It’s a real treat to see how the sausage is made at Piekutowski’s European Sausage, especially considering the business’ history. The family-run storefront on North Florissant Avenue has been making European-style sausages in St. Louis since 1940 and in its current location since 1960.
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Ted Pieketowski Sr. took over the sausage manufacturing business from the original owner in 1940, changing it to its current namesake. Currently, second-, third- and fourth-generation family members work and run the business.
For this family, making the product can only be learned by doing. “My father is not very willing to let others do things,” says Connie Koch, the facility’s manager. “He’s 83 years old, and up until December, he was here every single day stuffing casings. He started staying home, but the rest of us had to learn quickly through hands-on experience. Now we all have it mastered.”
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As you enter Piekutowski’s, you’ll see an assortment of sausages, plus cheeses and pickles packaged and ready to go. Planning a picnic? Elsewhere in the store, you can pick up crackers, breads, spreads and condiments – everything needed to create a delicious and varied charcuterie board. And you can find the same great products throughout St. Louis, since the other part of Piekutowski’s is its distribution arm: The small operation has a massive footprint spanning most of the metro area. “We distribute to Schnucks, Dierbergs, Kenrick’s, LeGrand’s, Karsch’s, Flint Hill Market, Mannino’s, Cionko’s and Kelly’s,” Koch says.
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Koch recommends Piekutowski’s first timers to start with the Kra-kow. “It’s a pork-beef blend with garlic, pepper and other spices,” Koch explains. “It’s great for sandwiches or in scrambled eggs or casserole – it’s our number one seller, and we have it in different forms.” From there, the smoked Polish sausage is incredibly popular, and the old-country bologna is the unsung hero of the bunch. The bologna is coarser than its supermarket cousins. It resembles an uncured, tender salami with a hint of smoke. All three products are cooked in Piekutowski’s original 60-year-old brick smokers, which are carefully monitored to account for weather changes throughout the year.
Other options include beer salami, bratwurst, Italian sausage and hot links (garlic, pepper, salt, cayenne pepper and cracked red pepper mixed with beef and pork and smoked in an edible casing).
To place an order, visit piekutowskis.com/order-online.
Piekutowski’s European Sausage, 4100 N. Florissant Ave., Hyde Park, St. Louis, Missouri, 314-534-6256, piekutowskis.com