There have been very few summers out of my 30 in which I've liked eating sausages. Bratwurst were a seasonal treat enjoyed by my dad, sometimes my brothers and those who didn't much reflect on gray-ish mystery meat and squishy beige/yellow buns. All that changed within the last couple of years, when I was able to watch local, sustainably-raised sausages and bratwursts be made right before my eyes in Seward Co-op's Meat & Seafood department. They are so delicious and there is no chance of the meat being a mystery! Seward sausages are made from pork, beef, chicken, elk or bison; sold in bulk (you can buy just one!); and cheerfully wrapped up by a smiling counter guy. The price is right for a hand-crafted product and I'll just say: what an experience in local-meat eating! Our co-op has created more than 30 varieties since moving into our new building two and a half years ago. Though not all of them are available all the time, here's a photo of an average day in the Meat department's cooler.

How to cook Seward Co-op's house-made sausages

Put a thin layer of stock or beer (or if you must, water) in a frying pan.
Add the sausages, cover with a lid and bring to a low boil. This steams the sausages and renders the juices tender in the pan.
Cook on medium to medium/high heat for 7-8 minutes, turning the sausages 2 or 3 times.
Then place the sausages on a hot grill, until they are a beautiful brown on all sides.
The result: a well-cooked sausage that is crisp on the outside, yet moist and tender inside.

Earlier this summer, my partner and I hosted friends from another Minneapolis neighborhood for a meal on our deck. Because they are not regular shoppers at our co-op, we wanted to expose them to the wide variety of sausage available, and so, a sausage tasting our meal became! We purchased only two each of seven different varieties, parboiled them all before our guests' arrival (according to the instructions above), and kept tabs on which brats were which on the grill. As they came off, they were placed on a cutting board next to little post-it notes with their names. 14 sausages sliced on a large wooden cutting board - ready to be fork-speared and savored. It was a hit!

We've repeated this local grilled meat tasting in our backyard at least three other times this summer, with various groups of pals. At my 30th birthday party, my brother dubbed our new ritual a "smorgas-brat"! Its a lot of brats, they are served on a board, and there's no need to bread these (in our opinion). Eat happily with mustard, sauerkraut and a multitude of vegetable side dishes.

For this most recent smorgas-brat (right), instead of using post-its to label each sausage, we just reused the stickers from the meat counter's packaging! These specific ones are: Harriet Brewing beer & roasted onion, jalapeno/swiss/beef, chicken bockwurst, giosong Vietnamese pork, and umbrian.

Happy summer, local eaters. May a hundred smorgas-brats be in your future!