We’ve talked before about how much we like the products from Swiss Meat and Sausage Co. Located on Highway 19 in Swiss, MO, about 12 miles south of Hermann, the family operation has begun attracting well-deserved attention, thanks to things like the Deen Brothers featuring them on television and in their book.
Things are going so well, in fact, that they’ve greatly enlarged the retail facility. The formal opening will be in the fall, but things are already rocking. In addition to extra room to display hams, sausages, cured and smoked meats of many types, they’ve added more Missouri-made products to the lineup. There’s a display of elderly-to-antique butcher shop items, many used by the Sloan family in years past and, to top it off, there’s now more space for a wider variety of sandwiches and sides and a counter, a few booths and some outdoor seating at which to enjoy them. All the meat, of course, is their own. (The perfect routine at Swiss, as far as we are concerned, is to taste a couple of samples of bratwurst, decide on one to eat right there and then pick up a package or two to take home. You know, All Sausage, All the Time.)
We tried pulled pork and beef brisket barbecue, both outstanding in their molasses-touched sauce, and a smoked bratwurst that we topped with a little sauerkraut and mustard. The brat combo was particularly tasty, even to the non-kraut-fancying Ann, whose look of astonishment at her first bite was probably pretty funny. The sides are made by a sister of proprietor Mike Sloan, shown in the first photo conferring with Joe, and we can vouch for the German potato salad as being properly traditional and absolutely delicious.
But the focus still remains, as it should, on the fine wursts and other sausages, including various
bacons, salamis, summer sausage, braunschweiger and other meats sold at retail. Sloan is a big believer in free samples. He says he slices and displays about 15 pounds a day, everything from braunschweiger and Lebanon bologna to some of the 48 styles of bratwurst and link sausage he offers. There’s always an employee standing at a grill with a sharp knife and at least five different sausages hot and ready to be tasted. In addition, in the case for cured meats are bowls of meat samples and lots of toothpicks.
"Once people try it, they really like it," says Sloan, and we agree. It’s hard for us to pick a favorite, but we admit that the apple sausage finds its way into our cooler every visit. And so does the bacon, usually the thick-sliced.
If you’re planning on a visit, Swiss closes on Sundays, except during the Christmas season, and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Swiss Meat & Sausage Co.
2506 S. Hwy 19, Hermann, MO
573-486-2086/800-793-SWIS (7947)
Open Mon.-Sat.
Credit cards: All major
"the quality goes in before the name goes on" is the slogan from old telivision commercials from Zenith". get original you idiot.
Posted by: matt | February 06, 2011 at 04:24 PM