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Wurst Haus summer sausage is Christmas tradition for many...with good reason
Gregg Wolf
We rural Nebraskans participate in Christmas traditions with gusto! We’re the first to hang up the Advent calendar, string the lights, cut out and frost cookies, and sing carols with our neighbors.
For no small number of rural Nebraskans – and people around the world – part of that holiday tradition is handmade “wurst” from the sausage capital of Nebraska, Eustis. For many, spicy sausages are a must-have for holiday tables.
Gregg Wolf has been making handmade summer sausage, brats, Polish sausage, hot dogs, and beef jerky at H&J Grocery and Wurst Haus since he bought the business from his father in 1985, but his sausage-making roots are a lot deeper than that.
The sausage-making business has been part of the Wolf family since 1900, and the recipes and methods Gregg Wolf still uses accompanied the Wolf family when they immigrated from Germany to Eustis. Wolf’s grandfather started the grocery business in Eustis, and his father bought the grocery store from his grandfather in 1970.
“I farmed and helped my dad when time permitted,” says Wolf. “But after awhile, I was spending more and more time making sausage because I enjoy doing it.” When Gregg bought the business, he added more sausage products and new recipes. “Evidently people like what we’re doing because we sell more sausages every year.”
An artisan quality
The Wurst Haus staff makes an artisan quality product from start to finish.
“We buy only Choice beef and pork,” says Wolf. “The summer sausage consist of two-thirds lean beef and one-third lean pork. We make it in natural casings or in a natural product that is used for casings.”
The bratwurst is 90% pork, and 10% beef with seasonings; the Polish is 50% beef and 50% pork with spicier seasonings than the bratwurst; the homemade wieners are 60% pork and 40% beef and flavored with distinctive, tasty seasonings, Wolf said.
“We also make a Polish and brat seasoned with jalapeno peppers,” said Wolf. “We make a dried summer sausage and dried jerky that we are nearly always out of because it sells so fast. But the best seller in the Christmas season is definitely our summer sausage.”
Advice to entrepreneurs
Wolf acknowledges that running a business from a small rural town can be a challenge, but it is in no way insurmountable.
“Don’t discount the value of word of mouth,” he says. “Some of my customers pass our sausages along to friends who also order. Through word of mouth I recently mailed a $1,000 order to Ohio.”
Wolf also says the Internet has been important to his success.
“You need an effective Web site with good pictures,” he said.
Wolf’s staff of five fulltime employees produce sausage products year ‘round, although they sell and ship the bulk of their products from October through February. With the advent of the Internet, Wurst Haus now ships products anywhere in the world. “Sometimes we mail 750 pounds of sausage a week,” says Wolf.
And although that’s a figure that might make an Oscar Mayer executive laugh, it’s that small batch, handmade quality people love and come back for...Christmas after Christmas.
Who To Contact...
H & J Grocery and Wurst Haus
Gregg Wolf
101 Main Street
Eustis, NE 69028
308.486.3251
www.thewursthaus.com
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