero at the top of the ladder.
The Casing
Natural pork casings on every link, including the Beef and the chicken sausage. The casing is where the snap comes from, and the snap is the first thing you notice in a smokehouse link. Summer sausage and liverwurst use fibrous casings, as the style requires.
The Smoke
We describe our smoke by how it tastes, because that is the part that matters at the table: signature hickory smoke notes, slow-developed, rich and well-balanced, carried through from the first bite to the last. It is there to frame the meat and the spice, not to cover them. The two German links are the exception: the Bratwurst and the Knackwurst are cooked, never smoked, the way the tradition calls for, and the Bratwurst is the mildest thing we make.
Small Batches, Made Here
Everything in the packaged smoked-meat line is made or packed at 410 S Washington Street in Fredericksburg, carefully developed in small batches and refined for consistency, so the link you buy this week tastes like the one you bought last year. Everything in that line is fully cooked or ready to eat, with one exception: Peppered Bacon is raw and must be cooked. And every meat product we make is gluten free, the cooked Bratwurst and Knackwurst included.
Some things in the market are not ours, and we say so. The pantry jars sold under the Opa's label are made for us to our specification. The German specialties from other makers carry their own names. Brisket is served at the deli, not smoked here. Honest labels are part of the craft.
How to Tell It's Ours
Look for the coarse grind through the package. Feel for the natural casing. Taste for smoke that frames the meat instead of hiding it. And when you are in Fredericksburg, take the final exam at the tasting griddle, where four sausages are warming at any hour the counter is open.