Learn more about the best brats in St. Louis on the Arch Eats podcast, featuring special guest Jim LeGrand.
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A North County institution, Paul’s Market welcomed its first guests into its Ferguson storefront in 1959. The reason it remains so beloved is because owner Gary Crump, son of the eponymous Paul, insists on doing things the way they’ve always been done in order to keep his dad’s legacy alive. This includes the butcher counter’s excellent bratwursts, which are handmade and done in accordance with the market’s longtime recipes. Beer and Italian brats are the staples, but the butchers flex their creative muscles with rotating selections like apple, jalapeño cheddar, and bourbon-brown sugar. No matter which one you try, you’re getting a delicious link to the past. 1020 N. Elizabeth, Ferguson.
Many years ago, when Jim LeGrand was head meat-cutter at the market that now bears his name, he and then-owner, William Binder Jr., found themselves with an exceptionally large number of spice packets that were going unused. The idea was that customers would buy the packets, then add the seasoning blend to the meat of their choice to make their own sausages. No one bought the packets, and Binder and LeGrand were getting tired of looking at them, so they took matters into their own hands and modified the seasoning blend to work for the market’s bratwursts. That fateful decision resulted in one of St. Louis’ most beloved brats and has helped this St. Louis Hills mainstay garner a reputation as one of the area’s premier sausage purveyors. You’ll find other varieties—pineapple, hot pepper, cheddar bacon ranch sausage—but the classic remains the standard against which all others are judged. 4414 Donovan.
G&W Meat & Bavarian Style Sausage Company
When you ask St. Louisans where to go for traditional German sausages, chances are you’ll hear a similar refrain: You can’t beat G&W’s meat. The company’s tagline might elicit a laugh, but it’s true; this is the quintessential Bavarian style sausage maker in the St. Louis area, steeped in tradition that stretches back to 1965, when brothers Helmut and Henry Wanninger immigrated to town from their native Germany and decided to bring authentic sausages to their adopted city. Today, G&W remains an embarrassment of sausage riches, featuring everything from classic brats to polish sausages and specialty items like leberkase and hausmacher, all packed up to order while you sip a complimentary beer—a true South City tradition. 4828 Parker.
Husband and wife Darren Young and Charlene Lopez Young married his passion for barbecue with her Filipino heritage to create one of St. Louis’ most exciting culinary brands. The pair gained tremendous success with pop-ups and a long-term residency inside Earthbound Beer. (As of writing, The Fattened Caf is temporarily closed while they ready a standalone restaurant.) Their packaged longanisa, a traditional Filipino sausage, is a wonderful way to enjoy their wares. Available on their website and at grocery stores such as Scnucks and Fresh Thyme (check all for availability), these delectable, sweet and savory treats are a delicious addition to the table any time of day. See website for details.
The old adage may be “Don’t mess with perfection,” but Gioia’s offers a delicious counterpoint to that sentiment with its outrageously good hot salami links. Featuring Gioia’s famous hot salami (hot in temperature, not in spice) wrapped in a casing, these links are a fun way to play around with the classic pork-beef blend in different form and with a little grill char. The deli offers two different varieties out of its freezer cases (while supplies last): the classic and the St. Louie, which is spiked with Old Vienna Red Hot Riplet seasoning and cheddar cheese. Throw a little Provel on top, and it might be the most St. Louis of St. Louis experiences around.” See website for location information.
A mainstay on The Hill, this classic Italian market offers a wide range of goods imported from the Old Country—or made like they do there. This includes excellent hand-tied salsiccia and luganiga, which are available at the market’s meat case. 5200 Daggett.
Another institution on The Hill, Eovaldi’s is known for its outstanding luganiga and salsiccia. But be forewarned: You’ll go in for the packaged sausages and likely walk out with a couple of sandwiches—one of them likely being the salsiccia and roast beef behemoth known as the Godfather. They’re simply too good to pass up. 2201 Edwards.
After leaving behind the world of fine dining and the iconic Sidney Street Cafe, Culinary Institute of America–trained Chris Boylard opened his Maplewood butcher shop to set the standard for whole animal butchery in the area. Steaks, chops and interesting cuts are available alongside a fantastic house-made sausage program which includes such classics as hot dogs, brats, breakfast sausage, and chorizo to more creative offerings such as umami links and kimchi sausage. 2733 Sutton.
Founded in 1945, Kenrick’s began as nothing more than a small meat market on wheels that founder Herb Kenrick would roll around St. Louis’ South Side while peddling his smoked and cured landjaeger sausages. Things have dramatically changed since then; the market is now one of the area’s largest catering companies, a beloved meat market, sandwich counter, and grocery store that prides itself on the relationships it’s built over the years. It’s sausage game is unmatched, featuring more than 80 varieties—an embarrassment of riches that guarantees something for every preference. 4324 Weber.
A Brentwood staple since 1988 (and a St. Louis staple for four decades before that), Baumann’s is the quintessential classic butcher shop, known for its hand-cut steaks and chops, beef jerky, and those famous chicken wings. It’s also a must-visit for sausages, including its andouille and assorted bratwursts, including the delicious apple cinnamon link. 8829 Manchester.
For nearly a century, this Metro East institution has set the standard in the bi-state region for meat processing and is beloved for its ham and bacon; the smoked belly is so popular, the facility turns out 10,000 pounds of it per week. Cured pork isn’t the only game at Wennemen, though: The facility’s retail operation is also a wonderful place to source an array of sausages, made from old family recipes passed down through generations. 7415 Church, St. Libory, Illinois.
With locations in St. John and Festus, this 50-year-old butcher shop is known as a go-to for deer processing. At its Festus location, those in the know understand it’s also a premier place for one of the area’s largest bratwurst selections, ranging from the traditional to the gourmet to exotic meats such as wild boar and alligator. See website for details.
The Mannino family opened their butcher shop in Ferguson in the 1920s. Although the location has changed, that through-line to tradition remains strong under the family’s fourth generation. The market underscores the quaintness of old-town Cottleville and features a variety of sausages, including its famous Italian (spicy and regular) and six varieties of brats. 5205 Highway N, Cottleville.
This Gray Summit meat-processing facility has a well-stocked retail counter with a variety of bratwursts including several creative concoctions. Fan favorites include a mac and cheese brat (filled with noodles and gooey cheese), reuben and Philly cheesesteak versions, and a delectable mushroom and Swiss brat. 231 Highway 100, Gray Summit.
True to its name, this butcher shop, with locations in Fenton and Ellisville, brings the classic, personal touch of a neighborhood market to its patrons. It also brings outstanding steaks, chops, seafood, and sausages that are all made in house. The fresh case is always stocked with the classic, cheddar, and salsiccia bratwursts, while the freezer section has a much larger selection of gourmet flavors, such as spinach feta, raspberry chipotle, and even a pizza and buffalo pork version. See website for location details.
Piekutowski’s is not simply a sausage shop—it’s a window into St. Louis history. Founded in 1940, the shop is a step back in time to the vibrant Polish community that populated the city’s North Side. It’s still visible at Piekutowski’s because not much has changed here since its beginning. The family still runs the shop, and the sausages are still made the same way they always have been—a tradition passed down through generations that you can taste. Look for kielbasa, hot links, Kra-kow, bologna, beer salami, brats, and more that are so renowned, the late Pope John Paul II had to get some when he came to town in the late 1990s. 4100 N. Florissant.
A quaint boutique market just off The Hill’s main drag, Urzi’s has been a staple of the neighborhood for almost a century. It’s a humble, well-stocked store with a big reputation: Many aficionados say it has the best salsiccia in town. (It’s because the market is the only salsiccia maker in the area to make their with both beef and pork, which the owners say results in a deeply flavorful, extra plump sausage that doesn’t shrink when cooked.) The generous amount of fennel in the old family recipe adds to the mystique. Co-owner Diane Urzi says her family’s favorite way to enjoy it is grilled and topped with garlic-pepper and olive oil sautéed peppers and onions. If you really want something special, though, do like her son and pierce the top of a cooked sausage and sprinkle it with a little fresh lemon. 5430 Southwest.
The Smokehouse Market, a Chesterfield institution adjacent to sister concept Annie Gunn’s, is known for many things: its legendary smoked shrimp, world-class steaks and chops, spectacular cheese selection, and its Greek salad dressing. It’s also known across the country for its pork, which means its house-made sausages are among the best that you can find in the area. The butcher counter doesn’t go crazy with a large variety but sticks to classics, such as the traditional brat, the smoked cheddar, firecracker, and beer versions, as well as a rotating seasonal selection and non-brat sausages, such as Italian and chorizo—all flawlessly executed, like everything at this wonderful shop. 16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield.
A staple of the area’s farmers’ market circuit, Brats of the World offers guests a trip around the globe through its sausages. Known for his other business, Alpacas of Troy (no, there is no alpaca used for these brats), owner Jeff Suchland branched out into the sausage world about a decade ago, proudly using the whole animal to make such delicious varieties as South African–style boerewors, German thuringian, the Thai classic sai-ua, Moroccan merguez, Filippino longganisa, and Colombian butifarra soledenas. See website for details.
