An affinity for all things butchered and old world sausage making brought together the principals that started StoneRidge Meat and Country Market, now known as StoneRidge Piggly Wiggly.
Located in mid-Wisconsin, thirty minutes west of the Fox River Valley, the market serves grocery shoppers and sausage aficionados from a wide radius. Why sausage lovers? StoneRidge has built a superb in-house meat department, specializing in a wide variety of cured, uncured, and flavored meats, and are particularly known for their dozens of bratwurst flavors.
StoneRidge produces a widely-enjoyed meat snack sticks, also made in flavors, including original, pepperjack, habanero, honey BBQ, teriyaki and more. I tried out their .Bacon and Cheddar variety.
I think that a Philadelphia entrepreneur, Adolph Levis, who had built a business selling specialty foods to bars and delis, is credited with ‘inventing’ the beef snack stick in the 1940s, though I believe it was probably inspired by the German snack “Landjager.” Levis thought America was in need of a portable, ready-to-eat version of sausage.
There are certainly companies much larger than StoneRidge that make beef sticks, but probably none that produce a product of this quality. The “big guys” tend to have “mechanically separated poultry” as a prime ingredient, but in the StoneRidge variety, you’ll find beef, pork, and flavor seasonings. Period.
What I liked about the StoneRidge product is the distinct flavoring, a coarser grind than most competitors, meaning there’s no doubt in your mind this is a real meat product.
There are a lot of other reasons to enjoy StoneRidge snack sticks:
- They are extremely portable – take hiking, camping, tailgating, have in your office drawer, or the kid’s school lunches.
- They are a high protein, low carb snack.
- They are gluten-free.
- Ounce for ounce, they are one-third the price of beef jerky.
Great taste. Good value. Get yours at your local grocer, or browse the online catalog and order direct from StoneRidge. While you’re waiting for your package of deliciousness to arrive, follow StoneRidge on Twitter and Facebook.
Bacon & Cheddar Meat Snack Sticks
StoneRidge Meat Snack Sticks Review