What Whole Foods Uses To Make Its In-House Sausages

The humble sausage has come a long way since its invention. Documents show that the Sumerians started preserving less desirable parts of the animals they consumed by encasing them in intestines and salting them around 3100 B.C. Today, sausages are made and loved the world over, with many countries and ethnic groups revering their own special types of sausages. The meaty treats go beyond offal these days, and are made with prime products in gourmet flavors. At Whole Foods Market, butchers often use extra meat trim to make high-quality, fresh sausages in a variety of unique flavors that change throughout the seasons.

We reached out to Corey Tolan, Meat Category Manager for Whole Foods Market, whose first full-time job with the retailer was as a sausage maker 16 years ago. "Our made-in-house sausages are produced in small batches in stores using fresh ingredients, with seasonally relevant and regionally meaningful flavors," he says. "To produce the sausage, we bring whole primal cuts of meat into our stores, like pork shoulder or chicken thigh. Our trained butchers — many of whom are certified through our Butcher Apprenticeship Program — then process the cuts in-store, deboning, grinding and processing into sausage."

Whole Foods Market's sausages are crafted from meats and trimmings acquired through the Global Animal Partnership Animal Welfare Certified program and whole animal sourcing. "Of course, all sausages meet our quality standards. Our supply chain is fully traceable from farm to ranch, and all animals are raised with no antibiotics, ever," says Tolan.

Before they started making sausages in-house, some Whole Foods' butchers went through a Sausage Meister apprenticeship program in Europe, and came back as certified sausage masters. They then developed a similar training program for their own sausage makers. These teams have now developed over 40 different custom-made sausages, made daily in stores. Besides pork versions, they make chicken, turkey, lamb and even buffalo sausages. 

"We offer different varieties based on locality," says Tolan. "For instance, we make chorizo sausage in our southwest U.S. stores, Andouille sausage in our southern U.S. stores and our Midwest customers love their bratwurst." Other traditional sausages available include mild and hot Italian, breakfast sausages with maple and sage, merguez lamb sausages, and English-style bangers.

Aside from these tried and true favorites, you'll find creative and delicious sausage varieties that lend themselves to different cooking methods and recipes. Some flavors created in the past include chicken and apple, garlic and basil with sun dried tomato, lemon herb with thyme, and chicken with feta and spinach, among many more.