ARTISAN PROFILE
Jacobs Meat Market
Masonry smokehouses, layered flavor, and sausage traditions from an Appleton institution.
Over the summer, I found myself at the Timber Rattlers stadium for their Bark in the Park event, which is a fundraiser for a local animal shelter. In addition to all the shenanigans among the retrievers, doodles, little dachshunds, and various other furry friends, it was the humans that really stood out as they shot meat into the air. The Bratzooka is a cannon-like device that can launch a bratwurst into the hands of a fan seemingly a few hundred yards away. Considering the creativity that went into that amusing device, even more goes into what’s in a sausage before we enjoy them at our family gatherings around the grill or at a baseball game. Jacobs Meat Market in Appleton, Wis., has been making sausage for years—80 to be exact. Its process of creative artisanry and old-world traditions passed down through generations is a theme among the makers in this issue and part of the meat-packing charm of this region. Jacobs takes flavor—inside and out—seriously.
Sausage making begins with the “picnic basket” Luke Jacobs has sent to him from local butchers. Unlike the wicker basket we store sandwiches in when we head to the beach, this “picnic” is a cut of meat which usually refers to the shoulder of a pig. It’s the ideal part to make sausage with because of its fat content as well as how easy it is to grind, according to Luke. The consistency of the sausage is determined by the coarseness of the grind. For example, you’d use a grinding plate tool with bigger holes in it to make andouille sausage than you would to make a bratwurst. After the pork is ground, it’s put in a mixer with all the seasoning. The sausage then moves to the stuffer where it is stuffed into the casing. Jacobs buys pails of natural casings from both cows and sheep from various local farms. A tool called a horn aids in this process. A casing goes over the horn, and then the stuffer stuffs four ounces of pork into that casing. The casing is twisted by hand seven times between each sausage link. Luke has a YouTube channel with a video to demonstrate this process. Jacobs Meat Market works overnight to produce in small batches, making only twenty pounds of sausage at a time. Working in small batches allows them to not only ensure quality and consistency, but also play with flavors. If they create a flavor that doesn’t sell well, they have only created twenty pounds of it.
Luke believes that the defining feature of a sausage is the flavor, expressing that genuine, thoughtful flavoring is important in order to avoid over-seasoning. When Luke and his sausage maker, his brother-in-law, Eric West, are planning new flavor profiles, they start small. They sometimes create a small patty of sausage on the grill in order to note the flavor profile and what they want to change before going through the process of putting the casing around a sausage. All measurements are noted and recorded as they create and taste to ensure consistency in their products. They are careful not to over-spice sausage, as the sausage should stand on its own. While Jacobs Meat Market might feature some uniquely flavored brats, like the gummy bear brat and the taco brat, the bratwurst flavor must stand out when we bite into it, Luke says. Creating flavor profiles is part of the art of sausage making.
“Every single time we smoke, we’re adding flavor to the sausages.”
— Luke Jacobs
However, what really sets Jacobs apart from other small meat markets in the area is the way sausage is smoked. The market has two smokehouses, each about the size of an elevator, that they use every day, Monday through Friday.
“So our smokehouses are different than other people’s. You can see the bricks around here; it’s not stainless steel like all of the other meat producers,” Luke explains. “Every time that they produce a sausage in their smokehouse, they have to wash the walls to remove all the flavors.”
As he was explaining this, I was reminded of my husband’s favorite pizza stone, which we do not wash or even wipe down. “Yes, that’s also like a grill that you use at home. Every single time you grill, you’re adding the flavor… on the outside,” Luke says and points to the walls and doors of his smoker.
“This is creosote, but every single time we smoke, we’re adding flavor to the sausages.” Luke further explains that because others don’t have this added flavor in their stainless smokers, some sausage producers will intensify their smoke in order to get more flavor in their sausage. Luke does not do this.
In order to create smoke, Jacobs Meat Market uses sawdust, not coal or pellets. Franz Sawdust Company, a family run business out of Milwaukee, has been supplying sawdust to meat-packing industries for four generations. “We’ve been buying bags of sawdust from them for years, and they have all different varieties. So we use a sawdust blend; it’s a blend of a lot of different hardwoods that they have,” Luke says.
While the sixty-year-old smokers with layers of flavor are imperative to create sausage, Luke also relies on his customers to help him improve his product. Luke states, “When we create a flavor profile, I have regular customers that I know are going to give me honest feedback. And then I will ask them three things that they like about the sausage and three things that they would change. I’m not looking for them to blow smoke and say, you know, ‘this is great.’ I want to hear what they dislike about it because if they dislike something about it, then I’m sure other customers will as well.”
After three generations in business, the Jacobs family has formed relationships with customers whom he trusts to give him feedback. This October, they commemorate their 80th birthday, and sixty years with their masonry smokers. That’s decades of flavor.
Quick Facts
- Small batches: ~20 lbs at a time
- Natural casings: beef & sheep, hand-twisted 7 turns
- Two masonry smokehouses, in daily use
- Sawdust blend (hardwoods) from Franz Sawdust Co.
- Celebrating 80 years in business; 60 years with the smokers
