This will become a working list of sources for the foods associated with Great Lakes Cuisine

Meats

Farm-raised meats – Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant, elk, deer, rabbit

Wild-hunted game – Deer, turkey, duck, various woodland birds

Common techniques – Sausage-making, slow roasting lesser cuts (often with aromatics and other liquids added), smoking, grilling

Online Sources –

Nueske’s – Smoked meats including bacon, smoked bratwurst, smoked duck, smoked pheasant, smoked turkey

Northern Waters Smokehaus – Smoked meats including smoked polish sausage with local Berkshire pork, bacon, turkey, and summer sausage with elk

Usinger’s Sausage – very limited selection of traditional beef summer sausage and a variety of specialty sausages (Making German-style sausage for over 125 years in Milwaukee, WI)

Kramarczuk’s – excellent source for very unique, very traditional European-style sausages in Minneapolis since 1954, winner of 2013 James Beard Foundation Classics Award ( JBF America’s Classics 2013 FINAL)

Underground Meats – locally sourced meats, prepared in a variety of traditional and innovative sausages out of Madison, WI

Pleva’s Meats – Specialty sausage maker with a signature cherry sausage from Traverse City, MI

Deering’s Markets – Many varieties of jerky including venison, elk, and buffalo from Traverse City, MI

Bavaria Sausage – German Master Sausage Makers

European Homemade Sausage – 40 years of Frank Jakubczak making old-world sausage

Pinn-Oaks Farms – direct market producer of lamb, shipping through out the US.

MacFarlane Pheasants – largest producer of farm raised pheasant in the US.

Fish

Traditional Great Lakes fish – Sturgeon, whitefish, lake trout*

Contemporary Great Lakes fish – Several varieties of salmon, rainbow trout

Other lake fish – Walleye, Perch, Bass, several varieties of sunfish (panfish)

*Note: Due to industrial contamination in the early and mid-1900’s,  Great Lakes fish can contain levels of mercury and PCBs that can be harmful as they accumulate in the body.  Active programs are in place to diminish these levels, but many guides still issue eating guidelines with recommended frequency of consumption.

Common techniques – Battered and fried, stuffed and roasted, smoked, pickled

Online Sources –

Ewig Brothers Fish Company – Variety of smoked local fish based in Port Washington, WI

Rushing Waters Fisheries – Farm-raised rainbow trout based in Palmyra, WI

Great Lakes Gold – Frozen whitefish fillets from Door County, WI.  Note that the other fish varieties listed are imported, not local.

Bay View Packing – Pickled Herring. Fish is imported, the tradition is local

Vegetables

Native – Corn, squash, pumpkins, beans, and Jerusalem artichokes

Immigrant introduced – Cabbage (red, green, savoy), beets, potato, asparagus (green and white), radish, kohlrabi, rutabaga

Common techniques – Fresh, roasted, grilled, boiled and pureed, pickled

Online Sources –

McClure’s Pickles – Pickles by the case from Michigan. Or in single jars online at The Plum Market

Forest Floor Foods – Pickled mushroom, onions, etc. from Wisconsin

The Brinery – Naturally fermented local vegetables based out of Ann Arbor, MI

Wienke’s Market – Over 30 varieties of pickled items including beans, mushroom and asparagus

Fruits

Tree Fruits – Apples, pears, plums, sour cherry, pawpaw

Berries – Cranberry, blueberry, blackberry, black raspberry, red mulberry

Other – Rhubarb

Common techniques – Fresh, baked (often in pastries or pies), sauces, jams, preserves, “butters”, juice

Online Sources –

Wienke’s Market – Over 40 varieties of jams and fruit pie fillings

Cherryland’s Best – Door County (WI) cherries

Cherry Bay Orchards – Michigan cherries

Wetherby Cranberry Co. – Wisconsin cranberries

Cheeses

Traditional cheeses – English-style (Cheddar), German-style (Limburger), Alpine-style (Swiss, Gruyere)

Artisan cheeses – Goat, Sheep, and Cow milk

Common techniques – Fresh, young, washed-rind, and aged varieties

Online Sources (producers) –

Carr Valley – American originals directly from the source in WI

Cheese Cave – The retailer for the Swiss Valley cooperative location in Faribault, MN, featuring cave-aged blues

Guggisberg – Home of baby swiss in Millersburg, OH

Hollands Family Cheeses – Marieke Gouda and other award-winning cheeses from Thorp, WI

LaClare Farms – World-class goat cheeses from Chilton, WI

MacKenzie Creamery – Goat cheese from Hiram, OH

Mount Sterling Co-op – Try the cave-aged goat cheddar, seriously, try it.

Sartori Cheese – Home of Bellavitano, in endless varieties from WI

Turkeyfoot Creek Creamery – Goat Gouda and cheese curds from Wauseon, OH

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars – Source of an excellent aged brick and aged cheddars from WI

Wisconsin Cheese Shop – Online source of Edelweiss Creamery offerings from WI

Online Sources (retail) –

Fromagination – Specialty retailer in Madison, WI

Wisconsin Cheese Mart – Specialize in Wisconsin cheeses, based in Milwaukee, WI

Zingerman’s – The classic deli mega-retailer in MI also offers extensive cheese selection

 

Other

Honey, Maple Syrup

Ames Farm Honey – Single-sourced honey from Minnesota

Johnston Honey – Honey from Minnesota

Honey Hill Farms – Honey from Minnesota

Hansen Honey – Honey from the northwoods of Wisconsin

Wisconsin Natural Acres – Artisan honey from bees “wintered” in Wisconsin (non-migratory)

Honeyflow Farm – Honey from Michigan

Windmill Hill Farm – Honey from Michigan

Anderson’s Maple Syrup – Maple Syrup from Wisconsin

Wild Country Maple – Organic maple syrup from shores of Lake Superior

RMG Maple Products – Maple syrup from Michigan as well as a number of jams and fruit flavored syrups

Harwood Heritage Gold – Maple syrup from Michigan