Texas sausage makers

Someone mentioned in another thread the other day missing good Czech sausage from Texas. For years, all I bought was Chappell Hill, either the all beef or the beef and venison. But then I got this BBQ jones about 11 months ago and I've been tasting so many great sausages and I don't know what I like (I know, suchaproblem ). Coarse grind or fine Beef, pork, venison, a blend Etc.

V & V (beef and pork), served at Pizzitola's BBQ in Houston is good; I've picked some up just off the line at the plant in beautiful downtown Cistern, TX, and it was great.

I like the beef sausage (smoked, bbq) served at Guy's Meat Market in Houston and the 100% pork with garlic from the fresh meat case is excellent.

Eckerman, made in New Ulm, near notorious La Grange , is good; available at Super Wally World in the Houston area (usually not in the same display case with the national brands like Hillshire Farms and Eckrich).

I haven't been impressed with either Meyer's or Southside Market/Elgin that I've had, nor Holmes, made in Pleak and a past winner at RodeoHouston, so I understand, nor Burton's.

Opa's Kountry Boys (from good old Brenham) Slovaceks, made in Snook, near Elgin, and sold at Sam's

Here's one I've just discovered, neither BBQ nor Czech - Candelari's in Houston. These folks have been making sausages about 10 years but apparently selling only wholesale. They've opened a pizzeria at Bissonet at Newcastle. The Italian sausage grinder is excellent. They also make a mean muffaletta. Their sausages include Smoked Chicken Apple, Sun Dried Tomato Chicken, Smoked Italian, Smokey Turkey Jalapeno, Turkey Italian, Smoked Southwestern Duck and Smoked Peppered Beef. (Here's a link to the restaurant website: http://www.candelaris.com/). I'm going to try them all.

And I havent' even touched on any of the great BBQ places that make their own.

Any recommendations .

I am the person jonesing for some czech sausage, mainly Praseks and Opas. I live in Kentucky at the moment so I haven't had the opportunity to taste around more than that

Sorry to get off subject here, but what in the heck is "muffaletta"???

I've seen it mentioned in a few posts around the board, and it surely must be a regional thing, cause I never heard of it here in Michigan.

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

Sorry to get off subject here, but what in the heck is "muffaletta"???

I'm sitting here cleaning the crumbe of one off my keyboard, but here's a link, The claim is that this store invented it. I dunno about that, but they're all over Louisiana.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=122&RefID=122

Zummo's is popular here in Beaumont. The old fashioned, party time links, green onion, and roasted garlic. They make Italian sausage as well, and boudain both dirty rice dressing and shrimp and crawfish etouffee. Another is Harrington's of Winnie, but haven't seen it in for some time, also Al T's and Burr's from Vidor. Chappell Hill is not bad sausage though. Zummo's is easier to find here, its got the coarse grind and natural casings, and of course plenty of seasonings.

I think a lot of black pepper makes a sausage better!

quote:

Originally posted by Rick F.

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

Sorry to get off subject here, but what in the heck is "muffaletta"???

I'm sitting here cleaning the crumbe of one off my keyboard, but here's a link, The claim is that this store invented it. I dunno about that, but they're all over Louisiana.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=122&RefID=122

Thanks Rick! Wow, I could handle one of them sandwiches!!

quote:

Originally posted by Texicana

I am the person jonesing for some czech sausage, mainly Praseks and Opas. I live in Kentucky at the moment so I haven't had the opportunity to taste around more than that

Hi, Texicana. Praseks That's a new one on me. Where does one find it or where is it made If I get my hands on some, I'll have some extra for you .

quote:

Originally posted by Marsh

Zummo's is popular here in Beaumont. The old fashioned, party time links, green onion, and roasted garlic. They make Italian sausage as well, and boudain both dirty rice dressing and shrimp and crawfish etouffee. Another is Harrington's of Winnie, but haven't seen it in for some time, also Al T's and Burr's from Vidor. Chappell Hill is not bad sausage though. Zummo's is easier to find here, its got the coarse grind and natural casings, and of course plenty of seasonings.

I picked up some Zummo's smoked boudin once on a lark and really liked it, but I'm not much of a boudin fan so I don't have much to compare it to. I picked up another variety once by mistake when I meant to buy the boudin and didn't care for it much, but don't remember what it was.

Seems from your post they must have a lot of varieties I don't see in the market here .

Market Basket, the local chain over here has a bigger selection of local and Louisiana stuff, like Zummo's and TexJoy. But, I also like to shop Albertson's, We still have one here, and so does Lake Charles. But the one in Port Arthur closed, its now a big HEB. I can also get the seasoning used at Saltgrass made by TexJoy and sold at the Market Basket in Bridge City.

You guys still have MarketBaskets?? Anyone remember the PigglyWiggly? It was blocks from my house when I was little. Anyways, I like those little boudin boulettes, that have the coating on them which you fry up for a snack.

Howdy Hermit! Praseks is in the Hill Country outside of San Antonio. Here's the website:
http://www.praseks.com/index_ie2.htm

I know there are tons of lovely little bbq joints around the state, but spending a few years in San Antonio, I liked Bill Millers alot. For a chain, they use real pits, NOT rotisseries, which makes all the difference. And they make their own sausage, which is my absolute favorite.

Thanks for the link to Praseks, Texicana. I've bookmarked it to check out later. Looks good. I had never heard of it.

Piggly Wiggly . Are they still in existence . The first supermarket in my home town was a Piggy Wiggly but I haven't seen one in years.

Check ur email Hermitt...I think the PigglyWiggly morphed into Market Baskets, probably in the 80's or so.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by hermitt4d


I haven't been impressed with either Meyer's or Southside Market/Elgin that I've had...
Meyer's is only good bought fresh at the plant, and Southside is totally bland, no matter how you buy it (pre-smoked, fresh, or cooked at the market). I don't know if it's my taste buds that have changed, or if it's Southside's recipe that has changed.

I expect it's Southside's fault, as I'm rarely wrong.

Although I could recommend a few to visit, I got the idea that you were looking for some place you could order from. Here's a really good one that Gator turned me on to:
americandriedmeat.com/default.htm

We spent the weekend visiting in Fayettville and stayed overnight in LaGrange. There is a little town in Ellinger on Hwy. 71, and we have stopped at KRUSKA'S for years for their Kolaches. They carry several types of local sausages in their meat case, and even had some"dried" sausages.

There was a line of deer hunters at the meat case buying wrapped slices of longhorn cheese, pickles, boiled eggs and sausages. They also had wonderful sandwiches made on thick slices of their homemade bread.

We had breakfast not too long before in LaGrange at the River Cafe, which aside from the worn counter and stools and perfect "roadfood" ambience was very disappointing. (The biscuits were dry, and the gravy like wallboard and we had to wait 45 min!). Anyway, as I was looking at all the different kinds of kolaches, I could not resist trying the "pan sausage and cabbage". It was delicious! A roll of very peppery pan sausage wrapped in cabbage and stuffed in the kolache. They also had a pan sausage and sauerkraut , but I did not try it.

As for sausage in the store - I like the Holmes pecan smoked jalepeno kind.

We stopped for lunch in Sealy at HINZES barbeque. The ribs were excellent, but the brisket was not cut well - slices too thick and lots of fat. The beans were ok, potato salad wonderful, and the coleslaw the nice vinegary kind. I enjoyed it, but it did nothing to make me change my mind about the City Market in Luling!

KRUSKA'S grocery is an excellent stop!

The Piggly Wigglys in Beaumont, were originally Gerlands, the one on 11th street and Phelan@Major, Market Basket took these over, and our old Safeways became Market Baskets, at least the one in the Westmont(Phelan @ Dowlen) and the one at EastTex Freeway @ Hwy. 105. Some of the old Weingarden's got bought by MB as well, but most have since closed. The WalMart and HEB are now the 500 lb. gorillas in the grocery store business. We have two Kroger's and one Alberton's as well.

Thanks all .

Bushie - no, not particularly looking for mail-order, in fact I prefer to sample stuff in person and if I like it, bring a cooler along on the next trip. One of these days I will get to hit the road and will be looking for all sorts of food diversions . Please feel free to post any recommendations.

Texicana - thanks! I'll do it.

Lone Star - been thru Ellinger many, many times, going way back to when it was just a narrow two lane thru town. I 'took the tour' once but didn't stop at anything, but will know what to try now.

I haven't eaten at the Hinze in Sealy but the one in Wharton, the original, I think, really impressed me on my one visit. I had excellent brisket, melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a good 3/8" smoke ring; the ribs were smoked all the way thru. I wasn't impressed with the sausage and I thought the sauce was way too bold and overpowered the meats. All the sides I had were excellent - green beans and slaw, can't remember the other one right now - and the thick slice of home-made bread, as I recall. No, not enough to wanna bypass City Market in Luling or Black's in Lockhart, if I'm going that way, but Wharton is only about 35 mins from my driveway so it's something I keep in mind.

One of these days, if I ever get my scanner-driver situation figured out, I'm gonna start posting some reviews of some of these places and Hinze is one of them.

I don't know who makes it for them, or if they do it themselves, but the best 'Hot Links I have ever had came out of a 9:30am Stop at Louis Muellers. Coarse, Plenty of peppery spice, and smoked enough to make the casing snap when you broke thru it !
About Piggly Wiggly. We saw them in many towns on our recent tour of coastal Carolina and Georgia. PLUS there are several in SouthEastern Kentucky..Corbin and London both have them close to exits on I-75

quote:

Originally posted by hermitt4d
I haven't eaten at the Hinze in Sealy, but the one in Wharton, the original, I think, really impressed me on my one visit. I had excellent brisket, melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a good 3/8" smoke ring; the ribs were smoked all the way thru. I wasn't impressed with the sausage and I thought the sauce was way too bold and overpowered the meats. All the sides I had were excellent - green beans and slaw, can't remember the other one right now - and the thick slice of home-made bread, as I recall. No, not enough to wanna bypass City Market in Luling or Black's in Lockhart, if I'm going that way, but Wharton is only about 35 mins from my driveway so it's something I keep in mind.

Has anyone been fortunate enough to eat the house made and barbequed sausages served at Kreutz Market in Lockhart, Texas? In business since 1900, Kreutz barbecues brisket, pork chops, prime rib, their own house made sausages, and more. Once I saw pictures of a typical meal and read reviews and testimonials, I became fixed on getting there some day.

Kreutz Market came to my attention several years ago when the CBS show, "60 Minutes", did a report on family feuds. The family feud involving the Kreutz clan was a dandy: the deceased owner left the business to a son and the building to his daughter. The two could not agree on rent, so the son built a new building and moved the business. The sister then opened her own barbecue restaurant in the old family building.

Lockhart seems to have a strong claim for calling itself The Barbecue Capital of Texas (by different assessments, it has 3 of the state's 10 best bbq establishments). In terms of barbecue tradition and excellence, Lockhart seems to be to Texas, what Lexington is to North Carolina, and Owensboro is to my state, Kentucky.

Here's a few words from a Lockhart Web site that celebrates Kreutz Market, Black's Barbecue (mentioned in hermitt4d's post), Chisholm Trail Bar-B.Q. and Smitty's Market.

“Kreutz Market (pronounced "Krites") at 619 North Colorado Street might be the most unique dining experience you've ever had. The beef, sausage or pork is served on brown butcher paper. No side dishes here. But you can enjoy a slice of cheddar cheese, chunk of onion, fresh tomatoes, avocado and your favorite beverage. Don't ask for barbecue sauce. They don't have it and quite honestly are offended if anyone asks. The owners say, "Good barbecue doesn't need sauce.

The new building has eight pits compared to three in the previous building. Fueled only by post oak, these massive ovens use indirect heat and smoke to cook the beef brisket, ribs, pork chops, prime rib, and beef clods (a meatier cut of shoulder beef). The sausage is made on-site and smoked. The pits use about 120 cords of wood a year."

The Kreutz Web site has some good pictures, including one of the sausages being smoked in their own pit. Incidentally, Kreutz makes and sells a dried Jalapeno sausage and their fresh sausages are also sold unsmoked.

I suspect I'll eventually break down and travel to Texas just to experience Texas style barbeque, which I’ve never had. If I do make it to Kreutz Market, that will be the priciest meal I've ever had, surpassing last summer's overnight trip to faraway Greenville, N.C. for the vinegary barbeque chicken at B's Barbecue.

Kreutz Market Web site: http://www.kreuzmarket.com

hermitt - you are right about the sauce ( I forgot to mention it in my postt). I did not like it either. It was very dark and seemed to have a heavy sort of molasses flavor to it.

Here is a great story about the Texas "sausage circuit"

http://www.texascooppower.com/tcp/103link.html

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

Here is a great story about the Texas "sausage circuit"

http://www.texascooppower.com/tcp/103link.html

I saw that one, Lone Star . That's how I found V & V. Robb Walsh's review of Pizzitola's placed them in Flatonia. BTW, the V&V I've bought at the HEB on Beechnut @ the West Belt hasn't been as good as the stuff I got right off the line in Cistern.

I stopped at Eurestes Grocery in Waelder. This is an old wood-frame () general store right at the intersection of the old highway 90 and the road that goes up to Cistern (can't remember the #; merges wtih TX 95 at Cistern and goes on to Smithville), with a hand lettered sign "Hot Sausage." It's just off I-10. Inside, it's so poorly lit, you can't see what's in the meat case. Thru some saloon type swinging doors in the rear, you enter a well-lit, brightly painted room with picnic tables and thru a low passageway to the left, the pit room, where you order. Out back are piles and piles of wood.

I had a couple of sausage rings on white bread. Very tasty. Not at all spicy, tho. The pit man said it was almost all beef with just a little pork. It was VERY greasy and crumbly, like chorizo. You're only 20 minutes from Luling at that point, so it takes some will power to stop .

I do want to go back and sample some of his brisket or whatever else he has. I think I remember him telling me he had mutton but I could be wrong.

There's lots of others on that list I want to try.

JimInKY - Lockhart is 'The Barbecue Capital of Texas,' officially designated by the Lege back when the two parties spoke to each other and cooperated with each other in the public's interest..... well, I don't want to get off on that .

First meal I ever had at Kreuz blew my mind, especially the ribs and sausage. Subsequent visits haven't been as impressive. There've been a lot of complaints that Rick Schmidt might be over-salting the meat to promote beverage sales and selling overdone and underdone meats to keep from losing business, a lot of which is tourists and one-time-only. He's got a helluvan overhead to meet in that huge new place. However, the latest reports I've seen are that they've gotten back on track. I haven't been in maybe 6 months.

I've never figured out why anybody wastes precious tummy space on cheese when they go there, but a lot of people do and I don't care for either the shoulder clod or smoked prime rib, both of which are too tender for proper bbq 'mouth feel' as far as I'm concerned.

Between Luling and Lockhart, about 15 minutes apart on TX 183, you're definitely in BBQ heaven (and Atkins Diet heaven ). I still think Black's has the best brisket and links and City Market in Luling is the best overall bbq joint in the state (brisket, links, ribs).

You definitely need to come on down. Just stick a cooler of choice provisions from Owensboro in your car and drop it off at my place on the way out to Central Texas, please .

Green's Sausage House in Zabcikville (sp?), Texas outside of Temple has very good sausage kolaches. My husband and I stopped there on our way to San Angelo this weekend. Their smoked, dried sausage was also good. Just thought I would pass that on.

P.S. I am new to this website, although I have been a RoadFood fan for years!

Ms. Minilops, I suspect you’ll find roadfood.com an impressive venue for sharing–a place where folks who like good things to eat, learn from and help one another.

You can glance a few posts back in this very forum to see what I mean: A Kentucky fella writes about getting himself down to a Texas town to try their renown barbeque eateries. Reading this, a Texas Roadfood member, who knows and appreciates Lockhart barbeque, takes an interest and gives the Kentuckian an update and some useful information in a post that everyone can benefit from.

Said Kentuckian couldn't be happier, as he had hoped his post would reach the screen of a helpful member who knows the town and individual eateries.

Several years ago, I began collecting articles, pictures, and reviews of Lockhart barbeque temples. Twice, I've copied and sent this material to bbq loving friends traveling near Lockhart. I'd hoped they would be able to enjoy the barbecue, and looked forward to hearing what they thought. Unfortunately, neither group could make it over to Lockhart (one friend teased me about sending him to scout).

After all the research, proselytizing, and daydreaming, I still hadn't communicated with anyone who knew this burg and its treasures. Then I shared my interest on a Roadfood forum.

The joys of Roadfood!

I once had some Burton Sausage (patties) at the Burton Café in – uh, lemme think where that was – oh, yeah – in Burton TX. I thought it was a downright upright-tasting sausage. Y’all ever try it?

Minilops, Green's is indeed a real treasure. They sell a great tee-shirt with the lone-star flag and town name on it for dirt-cheap too. Great way to show ya 'been there, done that'. Sausage is outstanding for roadtripping snack food

I used to play Bluebonnet Golf Club between Austin and Manor, and one treat I had when making the turn was a sausage wrapped in a flour tortilla. It was great because you could eat it, even with mustard, and not get anything on you. I would eat a hot dog and my hands would be covered with mustard and shirt dotted with fixin’s.

The sausage wrap was tidy, and it tasted great!

One of my favorite sausage places is New Braunfels Smokehouse, located in NB, just north of San Antonio on IH 35 between NB and Austin. Seems that Texas is blessed with GREAT sausage purveyors. I enjoy the stuff, and would give my fromt eyeteeth for some Texas-made bratwurst! As a Wisconsin native, I miss the authentic brats in Johnsonville(yes I know, I can get Johnsonville brats at Wally World, but it ain't the same). I miss Milwaukee and the brats served at Miller Park.

I should know, because I used to sell sausage and other processed meats for a small sausage maker in Columbus, Georgia(Jordan Sausage Company).

Steve Gordon
riceboy
San Antonio, Texas

If anybody is up in the north central part of the state, stop in at Fischer's Meat Market in Muenster, which is a li'l town founded by Germans (on Hiway 82 between Gainesville & Wichita Falls). Excellent sausage of all types. I'm hooked on the summer sausage.

Also The Center Restauarant in Muenster is a good place to eat. Got German food, road food and dang fine pies.