Local Pig

I first learned about Local Pig while eating at Haus.  Haus’ sausages come from Local Pig.  I hadn’t had exotic wild game sausages like those before so I decided to hunt this place down to see if I could buy some of those sausages myself to make at home for backyard cookouts with friends.  And hunt down we did, this butcher shop is well off the beaten path in the Northeast Industrial District, below the bluffs, south of the river and east of I-35.  Local Pig touts that they select only hormone, steroid and antibiotic free meats, most of which are raised near the city.  I like that.  I also liked the helpful guys working there on a Sunday morning. 

I chose a few pounds of bacon burger, hamburger with bacon ground into it, so ingenious in its simplicity that I had one of those “Why didn’t I ever think of that?”moments.  I’ve wrapped burgers with bacon, cooked bacon separately and placed it on top of the burger, but I had never thought about grinding the bacon into the beef so that it is thoroughly and evenly mixed.  The end result after grilling was an amazingly delicious bacon flavored burger.  We also requested 2” bone-in pork chops.  I’ve always liked going to the butcher since I was a kid.  It was always cool to see them picking up those big chunks of meat and either slicing or grinding it per request and then wrapping it in white butcher paper.  The Local Pig wraps theirs in the same white butcher paper but then places them in a cardboard box tied shut with twine.  Nice touch.   We ate the burgers for lunch and the 2” bone-in pork chops for dinner making us gluttonous local pigs ourselves.  

   

There are several great locally owned and operated butcher shops carving up a quality product that are much easier to get to.  I like Local Pig because they offer classes.  They offer a class that teaches you how to butcher a pig from snout to tail as well as one that teaches you how to make sausage.  Being a lifetime learner, I really like that.  The whole hog butchering class is probably a bit much for this city boy to handle, but I’m planning to get some guys together to go to the sausage making class, I think it would be a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Anyway, I’m sure we’ll have fun there, just as we always do, maybe this time you can be there with us.

KC's Best Wurst?

This place serves up some of Kansas City’s best wurst!  The exotics are my favorites; I hadn’t had Buffalo & Beef Kielbasa Sausage, Elk & Beef Juniper Sausage or Wild Boar & Pork Porcini Sausage before coming here.  They are really very good and keep me coming back.  They are served on a fresh pretzel bun from Farm to Market Bread Company. I love these pretzel buns, but if you eat two sausages, the bread begins to become quite heavy.  You can choose two toppings from the following:  Sauerkraut, Caramelized Onions, Sweet Peppers, Jalapenos and Hot Peppers.  I eat mine without toppings, the flavors are that good.  You can also choose a variety of different mustards to squirt on top.  The only side is fries.  You receive a large portion (three of us could have easily shared) but I don’t like theirs.  They also have “Belgian” waffles for dessert.  I was disappointed in these as well.  I was expecting these to be like the ones street vendors serve is Brussels, but they’re not, the ice cream in the description should have been my first clue. 

There are several individual tables to sit at, otherwise you have to sit at picnic tables which is rather off-putting to me, but I get it, it’s supposed to feel like a German Beer Garden.  The outside patio will be great once the bamboo grows in and shields it from the parking lot.

 For you beer aficionados, they have a selection of 20 different beers on tap, and even more in bottles.  The menu is very specific; wurst, beer, fries and a waffle, but it works.  We have fun when we come here, just like we always do…