The Best of the Wurst

Wurstmeister Mike Sloan, who owns Hermann Wurst Haus and Fulton Wurst Haus, just won a slew of awards for his artisanal, hand-crafted meats. Want to see for yourself how the sausage gets made? Sloan shares his secrets in a series of classes.

By Caroline Dohack

Mike Sloan is known to be one of the best among the wurst.

Last month Sloan’s two Missouri-based meats ventures, Hermann Wurst Haus and Fulton Wurst Haus, took home a combined twenty-four awards for their artisan, hand-crafted, and smoked meats at the Missouri Association of Meat Processors’ 85th annual convention trade show, held in Columbia, Missouri.

Among the honors bestowed upon Sloan were Best of Show for Hermann Wurst Haus’ Sweet Bologna as well as the Silver Saw Blade Award. 

Sloan says the goal of the latter award is to grow the association with new business members just entering the industry.

“We’re all meatheads,” Sloan says. “Our association is maybe 450 members strong. We want to keep it strong. When we go to these competitions we compete, but we all want everyone to do well. There’s truly strength in numbers.”

Sloan says there’s a lot to consider when choosing which meats to enter in contests like this. Sometimes novelty is the way to go, especially in categories like Specialty Bacon. “Maybe a coffee bacon or a bourbon bacon—some different flavor of bacon. It would be boring if all bacon was the same,” Sloan says. “Sometimes we enter something we’ve never made before. We want opinions from judges who won’t know what we’ve been making.”

Other times, it’s best to lead with the A team. “We also have our true-blue flavors, like our German Bologna, our Sweet Bologna, our Peppered Summer Sausage, things like that have always been our racehorses. We’re not in our trial-and-error phase any more,” Sloan said. 

So what makes a good competition wurst? “Sixty percent is flavor. Does it taste good? Then 20 percent is texture. After that it’s a beauty contest for meat,” Sloan says.

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and even Sloan can’t help but to harbor a few favorites.

“When you have children, you’re not supposed to pick a favorite … but you do,” Sloan jokes. “They’re ‘the special one,’ the one who will take care of you when you’re old.”

Sloan has his top picks narrowed to three. The first is a traditional German wurst made with just a hint of onion and garlic. It’s the type of brat you’d serve on a bun—with or without kraut—perhaps with some potato soup. This sausage is so spot-on it’s snagged Sloan gold medals with the International German Butcher Association. 

The other two are not your opa’s wursts. One is a pineapple-bacon brat featuring pork seasoning spices, pineapple, brown sugar, and bacon. The other is a caramelized pear and gorgonzola cheese combo. “It has a flavor like no other,” Sloan says.

Sloan has been making meats like these for more than forty years, which is why he’s got it down to a science. But there’s also a bit of artistry to it. He says ideas for new flavor profiles come to him when he can’t sleep at night, and he’ll jot them down and get to them as soon as possible. 

Those interested in learning more about how the sausage—or the bacon, or the whole-hog breakdown—gets made have a few opportunities this month to take advantage of Sloan’s expertise. Each year, he hosts a number of hands-on classes at both the Hermann and Fulton locations. 

Sloan says one of his goals is to help home chefs speed up the process of perfecting their recipes—which could otherwise take many years. “By taking my class, they go from zero to hero and they have a great time,” he says.  

To see a class schedule or to sign up, visit https://www.hermannwursthaus.com/classes/.

Photos Courtesy of Hermann Wurst Haus.

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