Handcrafted sausage from farm to finish

Roasted garlic, sun-dried tomato and basil. Curried turkey, chickpea and parsley. Lamb, rosemary, garlic and black pepper. 

These bold flavors aren’t your typical findings for breakfast sausage, but they’re the custom creations of Adam Fehrenbacher, chef-owner of Fehrenbacher's Artisan Sausage. He makes everything by hand, using the freshest ingredients — local and in-season as much as possible. 

“I am always experimenting with new things and new flavors, and bringing new stuff to the table,” Fehrenbacher says. 

For Fehrenbacher, sausage-making came naturally. He grew up on a family farm in Newton, Illinois, with two brothers and four sisters. Hunting, fishing and raising farmstock was just part of daily life. 

His appreciation for delicious cuisine came from his family. 

“My grandfather is a big influence on my life, and he loved to eat. He loved really good food. I always wanted to travel — I knew that it was a big world. I thought, ‘How am I going to get around the world and eat all this good stuff?’ [So] I decided to go to culinary school.” 

After graduating with an associate degree from Joliet Junior College, Fehrenbacher earned his bachelor’s from Johnson & Wales in Miami, followed by internships in London, Paris, Munich and Vienna. 

Needless to say, his global travels have exposed him to spices, flavors and ingredients far from his rural Midwestern upbringing — which have, in turn, influenced his own cooking style. 

“I ask myself: What inspires me today?” he says. 

One of the reasons Fehrenbacher’s sausage stands out is the flavor — not only the ever-changing menu options but also the lack of additives, fillers and preservatives. It tastes lighter because it is lighter. 

“I use very little salt — 7 grams per pound, which is the least. I use no additional fat. [A traditional sausage typically uses one pound of fat back.] I don’t make mine like that. I use a high-quality pork in the beginning that is well-marbled. So the sausage is low in salt, high in flavor ... all that other stuff is unnecessary,” Fehrenbacher explains. 

Many of his menu items are driven by customer request. Fehrenbacher has customers ask for specialty items, such as sausage from their childhood. 

“This little old lady came in asking for Swedish sausage. She even brought in a recipe book. I took a photo of the book recipe and made it for her. A week later, she came in and she bought nearly 10 pounds of it. She was elated,” Fehrenbacher recalls. 

Right now, Fehrenbacher offers around 50 to 60 different flavors from traditional old-world sausages like bratwurst and kielbasa to his own flavors like kimchi and ghost pepper. Many of the flavors depend on the season and the freshness of ingredients. 

“When you are cooking very seasonally like I do, I see all the farmers have sweet peppers, so I’ll say: What can I do with those? I can add some cumin, garlic, roasted potato and pepper sausage. A lot is driven seasonally. It is almost instinctual,” he explains. 

Typically the process of making a traditional sausage or kielbasa takes a few hours from start to finish, according to Fehrenbacher. 

“I make everything here at my location, 100 percent by hand. Depending on the quantity, some styles and recipes take longer than others. On average, to make 30 to 40 pounds of sausage, it will take me two or three hours. If it is a sausage that needs to be smoked or blended, it takes a little longer. I have it pretty systematic now. … I have been a chef for more than 20 years,” he adds. 

His brick-and-mortar location at 411 SW Fourth Ave. opened this year, but Adam and his wife, Tatania, have been selling their artisan sausages since May 2016 at local farmers markets. 

It all started when Adam was working as a chef in the local restaurant. 

“Occasionally I would make my fresh sausages as an appetizer at the restaurant. What kept happening was people would have their meal and they would ... buy some sausage [to take home],” he says. 

Eventually he made 60 pounds of sausage and took it to Haile’s Farmers Market — and sold all of it. 

“We started doing the farmers market [circuit] and the business kept growing, and we realized this thing had legs. The response from the community has been amazing,” he says. 

“Handcrafted sausage production is something of a dying art. No one else in our immediate area is producing similar, quality products,” Tatania says. 

As for the future, Fehrenbacher hopes his business will keep growing at this steady pace. 

“I would be happy to expand into other markets or facilities. I would like to see my products on the shelves at grocery stores. I would like to see guys and girls learning and producing this great stuff and giving it back to the community,” he says. 

“Starting our own small business has provided us the opportunity to spend more time together, and I enjoy seeing him so happy doing what he loves,” Tatania adds. 

“People go into the hospitality business because they like to see people smile. That’s what we are in for,” Fehrenbacher says.