Wurstfest Reminder

Just a reminder! Put it on your calendar: Hermann's 31st Annual Wurstfest will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28!




I told you all about the Wurstfest last year, and if you like sausage, then you simply must go this year. They don't tend to change the festival radically from year to year, so what I told you in my "Wurstjaegering" post pretty much goes the same for this year.

Only I see this year, in addition to the Dachshund "derby dash" race and "fashion show," they're also having a "longest weiner dog contest." Oh, my. That sounds like something to see!

But seriously, though, the emphasis is on all the fantastic gourmet sausage that's being made by Missouri's sausage makers.




As in the past, the two locations (each with different sausage makers) are the Stone Hill Winery Pavilion and the Hermannhof Festhalle; a single fee gets you into both venues.

Bring a cooler! Basically, you walk around to each sausage maker's tables and sample their various sausages. The variety is mind-boggling. When you decide you want a sausage, you buy it directly from that vendor. Most of them have packages of frozen sausage all ready to go.

I highly recommend Schubert's horseradish sausage, which tastes great without blowing your face off, and their andouille, which could blow your face off. Their kielbasa is a revelation; it has nothing to do with that greasy, over-salted insult to swine that you get at the grocery store.

In June, we had to drive to Schubert's just on the other side of St. Louis, to get more of the kielbasa and horseradish sausage. Yes, it's that good.

And if Kurzweil's has it, snatch up some of their bratwurst flavored with portobello mushrooms that were sauteed in Norton red wine. Their "Zorba the Greek" sausage is really good, too.

Williams Brothers had a delicious sausage with apples and cinnamon that we liked a lot, and their traditional-style summer sausage was really excellent.

But most of all, look for new styles and flavors that you haven't tried before.

Oh! --Are you worried about how healthy this is for you? Here is what we often do: We make a dinner of a bunch of sauteed or steamed vegetables, brown rice, and then a single sauteed tilapia filet and one gourmet sausage link. Each of us gets half a piece of fish, and half a piece of sausage. How about them apples?

Anyway, Hermann's Wurstfest is highly recommended. I'm telling you now, so you can put it on your calendar. You seriously don't want to miss this.

Here's a link to Hermann's Web site; click on "calendar" and scroll down to March 27 and 28.

And again, see my last year's post for the real low-down and for more pictures.