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| - After driving by Rocky's many times over the last several years and not being able to go in becuase it was too late and they were closed, I finally stopped in yesterday afternoon. I've always had a vision of Rocky's that I've built up in my mind. It looks like this place that's been there forever, and I envisioned meat hangning from hooks with a cacophany of smokey and spicy smells blasting you in the face as you open the door. I was not disappointed. I was in cured meat heaven.
Rocky Schermer, the current owner, greeted me as I walked in. I explained that I had never been in before and just wanted to check it out. Rocky proceeded to come out from behind the counter, and walk me down the entire display case, explaining every kind of sausage and meat they produced onsite, from fresh sausage to a variety of bacon on the other end. His knowledge is extensive and while I've done a fair bit of meat curing and smoking myself, this was a man I could learn a lot from. We talked for a good 15-20 minutes, in between customers, and I have to say it was really nice to have such an interest shown in me as a customer. Don't get that a lot anymore.
As was mentioned by the previous reviewer, Rocky will also get you pretty much any cut of fresh meat you like. He offers some great deals on beef steaks (one is going on until this Friday - see his Facebook page), and if you are looking for cuts that aren't that popular, like pork shank or butt, he will gladly get you them as well.
I was overwhelmed by the selection offered (I believe he makes over 50 varieties in-house), and since I was not going home right away afterwards, I opted to just buy a package of beef jerky and some of his best selling regular farmers sausage (that's the one hanging all along the back wall, also available in a spicy version). I will most certainly be back to try many of the other fresh and cured meats Rocky's offers. I'll also likely be going to there to get fresh pork butts to smoke at home.
I'm a bit of a jerky fan, and since about 1996 I've been sampling every kind of jerky I can find. I keep a log book of "tasting notes" (not unlike wine connoisseurs, except maybe more "rustic"). So if I go into a meat market, I generally do my first tasting of their jerky. I figure if a place can make good jerky, that's a great start and then I'm certainly willing to dive in for more. Currently Rocky's has a simple peppered beef jerky, but will soon be making about 4-5 other varieties. Rocky's jerky was excellent. I pretty much ate most of the package by the time I reached Chinook, but I did save a piece for my wife. She concurred that it was much to her liking (and she's much more of the veggie person in our relationship). Everyone has different tastes when it come to jerky in terms of texture, moisture content, spice, etc. To me, this had just the right amount of moisture (not too dry, not like tearing through fresh flesh). I'm not sure what cut of meat Rocky uses for the jerky, but its clear that its thinly cut from a decent grade of meat and there is little to no fat or sinewey material in it. The spices were just right for my tastes.
I haven't tasted the farmers sausage yet. Rocky suggested it should be dried a bit more, though that depends on how you like your sausage. I do like mine a bit drier, especially if just eating it directly, which is what I planned to do. So, when I got it home, I took it out of its butcher paper wrapping and hung it back up on MY wall, high enough for the cats to drool over it but too high to get at, to dry a bit more. Now when I come home, my place kind of smells like Rocky's. And that's a good thing.
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