Meat market - What's New? - Buyers Guide

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), May, 2003

From Nueske's Hillcrest Farm, Wittenberg, Wis. (www.nueske.com, 1-800-392-2266), come some of the finest sausages extant, whether chicken with spinach, apple, or basil ($37.80 for 1 1/2 pounds of each variety); pork and beef smoky apple, beef and bacon, or ham and bacon ($39.95 for two pounds of each); or the incredible Onion Pie & Andouille Sausage ($41.95), with its seemingly ill-matched, but delicious combination of ingredients, including sweet onions, egg custard, and New Orleans-style spices. Whether at breakfast, brunch, or served grillside as an appetizer for dinner, they will definitely wake up your palate.

A bit more sophisticated are the products from Les Trois Petits Cochons, Inc., New York (www.3pigs.com, 1-800-LES-PATES), which, though they may not exactly go with barbecue, complement roasts and steaks beautifully. You would think that a company named after the Three Little Pigs would be imaginative, and after a taste, you'd say you're right. We tried three wildly divergent types--Pate de Canard a l'Orange (duck pate with orange, pistachios, and Grand Marnier, $7.99), mini Vegan Terrine (vegetables, tofu, and soy milk, $5.99), and charcuterie-style Jambon de Paris (French ham, $11.99)--and found each distinctive and delicious.

Fresco Foods, Chelsea, Mass. (www.frescofoods.com, 1-800-426-6100), turns out sausages made from Bell & Evans chickens raised in Pennsylvania Dutch Country without antibiotics, a comforting thought in these days of bioengineered "Frankenfood." The best part is that they're not only healthful, but tasty as well, whether roasted garlic and onion, sundried tomato and basil, or sweet Italian style with red and green peppers.

We have praised the chicken sausages and chicken burgers from Casual Gourmet Foods, Inc., Clearwater, Fla. (www.cgfoods.com, 1727-298-8307), in this column in the past. Unwilling to stand on its laurels, the company has come out with a new line of turkey sausages that matches them in quality and flavor, as well as--emulating their predecessors--containing no preservatives or additives. Don't just take our word for it, though. Try all five varieties---honey masted garlic, spinach & Asiago cheese, mild Italian, red bell pepper and basil, and Cajun-style Andouille--and see for yourself.

Finally, a nod to vegetarians, although we frankly have no idea why they would have read this far into an article containing products they abhor and abjure. Nevertheless, here is an opportunity for them to share the backyard camaraderie with carnivorous friends and kin who, if asked nicely, might leave a corner of the grill unsullied by meat. Boca Foods Company, Madison, Wis. (www.bocaburger.com), has added a pair of new versions to the Boca Burgers that have provided an alternative for a number of years--the Boca Cheeseburger (with the cheese on the inside!) and the All American Flame Grilled Boca Burger with a charred flavor. Somehow, we've got the feeling that we're being a lot more tolerant of vegetarians' appetites than they are of ours.