Father’s Day is the perfect time to fire up the grill and cook up some amazing brats, hamburgers, and kabobs. Festival Foods carries everything needed to start cooking, from the charcoal for the grill to the premium cuts and sausage links to put on top of it.
A variety of brats, burgers, ribeyes, and kabobs can be browsed at the meat department. A customer favorite is the “Festy Burger,” made in-house daily in flavors including bacon cheddar, southwest, mushroom swiss, and blue cheese. The ⅓ pound patties even come in a unique oval shape similar to a football (in fact, Festy Burgers are the official burger of Lambeau Field!).
Best of all, the majority of the beef cuts are produced right here in Wisconsin through the Legendary Beef program. “That’s something we’re really proud of,” said Alexander Frost, Meat Department Manager. “We think it’s the best quality beef available anywhere.”
Wisconsin summers aren’t complete without brats, and one can choose from nineteen varieties at Festival Foods including chicken and turkey brats, and brat patties. Festival also makes jumbo ⅓ pound-size brats which come in five flavor varieties if you’d like to tweak your brat-bun ratio. Special brat buns can be found in the bakery section.
The classic beer brat uses beer from Hinterland Brewery in Green Bay. Try out other unique flavors like jalapeno cheddar or pineapple teriyaki. “We decide on all the recipes for those,” said Frost. “We craft them and make sure it’s a good balance of all the ingredients.”
With so many flavors available, Frost recommends skipping the boiling part of cooking brats and just start them right on the grill. That way, the flavor is preserved and there’s a good snap on the casing. However, there’s nothing wrong with soaking the links in beer beforehand.
For steaks, preheat the grill before putting on the meat. “You want to hear that sizzle,” said Frost. After removing the steaks from the grill, always let them rest for 10 minutes before enjoying as this allows the natural juices to return and ensures a tender and juicy steak. If you are grilling a larger portion of meat, like a roast, use indirect heat. This will allow the roast to cook without burning.
Guests can conveniently get their barbecue basics at a special station located by the front of the store. Lighters, tongs, skewers, non-stick bowls, pans – even a disposable grill – can be found here. Charcoal and lighter fluid are also available in store, 24/7.
