If you’re passionate about animal care, ask
your grocer to stock these products.

Ten billion farm animals are raised for food each year in the United States. You know that USDA-certified organic meat sets certain standards for animal welfare: The animals have daily access to pasture or other free-range grazing and eat organic-certified feed. If family-farm raised, they also tend to be farmed by people who care about their animals.

But for those who are very concerned with animal welfare, there’s an even stronger certification from organizations that only focus on the topic. The certifications include American Humane Certified, Certified Humane and Animal Welfare Approved. (Whole Foods has its own “Animal Compassionate” program.)

Their mission is to protect livestock—cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry—from inhumane treatment, both on the farm and in transit.

These programs are voluntary and are open to livestock producers who meet the rigorous standards of raising and handling their animals. Those who are certified are permitted to use the program’s certification label on their products. The programs provide third-party, independent verification that certified producers’ care and handling of farm animals meet the science-based animal welfare standards of the certifying organization.

The concept of certifying animal foods as being humanely raised is relatively new, and not all animal welfare scientists agree on what standards are appropriate. Thus, differences exist among the programs, most significantly, whether factory-farming systems should be approved in addition to family farms. Some programs admit family farms only.

Emeril Lagasse is about to debut a gourmet burger restaurant named Burgers And More, or … BAM! The restaurant, set to open November 22nd in the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will specialize in burgers made from a blend of prime and grass-fed beef. Burgers And More will also have an ample nonbeef burger menu, including crab, mushroom, salmon and turkey, along with hand-cut French fries, condiments made from scratch, malts and shakes and local draft beers. (We’re ready for a crab burger with a craft brew right now!)

Asked if he planned to replicate the burger concept elsewhere, Lagasse said he didn’t yet know: “We’ll have to see how it goes.” As the burger generally ranks on surveys as America’s favorite food, it should go well.

Chef Lagasse joins other celebrity chefs who find that the margins are higher (and more fans are to be made) in selling burgers over foie gras…although Daniel Boulud has done both with his pioneering gourmet burger stuffed with shorts ribs and foie gras, available at NYC’s Bistro Moderne.

“The Piggie,” at DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New
York City, features a beef burger on Boston
lettuce topped by pulled pork, with jalapeño mayonnaise. Photo by T. Schauer © DBGB.

Burger Gourmania

Other chefs with burger restaurant concepts include Bobby Flay, Hubert Keller and Laurent Tourondel. “Top Chef” contender Richard Blais’s menu at Atlanta’s Flip Burger Boutique includes 30 rotating burgers, with a daily choice of 8-10 beef burgers, three vegetarian burgers, three pork burgers, and three “alternative meats,” lamb, duck and venison. Numerous others, like Chef Boulud, have added gourmet burgers to their casual restaurant menus. Boulud’s recently-opened DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New York (a favorite of the NIBBLE staff) offers three kinds of gourmet burgers, one of which is pictured above, a happy marriage of burger, pulled pork and jalapeño on a Cheddar cornbread bun.

A plump, grilled bratwurst, ready for a “brat
bun.” Photo © Darius Zsankowski | Fotolia.

“Mention my name in Sheboygan / It’s the greatest little town in the world…” sang the Everly Brothers. One thing that makes Sheboygan, Wisconsin so great: the world-famous bratwurst. Just as famed for its brats as its cheese, Wisconsin is a state that knows good food and celebrates it with vigor.

Mention the name “bratwurst” in Sheboygan and you’re sure to elicit a positive reaction from fans of this German sausage, who have strict rules for its consumption. But take Shakespeare’s advice and eat your brat “as you like it” (for example, the locals disparage sauerkraut on their brats, while we think it’s a perfect combination).

The eponymous Sheboygan Bratwurst Company makes delicious brats in the original pork sausage recipe plus several flavors, as well as chicken and beef brats. We enjoyed the sweet Apple Bratwurst, spot-on Cajun Bratwurst, cheese-laden Jalapeño Cheddar Bratwurst and basil-redolent Tomato Basil Chicken Bratwurst. There are 12 total flavors to try, including a Bacon Cheeseburger Brat that’s next on our list. Call friends and schedule a Brats & Beerfest!

How about some wickedly good Wisconsin cheese?

Treat your favorite meat lover (yourself?) to a gift of something meaty, new and interesting. Boar, bison, elk, emu and ostrich are readily available. Farmed, usually raised naturally and low in fat, what may sound exotic is actually sweet, tender and not in the least gamy. Cooking an unusual cut is a good reason to invite fellow food-lovers for dinner—and tell them to bring some good Burgundies!

Buy flavored gourmet sausages (black bean, sundried tomato, portobello, spinach/feta and a wide variety of others others) and cut them into bite-size chunks. Serve them with toothpicks and flavored mustards or other dipping sauces for a quick and easy snack. Sliced sausages can be frozen and then microwaved in seconds for snacks or to serve with with pasta, pizza, eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches and other foods.

• Look for one of THE NIBBLE’s favorites, Bilinski chicken sausages, a Top Pick Of The Week. They’re not only delicious, they’re low-fat and low-calorie too.
• Find traditional snacks in THE NIBBLE’s Snacks Section.

A plump and juicy PB burger. Photo by Tanya F. | IST.

Put something different on the grill this Labor Day: a spicy peanut butter burger. Our recipe is courtesy of PB & Co., manufacturer of traditional and flavored all-natural peanut butter. For this recipe, they used “The Heat Is On,” their spicy PB, flavored with crushed red peppers, chili powder and a hint of vinegar. If you can’t pick up a jar, you can add these seasonings to your regular PB, to taste. You can use the recipe for beef, turkey or veggie burgers.

The PB adds richness and spice.If PB and burgers sounds strange to you, think of two classic dishes: chicken satay, with spicy peanut sauce (made with peanut butter); and a peanut butter and bacon sandwich.

Is there any salami more wonderful than truffle salami? Nope!

Shoppers at Seattle’s Pike Place Market already know how special Creminelli salami and sausages are. They are carried by fine food stores nationwide, although not necessarily identified as Creminelli. It’s time for the rest of America to learn the name and demand this delicious line of specialty meats. The Creminelli family has been producing artisan meat products in Italy since the 1600s, according to family lore.

But more recently, in 2007, master artisan Cristiano Creminelli brought the family’s recipes and techniques to America. The pork-based salami and sausages will be a revelation to Americans for whom Old World artisan traditions have long since disappeared. If you have enjoyed fine charcuterie in Italy and long to return to taste them again, they are now ready to visit you, via express delivery (or your local retailer).

All of the Creminelli meats are handmade with choice cuts from select pig breeds raised on small family farms and fed with organic white grains. You can taste the difference—even the fat in the well-marbled pork tastes exceptional. Organic spices complement the beautiful flavor of the natural pork without getting in the way of it. You know you are eating recipes made with skills passed down from generation to generation.

Certain products are simply not to be missed: the truffle salami, made with real truffles, and the Piemonte sausage, redolent of fresh rosemary, are two we don’t want to be without again. Pair them with the simplest foods—bread, cheese, pasta—and fireworks begin. But there’s much, much more to revel in here.

• Where’s the beef? Read more burger tips.
• For a better burger, learn how to cook bison.
• Take a look at a recipe for Mini Sirloin Burger Cupcakes (adorable!). Cheeseburgers for dessert, anyone?