The University of Wisconsin-Madison campus recently hosted the first ever IFFA Quality Competition in the Unites States. It was held at the Discovery Building in Madison, WI.

IFFA is the leading International trade fair for packaging, processing, and sales in the meat industry, and hosts an international meat competition every three years in Frankfurt, Germany. Due to customs restrictions, meat products outside of the European Union have not been allowed entry into the competition. So members of the Deutscher Fleischer-Verband (German Butchers Association) who also serve as judges of the IFFA Quality Competition, have formed a partnership with the American Association of Meat Processors to host a satellite contest in the United States. University of Wisconsin- Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Extension Service helped to facilitate the event.

“Craft butchers from outside of Europe have good products and should be able to enter the international competition, so we began organizing a satellite contest” said Gero Jentzsch, the association’s Communications Manager. We want more participation from outside the European Union. In addition to Madison, judges from the German Butchers Association recently traveled to Moscow for a satellite contest in Russia.

The contest held in Madison was the same as the contest that will be held in Frankfurt in May at the 2016 IFFA show. Results from the U.S. contest will be included with those from Germany and acknowledged as being a part of the international show. The IFFA completion in Germany is expected to have more than 3000 entries from around Europe.

The U.S. contest had over 300 entries from 15 states; a variety of ham, bacon, and sausage comprised the bulk of the entries. Each product in the contest is judged against a standard rather than against another entrant’s product. Standards include quality, taste, and aroma. There are gold, silver, bronze, or no award. There is one way, and one way only to earn a gold medal and that is with a perfect score.

The American Association of Meat Processors has a membership of about 1300 small butchers. The German Butchers Association has a membership of about 9000 butchers. Small sized butchers generally have 25 or fewer employees and sell the majority of their products through their own shops rather than wholesale to larger supermarket chains.

Hermann Wurst Haus, located in downtown historic Hermann MO entered ten products into this first event of its kind in the United States. Hermann Wurst Haus received medals for all ten products entered:

• German Style Bologna - GOLD
  • Course ground bologna, with selected herbs and spices and hickory smoked to perfection. Slice and eat for a flavorful treat. The best Bologna meat around! Refrigeration required.
• Hickory Smoked Summer Sausage - Gold
  • Beef, from round, seasoned, spiced, hickory smoked and slightly fermented. Shelf stable, no refrigeration required.
• Naturally Aged, Old Fashioned, German Style Summer Sausage - GOLD
  • Naturally aged, Germanic-European style sommer sausage. Dry cured, cold smoked and naturally aged for a minimum of 35 days to enhance the natural drying and meaty flavor. This old world sausage was always made in the winter months when there was natural refrigeration, smoked and aged in the smokehouse until summer, hence the name "sommer sausage". Shelf stable and no refrigeration required. Average weight 8 oz./stick, 2 sticks/shipment.
• Italian Salami with Fennel (Finocchiona) - SILVER
  • Old world Italian salami with pork, seasonings, spices, added fennel and added black peppercorns. Shelf stable, no refrigeration required. Great for snacks with cheese and crackers, sliced thin for pizza or salads. Sold in a bundle of two sausages; your choice between Soppressata and Finocchiona. Approximately 21 oz./sausage.
• Best of Show Bratwurst - SILVER
  • The name says it all, winner of countless Best of Show awards and one of our most popular brats. The Best of Show brat is hickory-smoked and fully-cooked; perfect to grill up any time of year. Reheating required.
• Country Style Pork Sausage - SILVER
  • Pork, seasonings, spices, fully cooked and hickory smoked with added red pepper and a hint of sage, stuffed into an olde tyme cloth bag. Slice as much as you want, as thick as you want. Each sausage weighs approximately 1.75 lbs., 2 sticks per shipment for total weight of 3.5 lbs.
• Summer Sausage with Cranberries and Hot Pepper Cheese - SILVER
  • Since it is a summer sausage, you get a little smokiness, from the cranberries a little sweetness, and from the pepper cheese a little hotness. Great flavors, all together for an exciting wurst taste sensation!
• Peppered Sweet Bologna - SILVER
  • Stuffed into a cloth lined bag lined with pepper, then transfered to our smokehouse for 5 hours. During the smoking process, the pepper is transfered to the sweet bologna when we remove the casing. One of Assistant Wurstmeister Patrick's favorites, to make and eat! Great with cheese, snacks, crackers or on a sandwich with added Wurst Haus bacon for a Peppered Sweet Bologna Club. Average weight 9 oz./piece.
• Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Bratwurst - SILVER
  • Definitely a crowd favorite!! A bratwurst with a great balance of flavors; sweet, caramelized pears with slightly, salty Gorgonzola cheese and then hickory-smoked. A perfect combination! Reheating required.
• Italian Salami with added Red Wine (Soppressata) - BRONZE
  • Another old world Italian Salami, dry cured, naturally aged for flavor enhancement, with pork, seasonings, spices, and added red wine, great for camping, hiking, biking, hunting, bird or whale watching. Great for snacks with cheese and crackers, sliced thin for pizza or salads. Shelf stable, no refrigeration required. Sold in a bundle of two sausages; your choice between Soppressata and Finocchiona. Approximately 21 oz./sausage.

Hermann Wurst Haus has been invited by the German Butchers Association to attend a ceremony at the IFFA in Frankfurt on May 10th 2016, where they will be awarded their certificates and medals.

Hermann Wurst Haus is a member of the Missouri Association of Meat Processors and the American Association of Meat Processors. Wurstmeister and owner Mike Sloan has served on the board and as President of both of these Associations. 

We are offering a Wurst International Award Winners Bundle of two of our Gold medal winners for $42 plus shipping:

• Hickory Smoked Summer Sausage - 2 sticks
• Naturally Aged, Old Fashioned, German Style Summer Sausage - 2 sticks

Order Wurst International Award Winners Bundle here.