Few things I appreciate more than some family out slinging ‘hash’ at small town festivals, county fairs, and the like.  Today’s occasion was a ginormous flea market in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, held several times over the course of the summer. (dates).  Reminded me of one Mrs. Burgerdogboy and I stopped at in Central Washington a couple years back, on the return trip from a weekend at Washington wineries.  That was a hoot. (Check the link, it’s coming up Memorial Day!)

In any case, catering today was managed by a number of local charitable organizations, like the FFA and such, and I sampled the Bison burger from a trailer called “Buffalo Bills”, as well as Italian beef/sausage and fresh cut fries from Annie’s Burger Town.  Both were thoroughly enjoyed.

The exhibition itself was a lot of fun, in addition to pricey antiques, there was a lot of “junk” as well as memorabilia, which I’m fond of.

Buffalo Burger with Cheese

Italian Sausage with peppers and onions

Bistro Italiano

Buffalo Bill’s

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Whoa, that’s a long name.  Saw these the other day for the first time, when I was in the hunt for my usual brands, premium casing dogs like Usingers or Vienna Beef.

These were $3.99, for a 14 oz, 8 frank package;  they are bun length, and a bit redder in color than most grocery store dogs.

Ingredient list, and what a relief not to see “mechanically separated turkey and chicken” as one runs into so often lately:  Angus beef, water, dextrose, cultured celery juice, vinegar, sodium phosphates, cherry powder, lemon juice solids, flavors, extractives of paprika.

That’s pretty normal stuff.   Dextrose is a simple sugar found in plants, generally used in the curing process of meats, but these are uncured, so it is most likely a flavor enhancer.  Sodium phosphate is used as a preservative instead of nitrates. Dextrose contributes to fermentation which creates some portions of flavor.  All the rest is what it is!

As to putting “Angus Beef” on a label?  80% of beef cattle in the US are Angus, so that’s not a premium point.  I understand that “Certified Angus” is a big deal, if you see that on labels.

Point?  They’re tasty.  And for being a skinless dog, I’d put them on my ‘regular’ list.  With all beef franks, I usually get Nathan’s or Hebrew, but now I have a third choice.

And moms?  Remember to dice the dogs if feeding them to toddlers.

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Not much more I can say about Sammy’s, the small regional chain in the Upper Midwest, I’ve written about them a couple times.   Here’s the point:  I’ve had pizza all over the world, from Naples, Florida, to Naples, Italy;  from Boise to Beijing.  And Sammy’s is still my favorite, and worth a couple day drive on occasion to reacquaint myself with the cracker crust, savory sauce, and quality toppings.

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We used to drive down US 53 out of Superior Wisconsin, for winter family ski trips to Telemark, or some jaunts to various Wisconsin lakes.   At the time, Minong, about 30 miles south, was a one horse town with a car dealer, grocery, and gas station, and a small butcher shop and cattle pen called “Link Brothers”.

Today Jack Link, still headquartered in Minong, is undisputeably the world champion for jerky and related snacks.  I’ve traveled all over the world and seldom see a place where Jack Link’s products are missing from the shelf.

I like ‘em.

So imagine my delight when I saw the billboard for the “factory outlet store”, which can be found inside the town’s only grocery.   You’ll be in jerky and beefstick heaven, and save a bundle to boot.  Too bad Mrs. Burgerdogboy wasn’t along, except for she would have dropped a small fortune here and been in a jerky comma the rest of the trip!   She do love herself some jerky!

I scored these two, 2 pound bags of beef stick bits for $5.

If you don’t anticipate driving through Northern Wisconsin this year,  the store does ship, and here’s the dope on that.

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If the frozen pizza industry has “class” or “segment” descriptions (like ‘value line’, ‘premium line’, ‘gourmet’), I’m not aware of it.  Of course there are all manners of self-descriptive phrases used for marketing, whether it’s “pizzeria style” or “rising crust”.  “Classic” has come to mean, by and large, I believe, the look, shape, feel, and taste of a company’s original product line (i.e., “Classic Coke”, which of course, is now “regular” Coke, but not labeled as such, as “New Coke” vanished shortly after its introduction.

I digress.

Today we are talking about “Classic” frozen pizza from Palermo’s, a Milwaukee-based manufacturer which was spawned out of an eatery and bakery  started by Italian immigrants Gaspare “Jack” and Zina Fallucca in 1964.  They sold the restaurant in 1979 to focus their business acumen on the frozen pizza business, and now sell millions of frozen pies from a 250,000 sf manufacturing facility in Milwaukee.

According to a Milwaukee Journal article, the company cranks out frozen pies utilizing over 300 recipes, and generating revenue in excess of $150 million annually.  In addition to product under its own brand name, the majority of those recipes are utilized by Palermo to make private label pizzas; that is, pies manufactured, branded, and sold by grocery companies. Other articles seem to indicate Palermo invented the self-rising crust style of frozen pizza.

If the designations I started talking about in the beginning of the article existed, Palermo’s “Classics” would fall into the ‘value’ segment, or the very low end of the price scale.   Competitors, in my opinion, would be brands like Totino’s, Jeno’s, and generics of the same ilk.   Frozen pizzas the you can get for less than $2 each make up this category.

The Palermo’s in this tasting round were on sale  at six for $10, averaged 12.5 ounces, resulting in a per ounce price of around 12 cents.  That’s very inexpensive.   The pies in this line come in a variety of configurations,  plain cheese, pepperoni, sausage, combination, deluxe, sausage/mushroom, supreme, and bacon cheeseburger.

The latter style, I’ve never partaken of in any form or fashion, so that’s the first one I opened.  Instructions call for 9-11 minutes at 450, and I found that time range to be more than adequate, for these pies are sporting a very thin crust.

The ingredient list is fairly straight forward, and one finds the usual ingredients (and their additives) listed on the package, with one curious note:   one ingredient is dried potatoes, which clocks in after the ‘cooked beef hamburger topping’ and before the corn and soy proteins on the list.   Another curiosity?  “Grill Flavor”, which is listed before the bacon topping in the ingredient order, so that must mean that the bacon is merely a whisper of an ingredient.

Last on the list is “may contain smoke flavoring” as a component of the bacon topping, and to me, that’s no surprise, as to my palate, the smoke flavor was the most prominent feature of the Bacon Cheeseburger pizza.

Of course, at this price point, the amount of toppings and cheese are scant.   Would I buy them again?  At this price, probably, but I’d be more inclined to use them as a “base” and load them up with my own toppings and cheese.

And although they can’t be microwaved, they would provide an expensive, quick hot snack for your kids, providing you also served them healthier options from time to time.

Locator.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pie

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(By Roger Kethcart)

The Meat Lovers of Professional Golf
The Masters golf tournament is one of the biggest professional sporting events of the year drawing thousands of fans and golfers to Augusta National Golf course. And where there’s a crowd, there’s food. Held the Tuesday before the tournament, the Masters Champions Dinner is one of the oldest traditions of the tournament. The menu for the exclusive dinner (only past Masters champions are invited) is selected and paid for by the prior year’s champion. What’s on the menu? Meat, and lots of it. Take a look at some of the unique meats from the past twenty years of menus:

South African Lamb Barbecue
Charl Schwartzel, a native South African, chose a traditional barbecue of lamb chops, steaks, and sausages. The meat mix is also called a “braii” which is Afrikaans for “barbecue” or “grill.”
Blood Sausage

It’s as intimidating as it sounds. Blood sausage is made a variety of ways, but most commonly includes pig’s blood, pork fat, onions and breadcrumbs. It’s a deep red color with a strong taste. Angel Cabrera from Argentina selected this dish that also included grilled chorizo, short ribs beef filets and mollejas – thymus, or glands from a calf.

Minced Meat Pie

Who doesn’t love pie? A minced meat pie basically combines dinner and dessert into one course. Also called “Bobotie,” this is another South African dish selected by Trevor Immelman. The pie is made of a spiced minced meat baked with an egg based topping.

Elk and Wild Boar

True to his native Canada, Mike Weir served a carnivore heavy course including elk, wild boar, and Arctic char. Elk is hard to find, but a must try if you can find a restaurant that serves it. The taste is said to be a cross between beef and venison. Order it on a burger for an extra punch of flavor.

Cheeseburgers

Tiger Woods kept it plain back in 1997. He served cheeseburgers, French fries and milkshakes. Meat doesn’t get much more American than that.

Adam Scott won the Masters this year, and will host the Masters Champions dinner in 2014. What will he select? Hailing from Australia, all bets are on Shrimp on the Barbie.

(Roger is a life-long lover of meat and editor at Cable.tv.  His love of meat runs so deep that he was one of the founding members of Meatfest – a 24 hour celebration of all things cooked on a grill where participants, who were in high school at the time, only ate grilled meats for a full 24 hours.)

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Just like in the Pacific Northwest where you’ll see innumerable small restaurants with the word “Teriyaki” on them, in Chicagoland, you’re apt to see countless outlets with the word “Beef”, which is a reference to “Italian Beef”,  thin sliced, slow-simmered, seasoned roast beef served on a roll.   Make it a “combo” and they add an Italian sausage.   Usually dressed with your choice of sweet or hot peppers, and the roll is slightly wet from the au jus.   If you want it ‘wet’, ask them to dip it.

Bambino’s Beef is one such place in the Northwest suburban community of Cary, an hour plus on the Metra train from downtown.

Bambino’s features all the Chicago favorites, Chicago style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and gyros.  The suppliers of the latter in local Devanco foods, which manufacturers gyros, sausage, beef, and burger patties for the trade and retail.

Hot dogs come from Red Hot Chicago, started in 1986 by a grandson of the founder of legendary Chicago hot dog giant “Vienna Beef”.

Bambino’s uses an all beef skinless dog from Red Hot, which is fairly indistinguishable in taste in texture, in my opinion.  I always personally prefer a natural casing dog, with stronger flavoring.

But the beef by Devanco really stands out.   It’s very flavorful and tender, tho one must acknowledge that although this product generally comes to restaurants pre-cooked, requiring only a warm-up, it’s easy to goof up that process, and many establishments do.

If you’re heading out of Chicago on highway 14, bound for Wisconsin, and feeling a might puckish, stop in Bambino’s for a beef.   The 10” size will give you enough for a meal and more.

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I don’t usually write about movies, but when a feature comes along that so clearly demonstrates the importance of hot dogs, I feel compelled to opine.

“Hyde Park on the Hudson” is the story of King George and Queen Elizabeth’s visit to President Roosevelt’s summer White House on the eve of the outbreak of World War 2.

Bill Murray does an outstanding job as Roosevelt, and in a subplot, the always charming and capable Laura Linney plays a distance cousin of Roosevelt, who  becomes one of his (apparently many) paramours.  (If you haven’t seen Linney’s dark sitcom, “The Big C”, on Showtime make it a point to rent or stream it.  Oliver Platt is also grand in that one).

This event marks the first time in history that a British King has visited the US, and George has just ascended to the crown after his brother’s abdication;  you can learn more about that historical event in the wonderful film “The King’s Speech”, starring one of this generation’s brightest stars, Colin Firth.

George isn’t a confident King, and is nervous about seeking the US’s help in the inevitable conflict against Germany.  He, and more particularly Elizabeth, seek out every nuance of the visit, analyze it, and decided that Roosevelt’s intent is to make fun of them and their subjects.  The peak of the humiliation, they believe, will come during a picnic hosted by FDR, at which he plans to serve hot dogs, a food which royalty believes should be reserved for the lowest class of commoners.

In a late night drinking session, FDR confesses to George that there is no slight intended with the choice of cuisine, just that they are damned fine picnic food.

At the event the next day, the King accepts his first hot dog, an ample sized sausage atop a bun, with some trepidation;  FDR asks Linney to demonstrate to the King how to properly dress it with condiments, and she gingerly dabs a streak of French’s yellow mustard on the meat.

The crowd waits with anticipation.  King George takes a bite, smiles, and the crowd goes wild;  George takes another bite and says “I believe I will have another.”

Ok, this really wasn’t the point of the movie, but it was my favorite part.

The film is skillfully written, directed, acted, and beautifully shot, and is worth a couple hours of your time, whether you like hot dogs or not!

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Tried another Chicago area frozen pizza, tho this one wasn’t frozen, it was ‘fresh” in the deli section of the Jewel Grocery.  Jewel is the Chicago area brand for SuperValu, which also owns Albertsons, Cub, Lucky, Save-a-Lot and others.

SuperValu itself was the successor of a company started by Hugh Harrison, in 1870, as a wholesaler serving merchants in Minneapolis and St. Paul. (Of course, haven’t you learned all good things come from Minnesota?  True!)  This pie is made for SuperValu by the Swiss food giant Aryzta, which had acquired the plant of Great Kitchens in Romeoville, IL, for $180 million in 2010.

This pie weighed in at a hefty 31 ½ ounces for about $7.00 or 22 cents an ounce.  A good value.   The box is labeled simply “Take & Bake” and this variety was “Italian Sausage with a Blend of Five Cheeses on Our Premium Crust.”

Instructions called for 15-18 minutes at 375, pretty low heat for a cook at home pizza.   After 15 minutes in this oven, it wasn’t quite done enough for my satisfaction, but after the full 18, it was.

The sauce is very sweet, the sausage is good, the crumbles a little small for my preference.   The crust is doughy, doesn’t crisp up, and is a little thicker than I would like.

But it’s adequate for general tastes, and as I said, a good value.

Jewel Take & Bake Pizza

Unbaked

After 15 minutes at 375

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This was close by a motel I was camping out in, online reviews were mixed, but I’m all for the mom and pops, and gave it a shot.  It was definitely “New York Style” as advertised, that means a thin crust, but not so crispy it can’t be “rolled” or “folded” by the slice for less messy consumption.

I ordered a medium, with sausage, pepperoni, and green olives, my standard ‘salt bomb’, the sausage was definitely  in the style of New York pizzerias, every time I’ve experienced that, it was like this, link Italian sausage sliced at a thin bias.   The toppings at Gianni’s were pretty unremarkable, otherwise, and kinda skimpy.   They were using an old two deck gas oven, which may have become slightly deficient in its aging (who hasn’t?), because the pie took a fairly long time to cook.

Table toppers and other posters advised that the shop only uses Grande Cheese, a special blend from a small processor in Wisconsin.  If you’re fascinated enough with that to want to learn more, here’s the poop on them.  Gianni’s has a fairly large dining room, if you’d like to eat in.

It’s located at the end of a strip mall on US Hwy 17, between Richmond Hill and Savannah, keep your eyes peeled or you’ll miss it.

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