About Artas'n Meats, LLC

Our story goes back to 1954 when a young man named Alfred, at age 16, immigrated to the United States with his family from Germany. Growing up he was taught how to utilize every bit of an animal when harvested-what we call merchandising today was survival for him and his family. Skills learned in Germany carried over to the United States and were relevant through his working life at some of Milwaukee’s finest wurst houses. In 1980, Alfred was hired as a butcher and sausage maker at Brandt’s Foods. At that time, I was in high school and working part-time at my family’s market. By watching, listening and working alongside Alfred and my grandfather Rufus Brandt Sr., a retired chef from Milwaukee, my interest in sausage making and recipe development grew. My grandfather worked in the finest hotels in the city and finished his career at the University Club in Milwaukee. He was regarded by his customers, colleagues, and friends as one of the finest saucier and roast cooks in the state, remembered by his sauces & gravies that we’re so flavorful “you could eat them as soups.” While still in high school, I decided to stay in the family business and serve as an indentured apprentice. Under Alfred, I studied meat cutting and sausage making. Some of the key artisan methods and procedures that Alfred emphasized then, have become our corner stone for making superior small batch artisan sausage products today. We hope you enjoy, Christopher BrandtRead their story