Fred Usinger Inc. is one of Milwaukee’s iconic manufacturers
Fred Usinger Inc. (which is commonly known as Usinger’s Famous Sausage), one of Milwaukee’s iconic manufacturers, has fed sausage-lovers for more than 130 years. The company makes sausages and cured meats using old-world techniques passed through the family since its founder, Fred Usinger, established his own sausage-making shop in Milwaukee in 1880.
Today, Usinger’s makes sausage from about 130 different recipes. Many of the sausages are made in multiple sizes and shapes, and some are smoked or unsmoked – giving the company a huge range of potential products, said Frederick “Fritz” Usinger, the company’s president.
The company’s best-selling sausages are usually made of beef or pork or a combination of the two. But it also makes sausage from veal, chicken and turkey.
The majority of Usinger’s products are made using old-world European recipes and techniques.
“About 65 percent of our sausages are what we’d call ‘heritage,'” Fritz Usinger said. “Some are our great-grandfather’s recipes. Others have been tweaked or added over the years.”
Read more in the Made in Milwaukee column in the most recent issue of BizTimes Milwaukee.
