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Grilling - and buying quality meat.
Where to go and what to buy
The House of Home Made Sausage
N112 W14934 Mequon Road, Germantown, WI
There is a modest looking butcher on my way home from work. It is called the House of Home Made Sausage. I stopped there because the butcher/deli in my home town closed recently and I am now without a local butcher. At first sight, the establishment looks kind of plain. Go inside, however, and you are immediately aware that this place is special. There is a fantastic, smoky aroma to the shop. It is a no-nonsense sausage house, which also carries many other cuts of meat. It is definitely not fancy, but you can tell they take great care in presenting quality meats, cheeses, and sausages. What brought me there were the Brats, so I got a variety of them. I was aided in my selection by Vinny Wysocki, who suggested the Jalapeño as one of his favorites. He added that the Brats were just made the day before and should be good for a few days, or could be frozen for later use. I am pretty sure that I have rarely had such fresh sausages. I chose four types:
• Beer Brats
• Jalapeño Cheese
• Mild Italian
• Spicy Italian
After making my selection, I turned around and saw a rack of sauces and marinades. I asked Vinny which sauce he liked the most and he said the House of Home Made Sausage, Thick and Sweet BBQ Sauce was his personal favorite. This of course, prompted me to buy three racks of ribs. (My kids and I love them, and I must say I make pretty good ribs).
I almost made my way to the check-out without buying anything else, when I saw the Cranberry Cheese. The idea of sweet cranberries in a mild, white cheese sounded delicious. Buffalo Wing Cheese, Cheddar with Louisiana hot-sauce mixed in, caught my eye as well. Yeah, Buffalo-Wings and Cheese? You had me at Buffalo.
Before I left, Vinny gave me one last tip, “try the Jalapeño sausages with a little ranch dressing”. I thought that sounded weird but I was willing to listen and even try it. What did I have to lose?
I left with a large bag of ribs, sausage, BBQ sauce and cheese. Once in my car, I noticed that my jacket had a slight smoky smell to it. The smell was pleasant and not overwhelming, and was a great aromatic appetizer to the meals I had waiting for me in the bag.
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Dinner 1: We had a Brat/Sausage sample night. The kids were having pasta with sauce so I made the spicy and mild Italian Brats. I had Jalapeño Cheddar and even put a little ranch dressing on it. The kids devoured the Italians and the Jalapeño Cheddar had a spicy and delicious creamy taste to it. The ranch was pretty good on it too, offering a little coolness to the heat of the Jalapeño.
Dinner 2: BBQ Ribs with House of Home Made Sausage, Thick and Sweet BBQ Sauce. The ribs were fantastic, lean and meaty. But I messed with my tried-and-true method and kind of messed them up a bit. With that being said, the House of Home Made Sausage, Thick and Sweet BBQ Sauce made up for my culinary shortcomings. That stuff was so good that I wanted to replace my mouthwash with it (of course my wife wouldn’t let me). It was sweet without being overly sweet. The kids loved it too!
Dinner 3: Cheese night. I sampled the Cranberry Cheese after taking it out from the fridge. It was too cold to taste the real flavor, but after it warmed to room temperature it was very nice. I also had a grilled cheese with the Buffalo Wing cheese, on it’s own and then adding Salami. Both were good, but I like things with a little more kick. Regardless, the Cheese was very nice. I could do more with both of them.
My overall impression of The House of Home Made Sausage, in Germantown, WI was that it is an excellent place to shop for meats. My recommendation is to buy your dad gift certificates to this place for Father’s Day. In my next visit there I want to try the T-Bone and/or the New York Strip steaks. They cut them fresh from a large portion and I believe they cut them to your preference.
House of Home Made Sausage is family owned and run by Sam Wysocki, Nikki Weber, and Vinny Wysocki. They are a third generation brother-sister team who provide excellent service. Vinny also gave me a tip on how to properly grill brats, but you should go there in person to learn for yourself.
DO YOU HAVE A BUTCHER, DELI, SAUSAGE SHOP OR SPECIALTY FOOD STORE YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND? IF SO, SEND THE INFORMATION TO: food@dadspa.com
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Beer Corner . . . the older I get the more I find that
I drink more for taste than any other reason. I would rather have 1 or 2 good beers than sitting down for a bunch of beers. I may spend a bit more, but drink less, which is at least somewhat better for me.
Quick recommendations! Here are some of my favorite fall - winter beers:
Road Slush Stout– New Glarus Brewing
Old Chub Scottish Ale – Ocsar Blues
Young's Double Chocolate Stout
Here are some of my favorite "Summer Beers":
Horny Goat Wheat is a tasty wheat style beer that was very flavorful without having too much wheat. No, it’s not some sort of Frankenstein-mix of an ED drug and beer. It’s a very pleasant summer beer made in Wisconsin. What I remember from the last few summers is that wheat beer tended to give me some sort of allergic sneezy-reaction. This beer had just the right amount of wheat and came in 16 ounce cans. It was my favorite of the three I tasted. It caused little to no side effect, of the four-hour variety or with my allergies.
http://www.hornygoatbrewing.com/site/index.html
Blue Moon Summer Ale – A good crisp beer that was very drinkable. It provided enough flavor to serve to your beer snob friends and was mild enough for those who are just drinking because it’s summer. The Original Blue Moon Wheat is still a summer staple, but Summer Ale is a good follow-up. http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/ |
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 Mamma’s Little Yella Pils, by Oscar Blues – I love most of the beers from Oscar Blues, but this one just seemed OK. I don’t think it justified the $8.99 per six-pack price tag. I think my main problem was that Oscar Blues’ Dale’s Pale Ale is one of my favorite beers. I kept thinking to myself, for that price I could have bought Dale’s Pale Ale or their Old Chub Scottish Ale. Old Chub is not exactly a summer type beer, but Dale’s is nice all year round. Please take note though, the beers created by Oscar Blues tend to have higher alcohol content, which can be troublesome while trying to beat the heat. What I mean is, they can sneak up on you quickly and too much alcohol and heat can be a dangerous mix. http://www.oskarblues.com
Drinking good beer is best in done moderation, because it can be expensive. |