Sweet Italian Edition
Local backyard barbecue enthusiasts are mourning the loss of Fresh Approach this summer. The West End butcher shop and neighborhood grocer in Portland closed this spring after undercover federal agents busted the mom-and-pop operation for mistakenly selling a few dollars’ worth of non-food items on a SNAP card, then mishandled the payment plan the business set up to cover the huge fine and neglected to process their reapplication for a SNAP license for many months due to a government shutdown and general incompetence.
Meat Jedi Chet Knights and his crew stocked Fresh Approach’s case with a treasure chest of grillables, including homemade hot dogs and sausages that consistently took top honors at past Smokin’ Sausage Showdowns. Their sweet Italian, in particular, was unbeatable for its flavor and texture.
So for this year’s Showdown, the theme was: Who Has a Sweet Italian Sausage That Can Possibly Replace Fresh Approach’s?
We selected contestants from 10 Maine butcher shops, farms and meat companies and slow-smoked them for almost three hours with maple wood during two sessions last month. Appetite and mood enhancement were provided by Evergreen Cannabis Company in Portland; the official iron Showdown tongs, made by Maine blacksmith Forged by Thor, are still in great shape after several winters outside; and for liquid refreshment, we chose Sebago Brewing Co.’s Italian pilsner, Streets of Rome, which well complemented links inspired by Italian cooking.
Had we allowed chicken sausages to compete, the Sicilian chicken from Pat’s Meat Market in Deering Center would have won gold without breaking a sweat, but we stuck to strictly pork products. Pat’s entry was solid — a tad salty, if that’s your game — and versatile enough to enhance any recipe calling for this ingredient. The juicy sweet Italian from Barber Bros. Meat + Provisions in South Portland’s Legion Square — like Pat’s, a past Showdown champ — also scored high by sticking to simple flavors and executing the sausage-making process to a tee. The links we picked up from Olde Mill Farm at the Portland Farmers’ Market in Deering Oaks were loosely packed and juicy, with a hint of heat, and absorbed the smoke well.
The sausages we got at the market in the park from Balfour Farm were not good; they tasted old and bland. But this first session did produce our winner … to be announced shortly.
In Round 2, another longstanding Portland sausage destination, Morans Market on Forest Ave., scored high with its fennel and black pepper–rich sweet Italian, which had a coarse grind and excellent casing snap. They tied with Kennebec Meat Co. in downtown Bath — like Barber Bros., a rising star in Maine’s butchering scene — whose slightly looser link shriveled up deliciously while bathed in smoke on the gridiron and delivered strong flavor, and with the gigantic link from Sirloins Butcher Shop in Scarborough, a one-pounder that gushed with savory juice and didn’t stint on the fennel seeds.
Fresh Approach was in business for 34 years, so if anyone’s gonna come close, we figured it’d be the storied E.W. Mailhot Sausage Co. in Lewiston, which has been grindin’ since 1910 and sells its links far and wide. Sure enough, Mailhot’s sweet Italian was fantastic, the best link of this round, super juicy, slightly salty, and distinctly bacon-y in flavor. Sadly, the link from On the Vine Marketplace in Scarborough was, like Balfour’s, too old to rank.
Which brings up to our Round 1 winner and overall sweet Italian champ: Colvard & Co., based in Ellsworth, which sells its products at the Portland Food Co-op and other Maine cooperatives and natural-foods markets, as well as some Hannafords. The dried parsley put this one over the top (Chet had a heavy hand with the herbs, too), and the balance of onion, garlic and fennel seed was superb in this coarsely ground, juicy and perfectly packed casing.
Nothing, of course, can replace Fresh Approach’s legendary links, just like the hot Italians at Colucci’s market atop Munjoy Hill have yet to be equaled since meat maestro Dickey Colucci sold the shop years ago. Wait — I think we have next year’s theme…
